I just got the best news ever...NO CHEMOTHERAPY FOR ME!!!! The oncotype Dx results put me in the low risk range, giving me a 9% chance of the cancer returning in the next 10 years. That number is a little high for me- would've liked to have it be less than 5%, but I think I'll just run with it and be grateful that my kids aren't going to have to deal with this challenge and I won't have to be bald, puking, and having poison run through my veins.
I went for the best run ever tonight. I talked to God most of my run- partially because I have so much to be grateful for. In terms of the cancer it seems like I got off easy. A day or two after surgery I felt good enough to go to my kids' games and activities. I started to run 13 days post-op (sorry Dr. Hazard- couldn't go the full two weeks) and am back up to my normal mileage. Radiation is the next part, and the last thing is taking tamoxifen for 5 years. I can do all of that. Chemotherapy is what scared me- mostly because I don't want to feel lousy, I don't want Ian to have to bear the burden of having a sick wife, and I don't want the kids' summer to be defined by puking/tired mom. Although maybe challenge would be beneficial...
I saw a friend the other day who said, "You know there have been 4000 people praying for you.". I think that must be true because other than that first week after the news came that I had cancer I've felt peace and optimism. I gave a talk in church on Easter where I read something from a journal entry. I didn't dare ask that I wouldn't need chemotherapy. I see so many kids' parents in the hospital begging God to just preserve the life of their child
and it's not granted... Even though the child deserves life. Why would He spare me from chemotherapy just because I feel like I'm too weak to handle it? But what I've learned is that God may not spare us from the challenge, but He'll give us the faith, bravery, and courage to handle it.
"We are so much stronger than we imagine and belief is one of the most valiant and long-lived human characteristics. To believe, when all along wenhumans know that nothing can cure the briefness of this life, that there is no remedy for our basic mortality, that is a form of bravery.". -Lance Armstrong
Thank you to everyone for your belief, your prayers, your positive energy, your encouragement. I realize I'm not having to handle the hardest part of cancer, but if I did I know I'd have 4000 people doing it with me.
Hello friends. Our hope is that this blog will function as a two-way communication line--for us to keep you updated on how things are going with Shari saving second base ;o), and for you to have a convenient way to send her words of encouragement. Thanks for visiting.
