Barbara Berhow Barbara's Cancer Journey

Welcome to my CaringBridge website. This is a way to keep family and friends updated in one place.  I appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting!

In January, 2016, my medical journey had a bit of a jump start when I was diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis blood clot in my right upper thigh. In March, I developed severe anemia, which was helped by 6 sessions of IV iron infusions. In searching for the cause of the anemia, I was diagnosed in April with a fibroid tumor. In August, I had a procedure called a Uterine Fibroid Embolization, which will cause the fibroid to shrink and hopefully go away. However, by October my anemia was back, and we began to investigate the reason for blood loss. A bone marrow biopsy proved inconclusive, so after a stool sample showed blood, a colonoscopy was scheduled. In November, I went to the ER when I had some difficulty breathing, and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism in each lung, along with blood clots in each leg. During 11 days in ICU, I received 4 pints of blood,  a blood clot filter was placed, and a colonoscopy was performed. The results of the colonoscopy showed a very large tumor that was bleeding, hence the reason for the blood loss. Unfortunately, it has metastasized and has spread to the liver, which shows lesions and damage. At this time, they are unable to remove the tumor, so chemotherapy will be done for at least 6 months, hopefully this will shrink the tumor. We are praying that there will be no blockage in the colon due to the tumor, and that the bleeding will slow down.

This is all scary stuff, but I have to tell you that I feel God guiding this journey I am about to take. My faith remains strong, and I see blessings every day that happen as a result of my cancer. My attitude remains positive as a result of the knowledge that God's got a plan and it's all good!