Judy Christian Judy T Christian

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.  Here is my health journey story:  In September 2021, I went for my annual physical and had been having digestive issues that were continuing so my doctor strongly encouraged me to do a CT Scan which then revealed a tumor in  my colon.  I had a colonoscopy that biopsied the tumor and  confirmed it was cancer. On October 4th, a wonderful surgeon, Dr. Billon, used robotic surgery to remove the 9cmx9cm aggressive tumor, the surrounding lymph nodes, and to resect a portion of my colon. My cancer was found in some lymph nodes which put me at stage 3 colon cancer (My oncologist told me that my family doctor, Dr. Barnes,  essentially saved my life by catching this cancer before it spread to other organs in my body and became incurable!!).  I believe God is behind the timing of this all and I thank Him for all of the many doctors who are involved in my treatment.  On the morning of my surgery, I woke up to the verse "This is the day that the Lord has made,  I will rejoice and be glad in it!"... I had God-given peace all day as I went to the hospital and recovered for a few days alone (due to Coronavirus policies).  My parents came to help the first week and many friends were generous with meals, cards, visits, and texts - I felt very loved and cared for! 


I met with an Oncologist in my town and then sought a second opinion with an oncologist at Sloan Kettering Cancer center in New York due to some confusing statistics on my type of cancer and the efficacy of chemotherapy.  Many friends  prayed for wisdom for my next steps and my oncologist in town agreed to the treatment recommended by Sloan Kettering which was 3 months /4 rounds of a combination of two chemotherapy drugs  (due to new research, the 3 months of this treatment is equivalent to 6 months of the originally recommended treatment - 3 sounds better than 6 months to me!).   While I waited 2 months to make the wisest decision for treatment, I read a few books recommended to me on adjusting my eating and lifestyle to combat cancer.  The book "Anti-cancer" was one I highly recommend and I have changed my eating to incorporate anti-cancer foods and herbs, to lower my stress as much as I can, and to increase my exercise and Christian meditation, Bible devotions, and prayer practices.  Honestly, before starting chemotherapy, my body was feeling the best it has in a long time with tons of energy (mainly a vegan diet).  


I visited my family for Thanksgiving and then began my first round of chemotherapy  on December 3, 2021.  The 5 hour infusion went well but once the anti-nausea medication ran out later that day and for many days after, the vomiting and neuropathy side effects were brutal.  I honestly did not want to continue but, praise God, the side effects got better after 5 days or so and I've been able to continue the oral chemotherapy for the first round.  I have had a nice 6 days of no chemotherapy this past week (the cycles are 14 days of chemo after the IV chemo and then 7 days off) and focused on my healthy eating, preparing for Christmas, and working while I have felt semi-normal.   December 23rd is the start of my 2nd Round of Chemotherapy...  I know God is going before me and will be with me (Immanuel - God with us - is what Christmas is all about!!) and  that He will give me courage to face this next round of this brutal therapy.