Much loved friends and family, welcome to my Caring Bridge site. We so appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
In early May, I was diagnosed with a form of cancer called invasive lobular carcinoma. This makes up only 15% of breast cancer cases and is difficult to detect by mammogram in very dense breasts. For that reason, the malignancy had grown undetected to a significant size. However, a biopsy determined that it was slow growing and estrogen receptor positive (a good thing since medications exist to counter the hormone's effects). During the remainder of May and much of June, we spent many hours in appointments at Mayo Clinic Rochester and attempting to process all the new information we were receiving. I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday May 30th for a bilateral mastectomy with a Goldilocks reconstruction. (and yes, that is what it is called!)
Those are the facts of the diagnosis. Then there is the emotional journey, the psychological impact of knowing you now have cancer. Not easy, but this now is our new rollercoaster journey. And as in past difficult journeys, God has held us and sustained us with incredible peace. So grateful!!
God's words from Isaiah 46:4 spoken to Jews who had been taken to Babylon give me comfort in my own journey to a country I'd rather not have chosen to visit. Here is his promise: "Even to your old age and gray hairs (Yes! That's me!) I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Thanks to so many of you who have encouraged and prayed and cried with us. We love you all! I sincerely appreciate the prayers, reach-outs, love and concern from all of you. Thank you for your support on this journey.
Music has always been a huge source of joy and comfort to us. Below are a couple of recent encouraging favorites:
Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FqFLKisysLook Up Child by Lauren Daigle -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N90b4O3B-kYStill by Hillary Scott -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APAgH2gfNHU