Hello my friends and family,

Wow!  Has it ever been a hell of a year!  For everyone!  As 2020 comes to a close I wanted to update you all on what happened today.  I haven't given an update in several months.  Sorry about that, I've just been trudging along with my treatments.  I had an important meeting called my Survivorship Meeting as I near the end of my cancer treatments.  It is a meeting designed to help patients deal with life after treatment is over.  Side effects that you may not think of like fear, depression, and how to lead a healthy lifestyle to try and have the best chances of the cancer never coming back.  I was told that I FINALLY get to use the wonderful words that I AM CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!  Praise God!  I was overcome with emotion knowing that the work I have done on this year-long journey had the intended results to save my life!!!!  My feelings were indescribable.  

It was on December 30, 2019 that I had my mammogram and biopsy.  It was then that I knew I had cancer but wasn't officially diagnosed until January 3, 2020.  On December 30th, I walked out of the McKee Cancer Center in the dark.  This afternoon, I walked out of the cancer center again, in the dark after my meeting.  It was an eerie walk to my car just like it was last year, but this time with such good news that my heart was skipping beats.  

I have 2 or 3 more chemo treatments to go and them I'm finished.  I think I confused a lot of people with a previous post saying that I didn't need anymore chemo back in June.  I've been receiving lighter chemo treatments every 3 weeks since June to deal with my HER2 Positive protein gene that feeds my cancer.  It's nothing like the heavier chemo, but nonetheless, it's still chemo.  But not strong enough to keep my hair from growing back or to make me feel near as sick as the heavy stuff.  Yay!  In addition to the extended chemo treatments, I had surgery in November to remove my ovaries since my cancer also feeds on my estrogen.  It was either get them removed or get injections to kill my estrogen for like 10 years.  No way!  Just get 'em out!  I will also be on medication for 10 years to further reduce any estrogen that remains in my body.  So far, I have not grown a beard, so that's good, ha ha!  I will be under close watch every 3 months from here on out for the next 5 years to make sure the cancer isn't coming back.  If it comes back, my doctors said it could likely show back up in my brain, my liver, my lungs, or my pancreas.  Let's pray I NEVER have a reoccurrence ever in my life.  If it comes back, it usually comes back with avengeance. 

I'm feeling very hopeful and positive as I near the end of my treatment with breast cancer.  My doctors said that while my treatment plan wasn't the worst I could have had, it's right up there with the toughest regiment.  Life is precious and life is good.  Some words that come to mind tonight are perseverance, strength, endurance, and hope.  As I've mentioned before, God has cleared the entire path before me and when I could not walk, He carried me.  That's why at times I only saw one set of footprints in the sand.  They were God's footprints as he carried me to the finish line.  My favorite parts of Psalm 18 are ringing so true for me tonight, "I pursued my enemies until they were destroyed.  I crushed them so they could not rise; they fell at my feet. You armed me with strength for battle, You made my adversaries bow down.  I beat them as fine dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like filthy mud in the streets.  The Lord lives!  Praise be to my Rock!  Exalted be MY GOD... MY SAVIOR!"  I have read Psalm 18 a thousand times this year and was always hoping that I would hopefully  be able to get to this part of the verse and claim it as truth... and now I have, by the Grace of God.

Moving forward, I'm ready to take on 2021 with a renewed mind, spirit and body.  Free of the Satan cancer.  I can't even begin to put into words how deeply I appreciate all of the love, support, and prayers from you all.  They are what got me through.  I felt like my entire house was covered in a bubble of prayer for months.  I felt so protected.  Many of you have said that you would have taken this from me if you could and I know you would have.  I give all the glory to God and I'm hoping to be able to volunteer at McKee Cancer Center to help newly diagnosed patients deal with the fear and desperation that I felt back on the night of December 30, 2019.  May God bless you all and never take life for granted even for one minute!  Thank you all.  I love you so much!

I AM CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Happiest of New Year's to you!  Bring on 2021!