Three words nobody ever wants to hear (or say)

[Thoughtful Monk]

[lee_merrill]

May the Lord minister, and bring his peace.

[Cow Poke]

MD Anderson

Been at MD Anderson since 8 this morning. She has already had 3 appointments, and several more to go. Imaging, ultrasound, blood work -- everything is on the same floor here, VERY well organized, all "offices" accessible from the same large comfortable waiting room.

She has several more appointments, one for aspiration, then a consultation about 3 PM.

Quite a day - we shall see what we shall see.

Thanks for your prayers.

(She's being a real trooper, but she started to cry a bit as we left the house, like she thought she might not be coming back. (half smile / almost misty)

God is good!

[Cerebrum123]

Still ing.

[Cow Poke]

And I really must say -- the people here have the PERFECT balance of friendliness / empathy / professionalism, etc, without making you feel they're "acting".

GREAT people here!

[Teallaura]

[Sparko]

I am terrible at knowing what to say in situations like this - it always feels awkward ...even through I went through something similar with my mother and father (lung cancer). But just know that I am praying and I am here if you want to talk.

[Cow Poke]

She is now in "fine needle aspiration" -- guessing this is fancy talk for biopsy. Been here since 9 am, and I'm worn out just waiting --- she, of course, has been going through tests and procedures all this time.

And, yeah, Sparko -- I get ya!

Hopefully, we'll get a consultation soon.

[princesa]

:Pray:

[mossrose]

[rogue06]

On Monday, my wife came home from a visit to the doctor. I generally take Mondays off, so I was at home.

She came in the back door, and I could tell by the look on her face that something wasn't good.

The tears began do run down her cheeks, and she said, "I have cancer".

Wisdom told me just to shut up and hug her. So I hugged her and she cried, and nobody said a word for quite a while.

She calmed down a bit, and began to relate her visit to the doctor, and what the doctor had said. She had (don't understand it, but it's what she calls it) a "ridge" on the side of her breast that she was concerned about, and her Doctor examined it and said, "I'm just going to be straight up -- without all the tests, we can't be sure, but I believe it's cancer, and I believe we need to do something soon".

Her Doctor helped her make an appointment at St. Luke's Hospital (associated with MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston), and we spent Wednesday getting ultrasound, mammogram, bloodwork, etc.... The Doctor there confirmed it is, indeed, cancer.

Thus begins the next challenge in our lives, and God will see us through this.

Your prayers are appreciated.

ing for the both of you

[Cow Poke]

Left the house at 6 this morning for Houston, spent all day in appointments (her in appointments, me waiting) and just got home about 30 minutes ago. LONG day!

BUT... here's what we know so far....

the BAD news...
It definitely IS cancer
It definitely IS malignant
It definitely HAS grown nearly twice the size it was just a few weeks ago.
There WILL be surgery soon.

The GOOD/WEIRD news...
It appears NOT to be in the lymph nodes
It appears to be LOCALIZED in one breast
It appears to have MOVED "forward" from deeper tissue closer to the surface (referencing the prior mammogram)
It appears to me more of a "solid mass", clearly defined, which supposedly makes it easier to remove

The doctor says she is "highly optimistic about this"

[mossrose]

[One Bad Pig]

[Manwë Súlimo]

This is terrible news. Thankfully, it still appears treatable and the doctor is optimistic.

For what it's worth, if you ever feel like you're falling out of love with God over this situation, look into the works of Gary Habermas on the subject of doubt. Habermas is a NT scholar but he's had to deal with losing faith quite a few times over the illness and death of his wife (and for the matter, CS Lewis "A Grief Observed" is a very candid picture of a Christian dealing with anger and grief). Of course, from what you've said so far, your wife has a real chance to beat this thing - I hope God grants your prayers.