MRI Results

We got the results of the MRI today. It’s as good of news as we can hope for…

The cancer seems to be confined to the area where they originally biopsied. These results probably rule out option 2 below, and now we wait for the genetic test, which we may know results from by Friday.

There’s so little in this process that’s certain. Waiting on test results seems to stretch our faith more that even finding them out. The biggest fear seems to be uncertainty.

This whole process is tearing down our pride that thought we knew what tomorrow would look like. James 4:13-16 puts it this way:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

So today, we don’t boast in what tomorrow will hold. We do fight to do what it is “the right thing to do.” Today, that is celebrate Abbey’s 4th birthday.

Love you all and thanks for your prayers.

Looking Forward

This afternoon we had our first visit with the breast surgeon since the cancer diagnosis last week.  We came away with a lot more information – it’s a lot to process. 

We already knew that the next steps are to get the breast MRI (again) next week.  She also had them draw blood for the BRCA genetic screening.  This tests for a specific gene mutation that makes it much more likely that the cancer will recur in the future.

We will have results from both test by the end of next week. Those results will drive one of three basic paths we will take from here:

1. Lumpectomy + Radiation: If the genetic test comes back negative, and the MRI does not find any other suspicious spots, then the prudent course of action seems to be a lumpectomy. 

   This surgery removes the cancerous tissue and the surrounding tissue.  The cells on the edge are tested, and if there’s more then that have to do another surgery to remove more.

   It would be followed by a 6 week course of localized radiation.  She would visit 5 days a week for a 10 minute treatment.

2. Single Mastectomy: If the genetic test comes back negative, but the MRI shows other suspect areas, those would have to be biopsied.  If they are cancerous also, there’s a high chance the whole breast would have to be removed.  Specifically, the doctor is worried about the rest of the duct that was producing the blood that started this whole charade. 

   The surgery would also involve a Plastic Surgeon immediately reconstructing the affected breast. 

3. Double Mastectomy: This is obviously the most radical option.  If the MRI showed it in both breasts (unlikely), or the genetic test came back positive, we would have seriously consider a double mastectomy.

   While this is common surgery now, it has serious implications that weigh heavy on us.  We may be meeting with a Plastic Surgeon soon to talk about what this would look like.

Q&A:

Some things you may be thinking…

• If it’s not invasive why do anything? 
  Because it can grow, and has a 50% chance of turning invasive.
• Are you considering holistic/natural/alternative alternatives?
  Yes!  We are looking for a natropath/nutritionist in DFW to work with to compliment the traditional therapies.  If you know if someone email us.
• How long will the surgeries take to recover from?
  The lumpectomy is outpatient surgery that takes 2-5 days fully bounce back from.  The mastectomy takes 1-2 weeks to fully recover from.
• What are the side affects of radiation?
  Not much since it’s it’s local.
• What about chemotherapy?
  There’s only one drug, Tamoxifen, that can help with this type of Stage 0 cancer.  Based on the tests so far, it doesn’t seem to be a fit, so we probably won’t need any.
• Will Holly loose her hair?
  Hair loss is usually cause by some of the chemotherapy drugs.  Since that seems very unlikely at this point, she should not loose any of her luscious locks.
• What’s the timeframe on all this?
  The surgeon said she would like to see the surgery happen in the next 30 days.

Thanks for all the sweet notes and prayers.  We feel every one, and there are times that’s all that seems to sustain. 

Oh how I love God…

Today, after t-ball Grady came home and wrote this:

We are crazy proud of how great he is at writing even at age 5. For those of you who can’t exactly make it out, though it says:

“Oh how I love God because he first loved me.”

More than his writing we are very proud of his sweet heart.

So, the doctor called…

Just got a call from the doctor… Mostly good news.

First — the bad news. The MRI was inconclusive. Because of hormones related to her menstrual cycle, the radiologists couldn’t read the results of the MRI. So, we’ll have to redo it in a week or so.

The good news is very good. To put it as the doctor did, “Holly, you are going to be okay. We are going to get this all out — you are going to raise your kids and go shopping again.”

The type of cancer she has is Carcinoma in situ. Some call it more of a pre-cancer than cancer. It is non-invasive, meaning it won’t spread to another part of her body. This is HUGE — it spreading was Holly’s biggest fear.

The doctor also described it as at it’s earliest stages, and very treatable. We’ll know after the next MRI how extensive it is within her breasts.

We’ll meet with the doctor again on Monday, which we are looking forward to. She’s an amazing Christian, and reminded us, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” — 2 Tim 1:7

So we enter the weekend, full of hope — not in doctors or medicine — but in a God that has given us His spirit of power and love inside of us.

Thanks to all for the prayers. We feel every one.

MRI

Today was the next step in the testing process. Holly went in the morning for a specialized breast MRI. What we thought was routine, turned out to be we were at one of only a few in the Dallas area. Evidently, lots of women want to be able to get this test done, but it’s not covered by all insurance. Thankfully, there was no issue with ours.

It was the third time we had been at the Sue A. de Mille Women’s Diagnostic Center at Plano Presbyterian Hospital. Holly has has every test run that they offer there (except a bone density which she shouldn’t need for a long time). The staff has been amazing — a true blessing have been sent there by our doctor.

That said, the test was pretty scary. This MRI is louder than normal — lots of pounding, popping — all while you are facing face down. At least nothing needed cut open, and there were no big needles for this test.

We didn’t get any results from the MRI. Since it’s so specialized, only a few radiologists can read it. Also, it takes a lot more pictures than a normal MRI, so it takes a while to analyze. The end result is, we won’t know any more until Monday or Tuesday.

Emotionally, we are pretty raw. We find the grief comes in waves, caused by the most random things. It might be looking at the beautiful faces of our kids, or even trying to make the smallest plan for the future. we’re trying to take it one day (sometimes one hour, or one minute) at a time.

We’ve had great support from family, friends, and church. We don’t know what’s next but we do know God is good and that He has a great purpose in all this. A friend sent this, and it has been great comfort:

There is nothing—absolutely no circumstance, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes to Him, and I accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, and I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is. That is the rest of victory. –Dr. Alan Redpath

Holly’s Cancer

Here’s the email I sent out to friends and family yesterday:

I assume you most of you already got the news that Holly’s biopsy came back positive today for breast cancer. Specifically, she has Ductal Carcinoma in SITU (DCIS).

Here’s the next steps we know so far. We’re trying to schedule an MRI for tomorrow. It is much more sensitive for the smaller spots that may exist. When they did the biopsy yesterday, the cluster of calcium deposits was small enough that they could remove them through the needle. They need to test and see where, if anywhere, the spots exist that they couldn’t detect on the mammogram.

After that we plan on meeting early next week with the Breast Surgeon, who can lay out the options of lumpectomy or mastectomy. After that surgery is done, we would look at chemo and or radiation for any possible remaining spots.

That’s pretty much all we know for now. It’s still sinking in and we are obviously taken aback by the news — even in writing this email it is sinking in more and more. We have good support around us, and one friend already heading into town to help with the kids. We are blessed to have amazing medical care, and that it seems (at least so far) that we found it very early.

We are working hard to lean on God, as it seems us He has given us a new fight to fight. He is good and faithful — we know that.

Thanks to all for there prayers and support. We love you much.