Luehrs Line --------------------: Siteman Cancer Center

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Siteman Cancer Center - Update from March 15

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We were seen quickly by the oncology surgeon who was caring, compassionate, and easy to talk to. Dr. M was everything I expected and then some. She reassured this Google searching crazy science girl to not stress. Not a problem at all to have a bilateral mastectomy! She has been practicing for over 20 years and can't say "definitely" but with some confidence, this type of cancer has been detected early and we are in no hurry to operate.

With that said I am still waiting for a surgery date. (Big sigh....)

I did not need any additional imaging tests done yesterday. We visited for some time in her office and then she made a phone call to a colleague of hers, a plastic surgeon who was only one floor up in the CAM building at Siteman. I was amazed because we left one office and went directly to the plastic surgeon's office and literally waited maybe 10 minutes to be seen. I thought I would have time to take a few more pictures but seriously everything went so quick and smooth! We visited for a long time with Dr. B, a plastic surgeon about reconstruction. I had a lot of questions/concerns but ultimately felt much better about my decisions after visiting with Dr. B. So at this point, I am waiting on a phone call that coordinates both the oncology surgeon, the plastic surgeon and operating room availability. It could be up to 4 weeks wait. (Big sigh...again) I was assured the urgency is not as great as I was told previously. Again, we will have to wait for post-surgery results of lymph nodes to determine what treatment steps will be necessary. I feel so much about this decision to go to St. Louis!

Thank you again for all the cards, text messages, and Facebook comments. I really appreciate all of you and knowing that so many care and are praying for myself and my family. At this point, I most likely will get to stay at school a few more weeks. I am really glad because in Missouri 8th grade science students take a MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) test and I really want to continue preparing my students for this assessment. Being a first-year teacher myself, all of this is new and I am eager to learn more along with my students. This makes me super happy knowing God cares about the smaller details in my world. Grateful for the support my school family has graciously offered to me in this uncertain time. (LMS family: you know who you are!) I will update once again when I have more information everyone. Several have asked about how they can help our family during this season. I am working on some ideas for this. Stay tuned as I will be posting more about how you can each help.

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My Cancer Story

Many have asked me how long have you been sick? When did this all begin? Tough questions even for me to answer...all I can say at this point is I finally found some Doctors who listened to all my symptoms and did something about it. Late in April 2011 I went to see a family practitioner who sent me to a GI specialist for a colonoscopy. This resulted in a diagnosis on May 13th, 2011 of cancer in the colon. The extent was unknown at that point in time. I had to wait until Monday May 16th, 2011 for a CT scan. Then wait till Tuesday for an appointment with the surgeon, who would later remove the colon. I was informed of the biopsy results: adenocarcinoma. The CT did not show any signs of the cancer spreading to other organs (praise the Lord). In fact the CT did not even show the tumor. It was estimated by the GI Doctor to be the size of a golf ball. So surgery was scheduled for May 31st, 2011. Surgery was successful. They removed about a foot of the sigmoid colon and 20 lympnodes. I had to wait again for lab results. On June 2nd, 2011 I was told about the lab results. The tumor had evaded through the colon wall. Two out of the twenty lymph nodes tested positive for cancer. This elevated the stage of my cancer to 3 B. This is when I knew chemotherapy would be necessary. Recovery from surgery went well. GI functions are returning on their own and pain was easily controlled. I had my first appointment with the oncology team at MSTI (Twin Falls) on Friday June 17th, 2011.

I started chemotherapy on July 13th. The plan was set to give every two weeks for infusion treatments of poison. Sounds great on paper. The reality is this: chemo drugs deplete the body of healthy cells as well as potential rouge cancer cells. Keeping this schedule of every two weeks has proven to be difficult. On my off weeks I get my blood levels checked. This is to determine if it is "safe" enough for me to get chemo again. Safe...uh...it's poison right? Anyway chemo treatments have come and gone now, twelve in all. I finished up with my last round on January 27th.

On January 29th 2012 I had a CT scan. My oncology doctor said everything looked fine. No cancer detected. Doing the party dance! I am officially on the other side of living cancer free. I am celebrating in many ways. This has been the hardest thing in my life to do. Not to mention to try to balance so called "normal" life at home on the farm.

As far as the future goes with my health I have a few more doctor appointments scheduled. I will have another colonoscpy in May. For now, it is just watch and monitor my blood work and pray cancer doesn't return. Prognosis is good and I am believing and trusting in a mighty God. He is faithful!

Fast forward seven years -- 2018! Still cancer free! After many lab tests, blood work and CT scans so far no cancer detected. Miracles still happen everyone!

Favorite Quotes

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do. Helen Keller

"Every good work should be a revelation of the glory of God. What makes the good deed an act of love is not the raw act, but the passion and the sacrifice to make God himself known as glorious. Not to aim to show God is not to love, because God is what we need most deeply. And to have all else without him is to perish in the end. The Bible says that you can give away all that you have and deliver your body to be burned and have not love (1 Corinthians 13:3). If you don't point people to God for everlasting joy, you don't love. You waste your life." John Piper ---Don't Waste Your Life

"Surrender is the key that unlocks the vault of God's best and deepest treasures." Charles Swindoll

"You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head." John Maxwell

Spiritual growth is a conundrum. The key to spiritual growth is developing healthy and holy routines called spiritual disciplines. But once routine becomes routine we need to change the routine. Why? Because sacred routines become empty rituals if we do them out of left-brain memory instead of right-brain imagination. When we learn how and forget why we start going through the motions spiritually. Mark Batterson

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. --Reinhold Niebuhr

Luehrs Line --------------------

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Siteman Cancer Center - Update from March 15

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