Update: God is My Strength

Just posting a little update, as a lot has been going on during the last few weeks!  My little man, Luke, is now ONE year old.  My sweet girl, Taylor, will be starting the first grade on Thursday.  We took a vacation to Pigeon Forge a couple of weeks ago.  I love the mountains and our cabin was gorgeous.  We had to cut our stay short, however, because I started having intense pain in my ribs.  We drove 7 hours and went straight to the emergency room at Trident, so I could be checked for blood clots.  A chest CT and X-ray revealed that my chest was totally clear.  No clots, no tumors.  But there was a new 3 cm tumor on my liver.  Only the top of my liver was visible with the chest CT, so my oncologist ordered a PET scan to see if there was anymore cancer activity.  The PET scan revealed good news and bad news.  The good news is the cancer in my lungs is completely gone, the lymph nodes in my belly are fine, it's just the one tumor on my liver and the lymph nodes around my liver.  While it is disappointing that I didn't achieve a long remission, I am so, so happy that we're not dealing with a widespread cancer anymore.

Today I have started a new chemo regimen.  I'll have an infusion of oxaliplatin every 21 days and take capecitabine (a chemo pill) twice a day for 14 days.   Then I'll have a week off before my next infusion.  My oncologist felt this would be the most effective regimen for me because we believe that my cancer may have started somewhere in my gastrointestional tract.  We can't be sure though.  My daughter and I prayed this morning that God will work through this chemo and kill all lingering cancer.  I've had a rough time of it for these last few weeks and I am so ready to feel good again!

You know, when you lay there with very little strength in your body.  The devil will take that opportunity to tell you that you are weak.  You are only what your body is physically capable of.  However, this couldn't be further from the truth.  Our strength comes from within, and God is within us.  Yes our bodies may let us down, but God never will.  God is our strength and our hope.  I have hope for a future without cancer.  There is no need to worry about the time, God is always on time.  I need only be still and wait.