Whenever God repeats something I have learned to take notice. This particular verse keeps showing up in my life so I am memorizing it and meditating upon it. "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19 This reminds me of a song... "God will make a way when there seems to be no way." As we begin a new year I am looking in expectation to see this new thing God is doing and to watch Him make a way when it seems impossible to us.
Early in January I had another CT Scan and a follow up appointment with Dr. Rubin at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The scan showed that the cancer had not been affected by the four months of chemotherapy I had endured. In fact, the cancer looked worse. I was offered a clinical trial with another chemo drug which after research and advice I rejected. I am done with chemo drugs and their side effects. I am convinced this last one made me worse.
I had been telling the staff for months that I could not breathe and it was greatly affecting my quality of life. When they saw the scan they realized why. My right lung was totally unable to function due to the amount of fluid (caused by the cancer) surrounding it. Dr. Rubin immediately ordered the fluid be drained which has it's risks. I can tell you it was extremely painful. Normal procedure is to drain then X-ray to make sure the lung is functioning. After the X-ray, I was quickly surrounded by doctors and informed my lung was collapsed and they would be keeping me in the hospital. Next thing I knew, I was laying on a CT Scan table while about 5 doctors and nurses inserted a drain into my chest so more fluid could be removed. I ended up in hospital from Tuesday until Saturday and although four liters of fluid was drained, they were still not satisfied because the lung had not expanded, so they sent me home with a portable fluid collector. My prayer was that my lung would expand. So just yesterday (1-18) I had an appointment with the pulmonologist to remove the drain and check the lung. God actually did a little miracle for me in that my lung is now expanded to 75-80% and the drain was safely removed. (I have before and after pictures that show the lung if anyone is interested.) I cannot tell you how happy I am that I can now breathe! I am able to do so much more.
Next step is to insert a smaller drain so it is safer to remove the fluid. That appointment is Wednesday January 25th. After that, a visiting nurse will come several times a week to drain the fluid in an effort to allow the lung to continue to expand and my breathing to normalize. The fluid will keep appearing as long as the cancer is present. We need the cancer to be gone!!!
Next appointment with Dr. Rubin is January 31st. This is to discuss treatment options. I don't know if he will have any. I was told about another clinical trial with a non-chemo drug but it was closed. I called another cancer center and was told they were not accepting any more medicare patients. I have also checked out several alternative clinics but the cost (not covered by insurance) is way more than we can manage. Please pray that God will make a way. Right now, the path looks pretty foggy to us.
#cancersurvivor #ovariancancer #faithandspirituality
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