Celebrating 5 Years; Celebrating Today

December 6 was my pre-CT scan blood draw.
December 12 was my every-6-month CT scan.
December 19 was my every-6-month appointment with Dr. Malviya.

"No changes" (no return of cancer)!
So I am celebrating my 5-year anniversary!
(Surgery was Jan. 28, but I am starting now.)

This does not mean there is no chance of return.
It means it has been 5 years, and it has not returned.

I am thankful!

Doctor-and-test-time tends to be a reflective time.
I seemed to concentrate on two themes.

1)  Waiting at Advent.
A theme of the season of Advent is waiting.
That seemed to coordinate with my own personal schedule of waiting.
Waiting for test results.
Waiting to see my doctor.
Waiting and wondering.
Hoping for something good.

2)  Vulnerability and needing a Savior
I rejoice at healthy test results.
Yet, I also know something about my human vulnerability.
There is both joy and mystery.

When I was a child, I knew I needed a Savior, mainly because that is what I was taught.
But I generally depended on my parents for any needs.

Now, I know that needs in life go beyond the help of any human.
I NEED a Savior that is beyond human.
Beyond parents or doctor.
Beyond myself.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2 NIV

You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV

Post-Surgery Update

Hi everyone – Carrie here (Laura’s daughter). Mom asked me to write an update while she’s in the hospital.

She came through the surgery very well this morning. It lasted around 2 ½ hours. No transfusions or other complications. The procedure went as planned. It was a modified radical hysterectomy, and as expected some lymph nodes were also removed. She’s in recovery now.

Based on the physical exam today, the cancer seems to be more complex than we had hoped. Pathology tests will be performed on the removed tissue, and the results should come back in about 3-5 days. We are waiting for those reports before any conclusions or follow-up recommendations will be made.

I also want to thank you for the love, support and prayers you have given. It means more than you can know.

When I Know More...

After the biopsy...
After the consultation with Dr. Hakim...
After the lab tests...
After the appointment with Dr. Malviya...
...which was today...

Now, I am waiting for the next step.

I did (happily) learn that last Thursday's CT scan did not show that cancer had spread.
So far, the cancer appears "well-differentiated", which one likes to hear.

Dr. Malviya also had blood work done today.
(Check that off my list.)

Now, he will look at my "slides" and get a more precise understanding.
And he will talk with Dr. Hakim (my gyn).
He may even find an earlier surgery date - which I would love!
No matter how "well-differentiated" that cancer appears, no one wants to leave it there!

So now, I am waiting for someone to call me back with the next step.
(Tomorrow, the next day? Unknown.)
(Not passively waiting. I'm calling tomorrow.)


By the way, as it turns out, there was no time for finishing novels
(or doing homework)
at the oncologist appointment today.
Since I was a new patient, there was not a long wait at all.

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
And now faith, hope, and love abide...."
I Corinthians 13:12-13a