My wife is amazing, per usual. Here is an update from her and I’ll send out my thoughts later. Much Love,
-Duncan
Hey all,
I’ve been asked by enough people how I’m doing and if I have any updates, so I figured I would update on here. I really appreciate when you guys think to check in on me and ask how I’m doing. 🙂
Full double rainbow over the property!
After the MRI in August showed something on my liver, I had an ultrasound in September to see if it was big enough to biopsy. They couldn’t find the spot during the ultrasound. Even though we want to know what this spot is, I was a little relieved I didn’t have to go through another biopsy. As of right now, we are waiting until January to have another CT scan, MRI of my liver, and mammogram. I don’t have surgery/reconstruction planned as of right now. I still have my port and I’m still deciding when I want that to come out…
I’m also on hormone therapy right now in the form of a pill and a shot. And I’m on another medication that’s used for Stage IV but was just approved for those who are high risk and had Stage III breast cancer. (I think it actually approved this year!) That one can affect the immune system like chemo, but thankfully I’ve been fine. I’ll be on that one for two years, but if that spot on my liver is cancer I’ll be on that pill indefinitely. I’ve never been one to take a lot of medication, so this has been an adjustment for me. It’s not my favorite thing.
So how am I doing with all of this? After my MRI in August, I didn’t know how I was going to get through the next several months of waiting. It felt like I was starting to climb back out of the pit after all my treatments, only to get knocked down again with that news. I had just finished a book about lament before I got those results, so I was able to put MANY prayers of lament into practice.
Our place of solice.
Thankfully, this fall has gone much better than I expected. The waiting hasn’t been so bad. I see the Lord’s kindness all around me. Between homeschooling, projects around the house, seeing friends, painting, community bible study, church, etc., my days are full. These are all the things I so badly wanted to be doing last year. And now I get to! I also feel amazing–praise God. At my appointments they go through the list of possible side effects and ask if I’m having any of them. I’m always thankful when I can answer “no” to almost all of them.
At one of my appointments last week, the nurse was asking me some tough questions like, “how are you feeling about the thought of recurrence?” or “how are you doing with how your body has changed?” So of course that brought some tears and some good discussion. I feel I’m pretty open about these things with Duncan and some friends, but we talked about the importance of seeing a counsellor/therapist to work through it some more. My pastor mentioned that both Duncan and I have/will likely experience trauma from this last year and it’s important to work through that. I’ve been hesitant about seeing someone because I want it to be the right fit. If you’re looking for ways to pray, pray that the Lord would lead me/us to the right therapist.
Thank you for your prayers, friends! Someday I’ll share more about how God has answered many of those. When I have moments of fear about the future, I remember how He carried me through this last year. He’ll do it again. And again. And again. He is never absent or far away. He is near and He is working and He just loves us so much. I know that deep in my core. Praise God for the peace He gives and for how he uses these crappy circumstances for good.
Love to you all!
-Elizabeth
Specific prayer requests (thank you!):
-this spot on my liver would not be cancer; that cancer would never return
-we would find the right therapist/counsellor and work through this trauma in a healthy way
-my body would continue to heal; that the medications/hormone therapy would help me and not harm me
-fortress cares– pray for us as we minister to others going through cancer treatment- that we would be an encouragement and a blessing to them
*Speaking of Fortress cares– we will be adding Christmas cards to the website later this week! I’ve painted a few and my good friend Natasha will also be adding to the collection. Learn more at www.fortresscares.com
