Cancer Update

4/29/2010

Good news:
It has been a year since my lung cancer surgery. It seems so long ago now. I was on Spring break last week. Spring is my favorite season in Florida. The weather is perfect – not too cold and not too hot. The temperature was in the 70’s during the day and went down to the 50’s at night. It was sunny – no rain. Al helped me plant flowers in the garden. We have a patio home with a small yard. 2 years ago I decided to make an anniversary garden by the front door, in honor of my 30th wedding anniversary and my 15-year breast cancer survivor anniversary. Since I have a black thumb and most of the plants I try to grow die, I decided to make it a rock-sculpture garden. Sculptures are very garden-friendly; they don’t need water or fertilizer!! And every thing in the garden means something. Many of the plants were given to me by friends and family. Dorothy picked out the style of the concrete bench we bought – Celtic. I also bought 2 Celtic planters and lots of fairy sculptures because fairies are prominent in Celtic folklore. I bought some curved stone border pieces and made 2 Celtic Trinity knots, which stand for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Celtic knots and other Celtic art also represent eternity. I also have a Celtic cross and sculptures of little animals, including a giant lady bug and an ant. Anyway, I really enjoyed sitting outside in my garden during that week , with such beautiful weather, just looking and marveling at God’s beautiful creations. And none of my sculptures died over the winter, despite the record cold weather we had!!!!!!!

Bad news:
The Monday before Easter I went for my 6 month lung cancer checkup to hear the results of my 6-month Pet Scan. The doctor said there was a suspicious area on my posterior chest wall, an area of hypermetabolic activity that could be a recurrence of the cancer. So he wants to check it again in 3 months. He also gave me a copy of the Pet Scan report. When I read it at home that night, it said this area could be due to post-operative changes. I didn’t want to spoil anyone’s Easter (or my own) by reporting this possibly bad news just before the holidays for people to dwell on.

Good News:
I promptly gave it to God and put it out of my mind - and had a wonderful Spring Break and Lovely Easter!!!! And I am continuing to water my new plants and watch them grow. I even enjoy getting up early on the weekends to weed the flower beds when it is cool. To me flowers are like friendship. You have to cultivate and nurture them, weed out any bad experiences you had with them, and cherish the beauty of the blossoms.

I cherish your friendship as much as I cherish God’s blossoms (it’s only by His good grace that they are growing in my garden; remember - I have a black thumb!) And once again I know that I can trust in God (and not the doctors), and rely on the faith and prayers of myself, my family, and my fantastic friends to see me through this. My anxiety is easing even as I write to you. Let’s pray and believe that this spot is nothing to worry about and will go away!! My next doctor visit is June 30. I’ll keep you posted!!!!

Have a great springtime!!!!!!! Enjoy nurturing your flowers and your friendships!!! Both are gifts from God!