Good News

Praise God! That is the only way I can find to open this message and the news it contains. Mary’s surgeon called last night during dinner. After passing inspection by one of our unofficial call screeners, my daughters, he shared the pathology reports with Mary. A friend sharing dinner with us said beaming was the word to describe the look on Mary’s face.

Pathology reports that everything was clear. No signs of cancer in  any of the breast or skin tissue, and all of the lymph-nodes form both sides were clear! The chemotherapy has done its job. This is not to say that the journey, as Mary calls it is over; but a major phase has been completed with the best of all possible results. This was the desired result when the plan for chemotherapy followed by surgery was mapped out.

The biggest news here is that we will now revisit the need for radiation. Over the next two weeks we have appointments with the surgeon and the primary oncologist to go over these result and Mary’s general health. Not to get our hopes up but to have a doctor open the possibility of passing on radiation is an answer to prayer. This of course focuses primarily on the breast cancer so we still have the Hodgkin’s to be considered. Of course the ultimate objective is to see the cancer removed and the chance of recurrence reduced to a minimum. Avoiding radiation shortens the treatment process and opens the door to a wider number of reconstruction options. Radiation has an adverse effect on the skin and takes some of the simpler options off the table.

We pray now for continued healing, recovery form the surgery; thanks that the chemo has done its job, and wisdom in deciding our next steps.

May the peace, grace and love of God be with all of you.