Say it with me…

Hallelujah!  Glory to God!  God, you are so so so good!!!!  AMEN!

If you can’t tell… I’m in a wonderful mood and I wanted to share with you all why!  Instead of waiting until February 9th to have my follow-up scan, I had my chest, abdomen and pelvis scanned this past Friday the 27th.  My doctor ordered a scan STAT because I’ve been having sharp, intense pain on my right side by the rib cage and diaphragm.  It hurts to take deep breaths, it hurts to change position from lying or sitting to standing, and it hurts to bend over.  Since this is the opposite side of my cancer, you can understand how I would be concerned.  It doesn’t make any sense.  My doctor thinks I possibly pulled a muscle along my rib cage since I returned to REFIT® before I should have.  He also thought I could possibly have a pulmonary embolism… blood clot in my lung.  So we had a CT scan done on Friday to see if there was a blood clot or fluid on that side of the lung cavity that could be causing the pain.

By Friday evening, my doctor had texted me.  No pulmonary embolism… AND…. the tumor and hematoma are STABLE!!!!!!  This means they haven’t grown since having radiation and beginning my Opdivo treatment!  You have no idea how ecstatic I was to hear this news.  As I told my Life Group last night, it’s like I have been given my future back.  It’s hard to accurately describe what it feels like to basically be planning on only being around for another couple of years to feeling like you were just given your entire life back.  It may seem dramatic… and I may be jumping the gun since this is just the first scan since having any sort of treatment… but I feel on top of the world… and as I have promised Him… I give ALL of the glory to this happening to God.  Every single prayer that was said has gone to helping heal my body and I am so so thankful for those prayers.  And if you are not religious, or do not believe in God, I ask that you at least consider that there is a higher being (God) who has a part in this.

A couple of months after I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer, my mom told me about a new drug on the market that was just approved by the FDA called Opdivo.  It’s a drug that is mainly used on Lung Cancer patients but they have been finding that it works for some other forms of cancer as well, some Kidney Cancers included.  My cancer is unclassified… meaning they have very little research on this type of cancer and they have no research on cures or ways to treat it.  Basically, my treatment plan is a shot in the dark as to whether or not it will work.  Opdivo has been the 2nd drug that we are trying.  This cancer has gone from more than doubling in size in a matter of one month to not growing at all.  That to me is divine intervention.  He is the one who put everything into action and has made this drug available to me and thousands of other cancer patients.  And as of now, He has made this drug the treatment that works for my cancer that they have no idea how to treat.

So… we will repeat the scans in 6-8 weeks and I will continue Opdivo treatments every other week.  I ask that you all continue to send good vibes and pray over my family and me.  And if you have never prayed… or if you don’t believe in the power of prayer… I ask that you try it anyway… it can’t hurt but it can definitely help.

 

Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered.  They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and face their foes triumphantly.   ~Psalm 112:6-8

 

 

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