BE THANKFUL by Teresa S. Mathews

For all our followers who may not know, I have had a pretty tough year, of course losing my sweet husband Carlton to cancer in May 2015 and then I had to have surgery this past July. Surgery went well except I had complications and was back in the hospital twice in less than 6 weeks after the surgery. With all that was going on, I had put off having my mammogram done for about 2 years, thankfully I didn't put it off this year. 

I went in October and a couple days later I received a call-back that they had found an area that required a closer look. I went back in and after another mammogram the Radiologist came out to tell me what he saw was going to require a biopsy. On Oct. 13th I had the biopsy and on the 14th I received a call telling me I had DCIS; Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Some doctors call it a cancer contained in the duct or ducts, others consider it pre-cancerous. Either way it requires a lumpectomy and afterward it requires radiation treatments and an estrogen blocking medicine to be taken for approximately 5 years, perhaps longer.  

On October 21st, when the surgeon took out the DCIS and he also took out a small margin around it to make sure there was no invasion cancer. This was sent to the pathologist and when he looked at it under the microscope he saw a very small (1.3mm) area that was found to be HER2 a very aggressive and fast growing cancer. 

Fast forward to the Oncologist visit, she said I had not one but two very different cancers that needed to be addressed. Since HER2 was the more aggressive type she addressed it first. She told me she had NEVER seen this type cancer found so tiny before.  All I could say was Praise God! She wanted to take a few days to decide if we needed to go the traditional route of aggressive chemo with an added medicine called Herceptin. She held my hands and prayed with me before she left the room for GOD to give us wisdom and if there was anything we couldn't see in my body for GOD to put it under the Blood of Jesus. What a wonderful blessing to have a Christian doctor that first and foremost consults with the Great Physician.

After a couple days she called me back and asked if I would be agreeable to her saying no to the chemo but yes to the radiation. I told her I was at peace with her decision because of how she took the time to consider if the risks outweighed the benefits with the chemo. So I will be starting radiation treatments sometime in the next couple weeks. 

Right in the middle of the cancer scare, I got the call that my mom had passed away.  It was a shock but I am at peace knowing she is now enjoying the splendors of Heaven. All of this has made me think about a lot of things but most of all I have thought of the goodness of GOD and how all of this could have been a lot worse. I try everyday to thank Him for all He has done for me and my family. Below is a poem I wrote as a reminder to myself to always be THANKFUL!!

BE THANKFUL

When there comes a time that life gets hard, 
Or troubles come your way.                                                                                  
When everything seems to close in on you                                                                  
And you don’t know what to say.

BE THANKFUL

When the doctor gives you that dreaded news,                                           
You never want to hear.                                                                                    
No matter that it makes you afraid,                                                               
And you shed many a tear.

BE THANKFUL
                                                                                                                        
When life gets hard and things go wrong                                                                 
And you don’t know what to say.                                                                               
Hold your head up high, take a breath,                                                                     
And tell Him “Lord, I thank you for this day.”
                                                             
BE THANKFUL

Thankful His love, Thankful for His Son,                                                          
Thankful for His kindness to each and every one.

Thankful for His Blessings that come every day.                                                 
Thankful for the things that come to brighten up our way.

Even be thankful for the things that you don’t understand,                                   
Those are the things that make you hold more tightly to His Hand.

©Teresa S. Mathews 2016

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE
OVERCOMING WITH GOD
BLOGGERS!