Miracles Do Happen! - Breast Cancer Round 2 - Update

I haven't had a REALLY good day in a while. Well.... two days ago that all changed.

Wednesday finally came. I'd been waiting for that day for more than 2 weeks. That was the day we were going to see my oncologist to get the results from the OncoType test. That test was testing the genetic makeup of the cancer cells from the tumor they removed a month ago. The results would come back in 3 different brackets, low, medium and high risk. I was kind of secretly hoping it wouldn't come back in the lower bracket because I knew it would be another stressful decision I would have to make. I wouldn't want to make the wrong decision and regret it later. The study they based the results on were women that had the exact same diagnosis as I did. They were studied and put on 5 years tamoxifen after surgery and radiation. We waited and waited in the room for my doctor. It felt like forever. She finally came in, very positive, but that doesn't mean anything because she's always positive. She showed me my score from the test. It came back in the low bracket, which makes its an option to do chemo or not. When she said it was in the lower bracket, I was expecting her to say that it's an option to do chemo or not, but she recommends I do it just to be safe, but that wasn't the case. She said she feels comfortable with whatever choice I decide. I was beyond thrilled to hear this. I still wanted to hear more on her opinion on what she really thinks I should do, so I asked her. She said that she thinks that if I chose to do chemo that it would only make about a 2% difference on my percent of risk of it coming back, which is tiny considering what is entailed with chemotherapy. Also with the chemo plan I was going to be on it has a 1-2% risk of getting leukemia and heart failure, which is small also, but is it really worth going through to lower my chances of it coming back, but then risk getting leukemia or heart failure? She doesn't think it's worth it. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She told us to sleep on it to give her a decision in the morning. Tanner and I both really felt the same way that I don't need chemotherapy and felt very comfortable with the decision, but we prayed about it that night and continued to feel it's the right decision, so I called her and gave her my decision NOT to do chemo. WHOHOO!!!!!!!!! I get to keep my hair!!! That was one of my smaller concerns, but it's exciting. My hair was finally getting to a length I really like. 

So the good news doesn't end there! I have to take medicine for 10 years that can prevent a recurrence, and I cannot get pregnant on that medicine, but my doctor approved me to take a break in 5 years from the medicine to get pregnant with the embryos I have frozen! Then after delivery I can start the medicine again. I wanted to cry when I heard those words! One of the main things I was so upset about when I found out my cancer came back, was that it was going to mess up my plan to have more children. So we are going forward with the egg retrieval because after the 10 years is up, I still want to have another child, but by that time I will be almost 40 and since I already have fertility problems (PCOS), I may not be able to get pregnant at that age naturally. We are anticipating getting 1-2 more embryos this round. Egg retrieval surgery will either be end of next week or beginning of the following and then I will start radiation in a week or two after surgery. Radiation will be daily for 6 weeks and then I'm done!

I have been on cloud nine for the past couple days. I know God has his hand in ALL things and he really does have a plan for all of us. Everything is starting to fall into place for me again and it's a good reminder that I don't have control over much, but if I put ALL my trust in God, I will be taken care of and I have nothing to worry about. Remembering to allow Christ take your yolk upon him is one of the important things to remember in this life. I am so grateful for his example and love. I feel like I have been reborn and have a second chance in life to really make a difference and become a true follower of Christ. I've had a lot of time to reflect on my desires and priorities in life and I've make a lot of mental changes, now I just need to follow through.

Thanks for all the prayers and support. God really does answer prayers.