Yes, I went to Dr. Redrow yesterday for my 3-month check-up and he said that my scans didn't show anything new! That is so awesome. God has gotten me through this last year and blessed me with healthy days ahead.
I was a little apprehensive about going to see the doctor. You never know if that ct scan is going to show something that shouldn't be there. I know from personal experience that there can be those horrible cancer cells growing in your body and you never know it! I told him that I was a little concerned that something might be growing and the wait is kinda hard from the time you get the scan until you see the doctor. He said that is not an unusual feeling to have.
I go back for another 3 month scan and check-up in December.
We had a wonderful weekend getaway to Hico for Labor Day weekend. We took our trailer and the Geary's took theirs. The Foxes stayed in the house. We got up there on Friday and Donald cooked us delicious ribs and Shara fixed the veggies. Wonderful!
We all were blessed by our children and grandchildren coming up and spending all day Saturday with us! Kevin and Holly and their 4 precious ones; Aaron and Starla and their 2 precious boys;Brandon and Michelle brought Randy, Jessica and cute little Macy; Josh and Mandy(and Teddy);Craig and Shana. And I of course can't leave out that Tuffi was with us all weekend also! I was bummed out though that Brad, Amy, Gracie and Lily were not able to come because Brad had to work! That would have made it perfect!
Some were fishing in the tank off and on all day and others were playing washers and others were exploring and some( the women) were mostly sitting on the porch and enjoying the beautiful weather and visiting with each other. It can't get much better that that!!!
Well, we are on the 2 month countdown now until our newest family member arrives! I am getting excited to get to cuddle and kiss a new grandchild! Everything so far is going great with the pregnancy and due date is still Nov. 14th. They are still working on a name for him.
Keep my friend, Charlotte, in your prayers as she has started her chemo for breast cancer! Thanks and I love you all,
Joyce
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
An Anniversary Not Fun to Remember!
That's right - 1 year ago today I found out that I had cancer. Not a fun memory! The 2 months before this day, I had been going through test after test and playing the waiting game to see the Dr. to find out the results. I knew that the results of the PET scan were not going to be good when the surgeon's office called and moved my appointment up 2 weeks. I still remember that day so clearly. Dr. Brooks had called and said she wanted to go with Ronnie and I to see the Dr. I didn't think that was odd because we had become personal friends and I thought she wanted to meet Dr. Macias. I remember the nurse calling us back to the dr. office and him walking in and showing us the findings on the computer screen. The pet scan shows my body ( the inside, not the outside) slowly turning around showing all the organs and any abnormalities. He stopped it and showed me the area on my left lung that was a hot spot. This means cancerous. His words were "I'm so sorry , but you have adenocarcinoma." I looked at him then over at Kathy Brooks and Ronnie, trying to process what he had just told me. I said "what exactly does that mean?" His answer was the dreaded words "lung cancer"!
But you know what? God was with me in that room that day and I have felt His presence every day since. I don't know how people with serious conditions can get through those dark times if they don't feel God. I did have many dark times during the next 6 months as I went through the chemo and then radiation. But even then , I never doubted that God was feeling my anguish. I just hope now that I don't forget where I've been and what I've been through. I know it must have been to help someone else through the darkness. I pray that my eyes are open all around me so I will recognize my opportunity.
Now, for some news on the wonderful side! We did our family vacation in July. All 12 of us went to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We stayed in a wonderful townhouse. It was a 3 story structure across the street from the white sand beach. The bottom floor was actually the garage/parking/storage area because all the houses are on stilts. The whole 2nd floor was rented to another family. We had the 3rd floor to ourselves. There was actually a whole 5 bedroom/6 bathroom house on each floor. We had a deck on the front side that overlooked the ocean and on the back side was another deck that looked out over the swimming pool and a couple of blocks over was a lagoon. Everyone got along great and Ronnie was able to sit on the deck about 3/4 of the time with his binoculars always around his neck!
The guys went bay fishing one day and golfing one day. The girls and Brandon went for a massage one day. Ahhhhhh. Anyway, the family vacation was great and now we have to figure out where to go on our next trip!
Thanks for keeping up with me. I still covet your prayers. I go for my next scan sometime within the next month.
But you know what? God was with me in that room that day and I have felt His presence every day since. I don't know how people with serious conditions can get through those dark times if they don't feel God. I did have many dark times during the next 6 months as I went through the chemo and then radiation. But even then , I never doubted that God was feeling my anguish. I just hope now that I don't forget where I've been and what I've been through. I know it must have been to help someone else through the darkness. I pray that my eyes are open all around me so I will recognize my opportunity.
Now, for some news on the wonderful side! We did our family vacation in July. All 12 of us went to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We stayed in a wonderful townhouse. It was a 3 story structure across the street from the white sand beach. The bottom floor was actually the garage/parking/storage area because all the houses are on stilts. The whole 2nd floor was rented to another family. We had the 3rd floor to ourselves. There was actually a whole 5 bedroom/6 bathroom house on each floor. We had a deck on the front side that overlooked the ocean and on the back side was another deck that looked out over the swimming pool and a couple of blocks over was a lagoon. Everyone got along great and Ronnie was able to sit on the deck about 3/4 of the time with his binoculars always around his neck!
The guys went bay fishing one day and golfing one day. The girls and Brandon went for a massage one day. Ahhhhhh. Anyway, the family vacation was great and now we have to figure out where to go on our next trip!
Thanks for keeping up with me. I still covet your prayers. I go for my next scan sometime within the next month.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Circle of Life
I know it has been over a month since my last update. That means that my life has been pretty uneventful ( some might use the term boring). I have learned this week that our lives are made up of highs and lows - happiness and sadness - and I have to learn how to handle and express both.
Happiness first. Starla is pregnant. We have actually known this for a couple of months, but yesterday was the big sonogram day! She is 19 weeks, the perfect time to make sure the baby is growing on schedule and to find out the sex of the baby. She already has 2 boys , so what do you think this one growing in her belly is? It's a boy! She and Aaron are excited about this - so is Riley. They all 3 were hoping for boy. I'm not sure which I wanted her to have, but I think I would have liked her to experience girl, but boy it is. Most important, though, was that all the measurements were right on target and all the organs and bones were connected like they should be. Sonograms are so fun to watch and see the miracle of a baby being formed and functioning inside a womb!
Another good thing was our vacation to South Padre with Ginger and Jerry. We had a wonderful relaxing time. The guys played golf a couple of days and Ginger and I did as little as possible! We rented a dune buggy one day and drove all along the beach. We of course picked up shells to bring home. We also did a lot of walking along the beach. It is so refreshing and relaxing. They are great vacation buddies.
Sorry, but now some sad. My longtime friend , Cynthia Adams, passed away last Friday of a heart attack. (I called her Bim ) She was 56 years old. We have been friends since our freshman year of high school- maybe longer. We hung out together throughout high school - having a great time together - sharing our boyfriend woes and all the other traumas that comes with the teenage years. We kept up with each other through marriage and childbirth and the years watching our kids growing up.
She was a kind, caring and loving friend and I'll miss her a lot. She was also a very Godly person and it showed in her everyday life. She felt blessed even in her darkest times. During the last year, she was one of my greatest prayer warriors! I knew that she wasn't feeling her best, but she didn't complain. She lost her husband, Keith, to cancer about 2 days after I lost Wendell to cancer. She and Sandy were going through the same things and the same emotions at the same time. I pray that I was an encourager and as good of friend to her during that time as she has been to me this last year.
Goodbye my good friend - I'll never forget you!
Happiness first. Starla is pregnant. We have actually known this for a couple of months, but yesterday was the big sonogram day! She is 19 weeks, the perfect time to make sure the baby is growing on schedule and to find out the sex of the baby. She already has 2 boys , so what do you think this one growing in her belly is? It's a boy! She and Aaron are excited about this - so is Riley. They all 3 were hoping for boy. I'm not sure which I wanted her to have, but I think I would have liked her to experience girl, but boy it is. Most important, though, was that all the measurements were right on target and all the organs and bones were connected like they should be. Sonograms are so fun to watch and see the miracle of a baby being formed and functioning inside a womb!
Another good thing was our vacation to South Padre with Ginger and Jerry. We had a wonderful relaxing time. The guys played golf a couple of days and Ginger and I did as little as possible! We rented a dune buggy one day and drove all along the beach. We of course picked up shells to bring home. We also did a lot of walking along the beach. It is so refreshing and relaxing. They are great vacation buddies.
Sorry, but now some sad. My longtime friend , Cynthia Adams, passed away last Friday of a heart attack. (I called her Bim ) She was 56 years old. We have been friends since our freshman year of high school- maybe longer. We hung out together throughout high school - having a great time together - sharing our boyfriend woes and all the other traumas that comes with the teenage years. We kept up with each other through marriage and childbirth and the years watching our kids growing up.
She was a kind, caring and loving friend and I'll miss her a lot. She was also a very Godly person and it showed in her everyday life. She felt blessed even in her darkest times. During the last year, she was one of my greatest prayer warriors! I knew that she wasn't feeling her best, but she didn't complain. She lost her husband, Keith, to cancer about 2 days after I lost Wendell to cancer. She and Sandy were going through the same things and the same emotions at the same time. I pray that I was an encourager and as good of friend to her during that time as she has been to me this last year.
Goodbye my good friend - I'll never forget you!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
LIFE IS GOOD!
Hi everyone!
I know that it has been a while since my last update, please forgive me. I am just trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing!
Well, Relay was great fun. We all had a great night. We raised about $1,800.00 that night in donations and selling our wares. That brings our total so far to about $3,000.00 for Joyce's Journey 1 and 2. We all wore t-shirts that matched and said Joyce's Journey on the front and were a beautiful teal color. I ended up ordering 54 shirts, so there was a lot of that color going around the track. We sold necklaces, crosses, lemonade, do it yourself mosaics and outdoor tea lights. The night was so windy that we could not keep our canopy up!
It was great walking the survivor lap with my father-in-law, Wallace, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer the year before I was diagnosed. Thank goodness his cancer was not as far along as mine was so he did not have to have the horrible chemo and radiation!
My ex-sister-in-law, Sherry, also walked the survivor lap with me. She has been completely free of her leukemia since 2005 when she underwent a bone marrow transplant!
A constant encourager in my life, Chelsa, also walked with me as she is a skin cancer survivor. It was an awesome time!
The next lap walked was supposed to be the survivor and their caregiver walking together. Ronnie walked with me and Wallace's wife, Pat, walked with him. That was very touching to me also. Of course, Lily and Riley couldn't stand seeing Mimi and Pawpaw walking without them, so they joined us on the track. We were all holding hands and sporting huge smiles!
The organizers asked me on the Thursday night before the relay if I would be willing to speak at the relay about my story. I agreed, then began having butterflies. I am not a public speaker! It was better when I found out that I wouldn't speak until about 1:15 A.M. Not a lot of people left at that early hour! My speech lasted maybe 7 or 8 minutes (seemed like a lot longer!) and my people left there said I did a good job. I hope it helped someone there who has just been diagnosed or has a loved one going through testing. It was to promote doing everything we can to fight cancer.
I did have a CT scan done last month and went to the Dr. for the results last week. Great news! He said that it showed no new signs of cancer anywhere! Yea,Yea,Yea!!! I think that I will be going for scans and seeing the oncologist every 3 months for the next 2 years. I'm glad of that because I know now that I can have cancer growing inside of me and not know it!
I am trying to start a walking routine so I can gain my energy back and get that left lung expanded on out. I do get pretty winded still but I just need to work on it every day. I also did go back to the hairdresser and am once again BLOND!
Ronnie and I are going on a week vacation to South Padre next week with Jerry and Ginger. It will be good to go and not think about being sick. I just want to have a fun, relaxing time with good friends!
Again, thanks for continued prayers,
Love ya, Joyce
I know that it has been a while since my last update, please forgive me. I am just trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing!
Well, Relay was great fun. We all had a great night. We raised about $1,800.00 that night in donations and selling our wares. That brings our total so far to about $3,000.00 for Joyce's Journey 1 and 2. We all wore t-shirts that matched and said Joyce's Journey on the front and were a beautiful teal color. I ended up ordering 54 shirts, so there was a lot of that color going around the track. We sold necklaces, crosses, lemonade, do it yourself mosaics and outdoor tea lights. The night was so windy that we could not keep our canopy up!
It was great walking the survivor lap with my father-in-law, Wallace, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer the year before I was diagnosed. Thank goodness his cancer was not as far along as mine was so he did not have to have the horrible chemo and radiation!
My ex-sister-in-law, Sherry, also walked the survivor lap with me. She has been completely free of her leukemia since 2005 when she underwent a bone marrow transplant!
A constant encourager in my life, Chelsa, also walked with me as she is a skin cancer survivor. It was an awesome time!
The next lap walked was supposed to be the survivor and their caregiver walking together. Ronnie walked with me and Wallace's wife, Pat, walked with him. That was very touching to me also. Of course, Lily and Riley couldn't stand seeing Mimi and Pawpaw walking without them, so they joined us on the track. We were all holding hands and sporting huge smiles!
The organizers asked me on the Thursday night before the relay if I would be willing to speak at the relay about my story. I agreed, then began having butterflies. I am not a public speaker! It was better when I found out that I wouldn't speak until about 1:15 A.M. Not a lot of people left at that early hour! My speech lasted maybe 7 or 8 minutes (seemed like a lot longer!) and my people left there said I did a good job. I hope it helped someone there who has just been diagnosed or has a loved one going through testing. It was to promote doing everything we can to fight cancer.
I did have a CT scan done last month and went to the Dr. for the results last week. Great news! He said that it showed no new signs of cancer anywhere! Yea,Yea,Yea!!! I think that I will be going for scans and seeing the oncologist every 3 months for the next 2 years. I'm glad of that because I know now that I can have cancer growing inside of me and not know it!
I am trying to start a walking routine so I can gain my energy back and get that left lung expanded on out. I do get pretty winded still but I just need to work on it every day. I also did go back to the hairdresser and am once again BLOND!
Ronnie and I are going on a week vacation to South Padre next week with Jerry and Ginger. It will be good to go and not think about being sick. I just want to have a fun, relaxing time with good friends!
Again, thanks for continued prayers,
Love ya, Joyce
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Looking forward to Relay!
I'm getting more and more excited as the time draws near for the Relay for Life! It is 2 weeks away and the final preparations are being made. I am so glad that I delegated other people to do some of the work. Knowing how I am - I would forget something really important until the day before - then I would do a lot of fretting about it! I'm a superior fretter! (I know that is not something to be proud of!)
For all of you who have donated to the American Cancer Society on my behalf, I thank you so much! I know that the excellent care I received and the drugs that were administered to me were connected to research that the A.C.S. has funded throughout the past few years. Also, the A.C.S. provides care and services to every cancer patient. I personally found out that they have a room full of wigs and scarves that are free to cancer patients who are in need of these. There are so many, many other things that they provide that thankfully I did not need! (If you want to donate and don't know how to do it - go to www.relayforlife.org/azletx and click on Joyce's Journey or Joyce's Journey 2 and it should guide you through it. Anyway, thank you so much!
I hope to see many of you at the Relay on Apr. 24th at the Forte Jr. High football field starting at 6:00 P.M. We are going to have a great time together and I will love seeing everyone who has been praying me through my journey!
Love you all!
For all of you who have donated to the American Cancer Society on my behalf, I thank you so much! I know that the excellent care I received and the drugs that were administered to me were connected to research that the A.C.S. has funded throughout the past few years. Also, the A.C.S. provides care and services to every cancer patient. I personally found out that they have a room full of wigs and scarves that are free to cancer patients who are in need of these. There are so many, many other things that they provide that thankfully I did not need! (If you want to donate and don't know how to do it - go to www.relayforlife.org/azletx and click on Joyce's Journey or Joyce's Journey 2 and it should guide you through it. Anyway, thank you so much!
I hope to see many of you at the Relay on Apr. 24th at the Forte Jr. High football field starting at 6:00 P.M. We are going to have a great time together and I will love seeing everyone who has been praying me through my journey!
Love you all!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Reflections
I have had some time in the last 2 weeks to reflect back on the last year. I know each one of us goes through something in our life that is very life changing. If you haven't experienced that yet - enjoy where you are now! But most of us have gone through something, especially if you are in your 40's or 50's.
Exactly a year ago, I had a wreck. When it happened, I didn't think it was anything life-changing. Some careless driver just pulled out in front of me and totalled my 14 year old truck! Oh well, I wasn't really ready to buy a different vehicle and I really liked that old green truck. I really didn't find out until the end of April that the simple wreck would lead to 12 months of major surprises and total changes in how I viewed life. And I know that God was with me the whole way!
First was finding out that I had to have neck fusion surgery. That sounded really scary! But it really wasn't that scary and the biggest nuisance about it was having to wear that horrid neck brace for 9 hot weeks! In fact, I've almost forgotten that I even had neck surgery and the scar is very hard to see. Thanks Dr. Bechtel for doing such a good job!
But the life-saving part of the whole wreck thing is the fact that I think about every day. Remember, if they hadn't done the pre-op chest x-ray, I still may not have known today that I had a mass growing in my left lung! That's how it is with most lung cancer patients - they don't know until it's big and spread to other areas! Thank you, God, for saving my life and making me aware that you are with me.
Next was going through another even more major surgery - the removal of the lower lobe of my left lung and having a doctor come in to tell me the dreaded words. Cancer that had spread to a lymph node. This would require chemotherapy for the next 4 months of my life and then another 6 weeks of radiation! Are you ever ready to hear something like that?
I remember being calm and maybe thinking that surely he wasn't talking about me! 6 months seemed like an eternity away. I couldn't even imagine myself in 6 months. I do remember about halfway through the 16 weeks telling my girls that I just wanted to close my eyes and blink and it would be after Christmas and the chemo would be over! It seemed so long away! But look! It is the first week of April and I'm still here and that too did pass!
What have I learned in the last year?
Life is precious and not guaranteed!
What seems like an eternity away is really not and time does go by.
Most important - that God does carry us in the palm of His hands and does get us through anything even if at the time we are going through it we can't feel Him or see Him.
That the prayers sent up to God on our behalf are heard and are very powerful. I never doubted for a minute that many people were praying for me. It seemed that somehow I felt them all! I only hope that I return the prayer favor for those in need of it. I believe the words of Babbie Mason's song"Standing in the Gap". When I didn't have the strength to pray for myself - there were many that were standing in that prayer gap and praying for me!
My prayer now is that I am able to see why God got me to this point. I pray that I give Him all the glory for my blessings. I pray that I use my life for Him and listen hard for the whispers that He gives me everyday.
Love to you all! and thanks for all you did for me and my family.
Joyce
Exactly a year ago, I had a wreck. When it happened, I didn't think it was anything life-changing. Some careless driver just pulled out in front of me and totalled my 14 year old truck! Oh well, I wasn't really ready to buy a different vehicle and I really liked that old green truck. I really didn't find out until the end of April that the simple wreck would lead to 12 months of major surprises and total changes in how I viewed life. And I know that God was with me the whole way!
First was finding out that I had to have neck fusion surgery. That sounded really scary! But it really wasn't that scary and the biggest nuisance about it was having to wear that horrid neck brace for 9 hot weeks! In fact, I've almost forgotten that I even had neck surgery and the scar is very hard to see. Thanks Dr. Bechtel for doing such a good job!
But the life-saving part of the whole wreck thing is the fact that I think about every day. Remember, if they hadn't done the pre-op chest x-ray, I still may not have known today that I had a mass growing in my left lung! That's how it is with most lung cancer patients - they don't know until it's big and spread to other areas! Thank you, God, for saving my life and making me aware that you are with me.
Next was going through another even more major surgery - the removal of the lower lobe of my left lung and having a doctor come in to tell me the dreaded words. Cancer that had spread to a lymph node. This would require chemotherapy for the next 4 months of my life and then another 6 weeks of radiation! Are you ever ready to hear something like that?
I remember being calm and maybe thinking that surely he wasn't talking about me! 6 months seemed like an eternity away. I couldn't even imagine myself in 6 months. I do remember about halfway through the 16 weeks telling my girls that I just wanted to close my eyes and blink and it would be after Christmas and the chemo would be over! It seemed so long away! But look! It is the first week of April and I'm still here and that too did pass!
What have I learned in the last year?
Life is precious and not guaranteed!
What seems like an eternity away is really not and time does go by.
Most important - that God does carry us in the palm of His hands and does get us through anything even if at the time we are going through it we can't feel Him or see Him.
That the prayers sent up to God on our behalf are heard and are very powerful. I never doubted for a minute that many people were praying for me. It seemed that somehow I felt them all! I only hope that I return the prayer favor for those in need of it. I believe the words of Babbie Mason's song"Standing in the Gap". When I didn't have the strength to pray for myself - there were many that were standing in that prayer gap and praying for me!
My prayer now is that I am able to see why God got me to this point. I pray that I give Him all the glory for my blessings. I pray that I use my life for Him and listen hard for the whispers that He gives me everyday.
Love to you all! and thanks for all you did for me and my family.
Joyce
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