. . . the journey . .

I am home from my appointment in Kansas City. Dr Carol Connor was tops! She advises that I have chemo before she does more surgery. Her rationale is not to wait to start the chemo incase there are free floating cancer cells in my body. I am going to see the Breast oncology specialist that she has recommended on Friday and will then follow with Dr Mathews here in Pittsburg for the actual treatment. I was staged at a two... (one to four). thats great, I expected a three! God is truely good. She says I have every reason to think I will "beat this" so that's my plan. I will keep you posted..... oh by the way get this.... they say that insurance might even pay for my "crainial prosthesis" (wig) !!!!!! Blessings. Kathy

I have gotten part of my tests back.. some good some iffy.... the tumor is estrogen positive which is good because there are more treatment options and it should respont to treatment better. Still waiting on the HER2 which I hope will be negative. The ct showed a couple of very tiny spots ( one in the lung and one in the abdomen) that the oncologist could likely be nothing... I am having a PET scan next Friday and that should answer that... The bone scan was fine except for showing some aging in some of my joints.... (I didnt need a scan to tell me that!!) I am learning a lot. there is a site www.breastcancer.org and also the american cancer assoc site that has really good information. Dont know when I will post again to the blog... will try to have my sister do it if I have surgery Tuesday, so just check here. Love you, Kathy

It's been a great weekend so far! With no tests and a day off from work Friday, I was able to have lunch with old friends , spend time church friends, reconnect with another via email, Spend quality time with my grandkids... We went on a hay ride together last night!! We also went shopping!!! it was a toy day! We do that about every six weeks. And oh my, that was fun. Anna chose the cutest thing... it is a little plastic cash register. It had a conveyer belt that turned, a price check wand that lit up and beeped, a calculator Iin the keys) that really worked, a little microphone, a scales, money, a key to lock the cash drawer, and a basket of food..... that was all for 9.99! I got it at Alco and recommend it for your 3 yr olds. She and cousin Olivia played with it all evening! I am getting better each day with staying in "today". Letting it be fully filled with God's Blessings. Wishing that for you too. kg

After a day of seeing Doctors, talking with the kids and investigating the options, I have settled on an initial plan that is different than I thought but obviously God directed. I will have ct and bone scans on Thursday. On Monday, the 22nd, I have an appointment with Dr Carol Connor at KU. Her specialty is breast cancer and breast surgery. I have spoken at length with her nurse Ruth and believe that this is the right direction. My appointment is monday at 1:30. Tuesday is a surgery day for her. Ruth has scheduled me on the 31st, however should there be a cancelation in her schedule for the 23rd I will be able to just stay in KC when I go and have the recommended surgery then. Please pray that would happen. I am still waiting on other tests that will have some bearing on the kinds of chemo I will need. Thank you again for your many prayers, calls , cards and concerns. I love you all. Kathy

Today's daily devotion from Adrian Rogers (Love worth finding) October 16 BIBLE MEDITATION: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” Matthew 6:34 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: In the crucible of His wisdom and in the ecology of His grace, God has ordered some trouble for you today and everyday of your life. We’ve been blessed with difficulties. Yes, you read right, blessed! The worst thing that could happen to us, would be not to have any difficulties. If that were the case, we’d never know our need of the Lord. So God, in essence, says, “I’m going to give you sufficient difficulty for the day.” God gives you enough difficulty to draw you close to Him, but then God gives you enough grace to meet those difficulties every day. ACTION POINT: Is there a difficult circumstance in your life? If so, thank God for sending it your way to make you more like Jesus. Now, ask for His grace to be victorious through it! share devotional with

To my dear dear family, brothers and sisters in Christ, cherished friends. I have so been blessed by your prayers these past few days and know that God is very very near. What an awesome God we serve!! His ways are not ours but even that is such a testimony to His Perfection. I have been given the news today, by my surgeon, that the nodule and lymph node he removed from my breast on Friday are indeed malignant. So just when I thought I was ready to serve, I find I am once again in a position to learn to be served. It is humbling to be once again asking for your attention and prayers but I have learned not to question God’s will, purpose or direction in my life and so do that now as I face decisions about the next step. I will see the surgeon in the morning (Tuesday) and talk with Dr Matthews our oncologist hopefully tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning. My plans at this stage include a trip to Dr Kahn at the Rena Tarbett Cancer Center in Dallas for a second opinion on treatm