Email 12/28/09

Hi!

I know that some of you have been keeping up with my health issues and for some of you this email will be the first you've heard. I'm sorry for the mass and impersonal notification, but I am desperate enough for prayer that I'm willing to use email. Last week unexpectedly I was diagnosed with cancer. I met this morning with a gynecological oncologist and got the notification of the full pathology report. Sadly it is not the "good" kind of cancer as we had thought. It is a very abnormal type of cancer that falls into the 5% category. It is part sarcoma and part carcinoma and has intruded into the muscle of the uterus. This cancer is more aggressive than the "good" kind we thought I had and hard to "guess" how it will act. There is no way of knowing at this point what stage the cancer is or if it has spread. That cannot be known until the next surgery and full pathology report of that surgery is received. The likelihood still is that a full hysterectomy will be sufficient to treat it but again that is unknown until the full pathology report is received. I will have the surgery (about a 3-hour procedure) this Thursday afternoon at Baylor All Saints. The surgery can be done laproscopically which will help the recovery and length of hospital stay. Recovery usually is a month with a hospital stay of only one night.

I'd like to ask you to pray for several things...

Complete healing and that the surgical treatment will be the only treatment necessary
Quick recovery. I do not get along with anesthesia or recover well from surgery on top of the fact that a hysterectomy can cause your body to respond crazily. I am still really tired and in some pain after last week's procedure. I am more concerned because I have been feeling so poorly for so long and I am far from 100%. Pray also that my head, neck, and back pain are not exacerbated by the surgery.
For my doctor, Kent. He and his wife are personal friends of mine and he is battling a cancer worse than mine. Today we made a deal that I would have all my friends pray for him and that he would have all his friends pray for me! I figure the more prayer for both of us the better.
For my faith to remain strong. I have already seen God's mercy in so many things...not allowing me to buy the house I bid on, my good friend Molly who is a cancer nurse and can explain things to me, meeting and developing a friendship with Traci last summer when she just "happens" to be married to the best gynecological oncologist in Fort Worth. Also, as I have had many surgeries in my life I have a "practice" of meditating on a verse of Scripture when in the pre-op. The one that came to mind last Wednesday in pre-op was a verse from Isaiah..."Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine." I have no idea the length or turns of this journey but I know the One whose I am.
Thanks for your calls, prayers, emails, and texts. I have been unable to respond to many of them as I've felt so poorly but know they are a great encouragement and blessing to me. I did make a very abbreviated trip to SC for Christmas. Again, thanks so much for praying.

Love,
Kathy