
WE SHARED A CROWDED TABLE at lunch with a sweet Christian black woman and her friend who we quickly bonded with in the Lord. She noticed my shirt and told us of her daughter in her 20's who was post melanoma cancer and now doing her sociology dissertation on cancer survivors. We exchanged cards at the end and wished blessings on each family. Then later while drying my hands in the restroom, a sweet woman about my age, tapped me on the shoulder briefly and said "I was just where you were 2 yrs. ago, and I want you to know there's light at the end of the tunnel, hang in there!". Such precious words, and great hair she had! So neat to meet such encouraging people, ones I wouldn't have met if I'd have scratched the t-shirt and hid behind a hot, itchy wig all day, which I DID consider.
UNFORTUNATELY, our fun did have to end and I had chemo yesterday, the smaller dose this time. I'll go again every week for the next 8-9 weeks, but so far today the symptoms are minimal, PTL! Let's hope that continues. In reference to my last blog about my mind battle last week, I DID speak to my oncologist about that. He conferred that goofed up hormone levels could definitely play into the severity. He also shared with me that he was not surprised to hear me tell him about the depression. He sees it in a lot of his patients around this point in their treatment...he called it "hitting the wall" and compared it to the 17th mile for runners in a marathon. You're tired, tired of it, gone through much already and yet aren't close to the end. He said, like runners as they get closer to the light at the end will get that boost in their mental spirits as will cancer patients. Good to know I wasn't just mentally weaker than I thought and we did talk about how to take the medications I needed when I needed them.
WHILE CANCER SURVIVORS are of great support, I continue to shout out thanks to ALL my loving supporters including Diane Green and her husband Roger, members of my church, who felt led to shave their heads to support me. WOW! Certainly not expected...but how sweet.
Whoo hoo for Diana and Roger. Angels from heaven. Dina, you're going to make it. Good idea to take that break this week. Love you!
ReplyDeleteDina,
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you were able to get away and enjoy some time with your honey, you both certainly deserve it. The pictures we saw from your trip were beautiful, much like the beauty that you and Kenny bring to this world. You are both great people and we know God has his hands on your lives and will bring you through this, even though it may seem impossible; but our God is the God that is bigger than the impossible. We will never try and say we know what your going through, for we can truly never know, but we pray daily for God to hold you, comfort you, and sustain you through the rough times, the "wall" times. We love you and are here for you if you need us...we are always only a phone call away, no matter what time, day or night. You will always be, to us, a shining inspiration of endurance and strength, you're and amazing person. Lastly, the Marines have a famous saying that was born out of the terrible conditions as they fought in the bitter cold of the Chosen Reservoir, surrounded and vastly outnumbered, they still fought on despite the overwhelming odds against them, it says "RETREAT HELL, we are just attacking in another direction"... to me you embody that no quit spirit. I personally knew and worked for some of those men, and they had incredible testimonies of strength in the face of the enemy, and for us, we see those same testimonies in YOU !!! You are a victor and an over-comer and we are so proud to know you. Love you dearly...Roger and Diane.