And so we begin....

On September 16, I got the call from my doctor that no one ever wants to get.  It was to tell me I had breast cancer.  It had shown up on a recent routine annual mammogram and again on a recheck mammogram and ultra sound and he had sent me for a biopsy.  The pathology report was in and it was definitely cancer.   What a BLOW to get this news.  If you have had breast cancer, you know what I mean.  If you have not, I hope you never feel this impact.  It was like a blow to the stomach with a big fist!!     My doctor referred me to the Hope Center in Asheville and they scheduled surgery for a lumpectomy.  They thought the lump was small and they had caught it fairly soon, so we were all hopeful.  Maybe I would not even have to have chemo!!  Not!

The lumpectomy was on September 30--the day before Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) begins on October 1.  How ironic that this all began for me during BCAM!  Here is a selfie I took of Frank and me right before they took me in to surgery.  Note the lovely gown and cap I'm wearing!  We are smiling but actually we were scared to death.

After surgery the doctor told Frank he had to take many more lymph nodes than he had expected and that told me the news would not be good.  And my much-larger-than-expected incision also told me not to expect good news.

When the pathology report was in, we found the tumor mass was much larger than anticipated and of the 22 nodes removed, 15 were "involved" so I knew we were in for a big battle.  It is Stage 3C cancer!  Before we start chemo, the oncologist (my very nice doctor Blair Harkness who I will probably refer to as "Dr. H.") wanted to do a CT scan to see if I had tumors anywhere else in my body.  WHAT???  This really had me worried.  I guess I had never thought other places and organs might be affected.  I have been coughing alot more lately, have pain under my left shoulder blade frequently in recent months, and was worried sick they'd find more cancer.   The nurse said the doctor might also want to do more surgery on my breast to remove more tissue!  Again, WHAT!!!

So before our meeting with Dr. H., I had a CT scan.  When Frank and I met with Dr. H., we were holding our breaths to see what he'd tell us.  The good news was no more surgery.  And the other good news was that there were no tumors in other areas of my body.  Who ever thought one would be happy to hear you have Stage 3C cancer--but so much better than Stage 4!!

Dr. H. said I will have 5 months of chemo, followed by 3 or 4 months of radiation, followed by hormone therapy.  A long haul ahead of us--almost a year of treatments!  I have my first chemo treatment on Thursday, October 30.  But I'm ready for it now--mentally ready to start this battle we HAVE to win!

All this background to say where we are today.  I'll fill in more blanks with subsequent entries.

But I want to explain the name I chose for this blog---Safe on the Mountains.   I grew up in SC, but have spent all my adult life in the mountains of western NC.   If you know me, you know Frank and I  live on Silver Creek, in a little cove which we enjoy, and we live with nature all around us-trees, wild turkeys in the spring, deer in the fall and winter.  It is a really special place and one that makes us happy with your life. 

 If you've visited my other stamping blog, Smileslaura, you have heard me talk about our mountains and seen pictures of things around our house. I love the mountains!!

Recently in Sunday School at our church, one of the scriptures referenced was Habakkuk 3:16-18.  In the Good News Bible, it reads like this:
"I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my savior.  The Sovereign Lord gives me strength.  He makes me sure-footed as a deer and keeps me safe on the mountains."
I have always felt safe on the mountain where we live, even thought we are back off the state road with only one way in and out.  So this verse just spoke to me.  I know I have cancer in my body, but I KNOW God will give me strength for the journey ahead.  He will keep me safe on the mountain until He is ready for me to be with him.

I hope you will follow my journey.  I will try to post as often as I can and will write updates after various treatments and stages I go through.  I have had several friends say I should journal or post to Caring Bridge, but this blog will be my journal.  You can sign up to have messages delivered to your inbox whenever I post an entry, so you won't have to check it every day. 

Come walk this treatment journey with me....