The Best Possible Outcome

At the end of last year I shared the sad news that we had received about my sister’s cancer diagnosis. The kind messages, many prayers being sent and the support given at that time was so abundant. Since I shared the post “Please Pray“, we have received some great news about her treatment and severity of her cancer.

On Jan 3rd Jolene went in for her CT scan. This was for a scan of her chest, abdomen and pelvis. The scan was done to determine if there was any metastasis or to highlight if the tumor in her leg was possibly a secondary tumor.

A week later Jolene went in for an MRI appointment. This appointment would show the extent of how far the tumor has spread in her thigh.

After both those appointments we anxiously awaited an appointment for her results. On Jan 16th the appointment with the oncologist was booked. The results were truly the best possible outcome. Her CT scan showed no signs of cancer anywhere in her chest, abdomen and pelvis. The MRI showed that the tumor in her leg is the primary tumor. There was a little bit of spread but it had not reached her bones or muscle. The tumor has remained within the fatty tissue. This is huge!

Because of these results, although very good, there is still cancer. The doctors reassured her that she will only require surgery to remove the remaining bits of tumor. There is a 95% cure rate at 10 years (meaning that she is still very susceptible to cancer, but after ten years if she has shown no signs of regrowth the risk factor will be much lower). The surgery for removal will be booked within a month or two, they are still waiting on a surgery date.

There are different strands to the tumor. For example; if you think of a daddy long leg spider, there is a larger center and then there are small strands that come out from the middle. What was originally removed from her thigh was the body, and now they have to remove the remaining strands. The longest strand measures about 8cm. The surgery will be quite invasive and will require opening up most of her thigh, removing skin and tissue surrounding the strands.

The hope is that she can go into her appointment and be able to leave quite promptly. If they can not use her remaining skin on her thigh then a skin graft will be required. If this happens she will have to spend more time in the hospital for recovery. There will still be a recovery process and lots of checkups in her future. Jolene will have to periodically go in for CT scans throughout the year to monitor the chance that small bits were missed as it is easy for the cancer to spread to other parts of the body.

Moving forward we would love more prayers in support of the upcoming steps. Some prayer requests include:

• Continue to stay positive. It has been a huge blessing to hear this news and having such great news from her appointments. This has given us much higher hopes and has left us feeling very supported.
• The date of the surgery can be scheduled and give peace of mind. They are currently on a cancellation list, so if something does come up, we hope that it would work perfectly for their schedule.
• For the day of the surgery everything goes smoothly; all traces of cancer are removed, that there is enough elasticity to her skin to be able to cover the area requiring surgery without a skin graft being required, and that the healing process isn’t met with any set backs.
• For their family as a whole. For Jolene to be able to continue nursing their 2 month old throughout the process, and for their two year old that he may process the events and emotions in a healthy way.
• Thanking Jesus for the many blessings that he has given so far. The promptness of appointments after the holidays and the very very good news thus far.

Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out, sent a message and shown support to Jolene and her family. We all appreciate it so much.

Thank you to Mint and Birch for this beautiful gift for Jolene. Hope. We have so much hope and this is going to be a beautiful constant reminder.