Tuesday I got the test results back from my Oncotype. This test is designed to determine the likely hood of my cancer recurring. I got a 47. That puts me in the category of "high chance of reoccurrence." So not what I was expecting. What does this horrible test score mean? It means I have to undergo 4 months of chemo therapy. I will be starting in the next week or two.
I had my hopes set on being able to return to my beloved Mozambique in June. Instead, I am settling in for 7 more months worth of treatment (radiation after the chemo). I was tempted to opt out of chemo, complete my radiation, and return to Mozambique in June as I had planned it out in my head. But I received some wise counsel from one of my doctors that forced me to look past my immediate circumstances and into the future. . . that giving up a year of my life to fight this cancer will allow me years and years to continue my ministry in Mozambique or wherever God takes me.
If I'm learning anything through this battle with cancer, its that I'm not in control. I am very quick to come up with a plan A and B and sometimes even C. . . ready for whatever the doctor throws my way. Chemo was not in my plans. But I choose to trust in God. I trust that He will get me through this treatment. I trust that He will give me joy and strength.
Throughout this whole cancer thing, I've come back time and time again to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. After being removed from the furnace by the king, Daniel 3:27 says, "They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was the hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." Will you join me in praying this verse as I begin chemo. Pray that the drugs will attack the cancer cells and not the rest of my body. . . that I will come out of this chemo unharmed.
