A New Diagnosis

Hi friends & family, 

I hope that as this summer wraps up you and your families are feeling a bit more rested and rejuvenated than when the summer started. 

Finding this blog may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you, especially with the word "diagnosis" in the title.

The first week of June a mass was found in the lower half of my body. Since then I've been going to doctor's appointments, getting tests and MRIs, etc. done on almost a weekly basis.  I hadn't been sharing this with many people due to the fact that it may have been a minor issue. However, on Wednesday, July 29th, with my dad sitting next to me, I received a diagnosis that I have what is called Diffused Large B-Cell Lymphoma or DLBCL. It is a Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and I've learned it is a cancer of the blood. 

Due to it being a cancer of the blood, there was concern that it may have spread to other parts of my body, specifically to areas where lymph nodes are present. However, last week I was given a PET scan and it was determined that it had not spread to other parts of my body. (Praise God!) The doctors said that my cancer is an aggressive type and has been growing fast in my body probably since the beginning of this year around January or February. However, the good news about this is it is a very treatable type of cancer and responds well to chemotherapy. My doctors and others have mentioned that people with my same diagnosis as mine have only needed one round of chemotherapy and they are in remission (the cancer is gone). Another bit of really good news! 

I will be going to Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit once every three weeks for a full-day of treatment known as RCHOP. This is an acronym for the different types of medication I'll be receiving. I'll have four cycles of treatment through October then I will receive my first PET scan. I'll receive another two cycles of chemotherapy and receive my final PET scan in December to determine if the cancer is gone. 

As I have been personally processing this news, I have also been sharing this news with many of you. I so appreciate all of the love and support I've received through emails, calls, FaceTimes, text messages, books, gifts, ice cream and pizza dates, walks, hugs, and prayer. Words cannot truly express my gratitude for all of the support, love, and care, I've received from many of you. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful people surrounding me in this time. 

Many of you have mentioned how you'd like to be updated on my journey over the next few months. So, I decided to start this blog. The title of the blog, "Consider the lilies" comes from one of my favorite passages in scripture:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6: 25-28, 33)

First of all, I love flowers. They are beautiful and bring me so much joy. So, I love that the verse tells me to consider the flowers! Secondly, the verse tells me to see how the flowers don't toil or spin, worry or fret, and yet, God still provides for them. The title of this blog is to help remind mainly me (and hopefully others around me too!) not to worry about this diagnosis. But to consider the literal and figurative lilies around us in our lives. They neither toil nor spin and yet, God provides what we need for each day. I am a Christ-follower and I trust that through Him and by His strength I will be carried through this season.

Some of you have asked about ways to pray:

• My first appointment for chemotherapy is today. Prayers that I would build good relationships within the hospital during this time.
• We are uncertain how my body will react to the chemotherapy the two or so days following chemo. Prayers for me, friends, and family as I walk through this uncertainty in my body's reactions to all the new medication and drugs.
• Prayers as I am getting into and figuring out a new rhythm in my life, as I have taken a medical leave from work the next few months. 

Thank you all again for your support and for walking with me, as I walk this new part of my journey.