Cancer Musings (The News)

In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in the unfolding of His divine plan. Nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its particular fitness for its place in the working out of His purpose; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and the accumulation of His praise. --B.B. Warfield

Those who know me well, know that the above quote is one of my favorites and it is referred to often by me. You may have even noticed that it is on the sidebar of this blog. It is not scripture from the Bible, but in my opinion, it is a pretty good summation of myriad scripture verses describing the sovereignty of God. Which brings me to my next story. 

This fall, I set my mind to getting all the checkups and tests done that may have been neglected in the fallout of a global pandemic. The first on my list was to establish care with a primary care physician since my provider retired a couple years back. While I was on a roll, I decided to make all the appointments. Schedule physical exam, check. Schedule mammogram, check. Schedule dentist appointment, check. Cholesterol is high? Ask for a referral to a nutritionist, check. 

What I did not know at the time, but God did, was that the mammogram would lead to an ultrasound, which would lead to a biopsy, which would lead to a phone call from a nurse stating "I'm calling with the results from your biopsy, and unfortunately, it's breast cancer." That was in early November, and it set off a new series of appointments and tests. New things to schedule. Appointment with the surgeon, check. Appointment for an MRI, check. Appointment for genetic counseling, check. Another biopsy, check. Appointment with the oncologist, check. 

Through this series of events, I learned that I was diagnosed with a kind of breast cancer called Triple Negative breast cancer (TNBC). It was caught very early on a routine screening mammogram. It is small, and it is stage 1. Because it is classified as Triple Negative it is of a rarer form than other breast cancers (affecting only 10-15% of those diagnosed with breast cancer). Meaning, this type of cancer is hormone negative, not made of estrogen, progesterone, or HER2 and cannot be treated with targeted medications toward one of those "receptors". This leaves chemotherapy as the only treatment option. A good tool, but the only tool in the toolshed in this case. Because of that, chemo will be started first and surgeries will come later. And the chemo treatments will be a bit on the intense side. 

I trust God and the plan He has for me in this journey. I'll be writing about it in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Stay tuned. God is at work.