I Bring The News And The News Is Good

From my mom's latest Carepages update:

"Our appointment was in the afternoon this time, with the oncology Physician Assistant Dallin Gambles. . . As Dallin came into the exam room, he shook hands and asked "what's new?" I told him that's what we came to find out from him. He gave us a blank look so I could tell he hadn't seen the scan results so we asked about them.

He left the room to see if they had been sent from Idaho Falls yet and in a few minutes ushered us to a different part of the clinic we had never seen where there were two large computer monitors. It is such an amazing tool -- it shows the inside of the body in 3-D so I saw my kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, etc all through from thighs to eyes! We could see the cancer sitting there on the original scan with almost no break from the left breast up to underarm and into the clavicle area and neck, as well as the right side of the neck. It made my stomach feel pretty queasy as I hadn't seen it for a while.

Then Dallin pulled up the new scan right next to it and scanned through from thighs to eyes. What did we see? Nothing except one little spot in the area of the original tumor in the left breast and they are not positive it is an active spot! "It is just incredible" Dallin said more than once. "We don't usually see this good of a response. Prayers are answered." What an understatement! Miracles still happen is my feeling.

As he explained to us later back in the exam room, as recently as a few years ago there was no treatment for HER2 cancer that was effective. It is so aggressive and tough so it took a while to find out what would work and work it has ! We're certainly not at the end of the road by any means but the difference in six months ago and now is, indeed, miraculous.

We are grateful. We know this was accomplished through faith, prayer, fasting of many people, Priesthood blessings and medicine. We have treatment yet to go through -- a decision to be made before next Tuesday whether to have surgery (mastectomy of the left breast)radiation and Herceptin therapy or only radiation and Herceptin therapy. I go back and forth, knowing that Dr. Dickson said this cancer recurs frequently and is likely to come back at the point where is started originally so I think, yes, I should have the surgery. The other reason I lean this way is that what is left there must be very deep because it cannot be felt from the outside like it could originally. ON THE OTHER HAND (as Tevye would say) who wants to have surgery if they don't have to have it, especially when recovery is difficult and long, and who wants to incur the expense if we don't have to do that either? I don't want to put Dennis in the poor house! SO, you can see the dilemma and we request again an interest in your faith and prayers that the correct decision will be reached.

We are so full of gratitude for the outpouring of blessings we've had during the past six months. We have been strengthened and lifted by Heavenly Father's watchful care and will never be able to express enough gratitude to Him. We are also appreciative of the love and support we have received from all of you on this journey. We don't even have to have one wrapped gift under the tree to have a wonderful Christmas this year !! We send our love and thanks to all of you."