Ali's Journey

The next steps.....

I've gone from a "once-a-year just because I have to" doctor's appointment to having several in one day.  I'm not liking this, I have to tell you.  Like the old saying goes "sometimes you just have to put on your big girl panties and deal with it"! 

Monday we had our appointment with the surgeon.  My sister Nita is a nurse and she came in from Georgia to go with Jim and I.  It really helped to have someone there that was knowledgeable and knew what questions to ask and had my best interest in mind!!

Of course, as we knew, the tumor has to be removed.  The surgeon wants also to do a biopsy of the lymph nodes to make sure that the cancer has not spread.  The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5th at 11:30AM.  This is going to be an outpatient surgery and I should be able to go home later that afternoon!  Praise the Lord!  Even the smell of hospitals gets to me!:(

The surgeon has already recommended that we follow-up the surgery with radiation.  I had a choice on the type of radiation.  I could take six weeks of a "once-a-day" dose or I can have a catheter inserted where the tumor had been and go for one week "twice-a-day" with the radiation concentrated at a high level directly where the tumor was removed.  We've elected to go with the one week, high dose treatment.  My mind set is just to get it over as quickly as possible and we should be able to start the radiation within a couple or three weeks after the surgery.

I feel great right now, physically, (emotionally, well, that's another story) and it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that in a couple of weeks I'm going to feel like....well, you know..

My quote of the day (from a current hit song) "If you close your eyes, it almost seems like nothing's changed at all...and I'm gonna be an optimist about this"!!!

Thanks again for all your love, support, words of encouragement and most of all your continued prayers! 

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you."  1 Peter 5:7 NLT