DEAREST FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
Today July 16 2009 Dianne had her last radiation treatment, and she has now completed all her treatments.
It has been a long and difficult journey since Dianne was diagnosed with breast cancer on that Friday morning October 24, 2008. For those of you who have never heard those words "you have cancer", it is probably impossible for you to understand how frightening those words can be to hear, and we hope and pray that you will never hear them.
On that day we will never forget that phone call when Dr. Hanna called Dianne at 10:30am on Friday October 23 2008, and he asked her if she had talked to the Radiologist who conducted her biopsy the prior day, October 23 - which by the way the biopsy was done on Dianne's birthday. Dr Hanna said to her, the results were positive, you have breast cancer, and you need to select a surgeon. That was so shocking to hear because Dianne had been told by the radiologist that most biopsies are negative and it was most probably fibrous tissue.
Dr. Hanna then recommended 2 surgeons, and one was Dr. Gayle Blouin. Dianne hung up the phone, looked at me with fear, and then told me the news. We walked together into the bedroom, and for an hour or so we held each other closely, cried, and then began to pray. Afterwards we immediately got to work by calling friends, breast cancer survivors, and doctors. After all our phone calls, research, and prayer, we selected Dr. Blouin as Dianne's surgeon to perform her surgery. Dr. Blouin is not only a great breast surgeon but a very compassionate and loving doctor.
We continued our intense praying and quickly became to fully understand Phillipians 4:7 which states that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Dianne and I began to feel a calmness and direction for her treatment that was being given to us only through God's wisdom and grace. It is hard to explain the peace and calmness that we received from God, because it actually does pass all understanding; but Dianne and I gratefully receive it with humbleness and thankfulness.
In Jeremiah 33:3 he says to call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Prayer has been a key to building our faith because we had to have faith. Our faith has come from his word that tells us time after time of his promises, and Dianne and I went to God pleading for his healing hands to be placed on Dianne's body and to heal her completely of cancer. So, prayer has been foremost in our daily lives, and we give him “all” the thanks for his mighty healing given to her.
We believe his word when to tells us that he was with us, would show us the way, and guide us in every direction to take with selection of doctors, deciding on treatments, and being able to sustain and undergo the treatments that made Dianne feel so horrible. When we met with Dr. Edenfield, Dianne's Oncologist, about the chemotherapy treatment which lasted from January to May 2009, he told Dianne that she was eligible to participate in a clinical trial because of her age, her stage 2 cancer, and her good markers. The clinical trial would randomly select whether she would receive TAC [taxotere, adriamycin, cytoxin] or TC without the adriamycin. Dianne was frustrated because she said, oh no, another major decision to make. She said, I wanted Dr. Edenfield to just tell me the appropriate treatment regimen. We did our homework through research, we fervently sought God's wisdom and guidance in prayer, and as he stated in Jeremiah 33:3, he showed us what to do, and we finally selected the TAC regimen and did not participate in the clinical trial.
Dr. Edenfield told Dianne that the TAC chemo regimen with adriamycin was the hardest treatment he gives for breast cancer but we knew with God’s help that Dianne could do it and he would be with her the whole way through this valley. Adriamycin has been used for 30 years but it is very toxic and her oncology nurse had to administer intravenously the drug to her manually which took about an hour each time she had treatment. Dianne’s chemo treatments with the 3 drugs would take from 8:30am – 2:00pm each time she had a chemo treatment. Most days during the chemo it was hard for Dianne to eat, drink, or just to even get up. But after 2 surgeries, 6 months of chemotherapy, 6 ½ weeks of radiation, and losing 18 pounds which she did not need to lose, she made it through the valley and is on the other side.
In Matthew 21:22, he says "ALL" things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Jesus did not just heal in the Bible because the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is not limited to some timeframe in the Bible in answering our prayers, but God continues to do mighty things today and will do so until he returns, and has done so with Dianne.
Dianne is scheduled to have a complete and thorough examination about 30 days from now on August 19th. We thank God for removing the cancer from her body and ask all of you to pray that God will continue to restore her to full strength again, and that she will have an excellent report from her examination on August 19th.
Dianne and I want to thank each one for your prayers, show of love, words of encouragement, the wonderful food, visits, and especially those hugs during the last 10 months. God is so good and please know that we are always here for each of you when encouragement is needed in your loves.
We send our love and pray for God's love and grace to embrace each and every one of you in a special way.
Bruce and Dianne
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