Sometimes it's good to talk to others and hear how they dealt with their demons. A writer gem friend of mine contacted me last week and told me about a very special lady. Mary Ann lives in Arizona and she valiantly fought a cancer battle and so far, it seems God wants her around a little longer. After facing the rigours of chemotherapy treatments for uterine cancer, her attitude showed that she was far from being a sister to doom and gloom.
Jan, my fellow scribe, told me how she had interviewed this soul sister and how affected she was by her story. Jan wanted to get Mary Ann's story out there so that others might be encouraged. I told Jan I would be happy to let her post her interview on my blog. Anything to help a sista'!
Before the interview, just a little bit about my friend, Jan:
Janis Cox is follower of Jesus – first and foremost. Then she is
a wife, mother, grandmother, a sister and friend. She has been married for 42 years
to a wonderful, caring and patient husband – they have three grown children who
are married; they have six grandchildren.
She is a writer, watercolour artist and person always involved
in doing something. She has her fingers in many pies – but all of them are delicious.
A friend once told her that she saw a vision of her – with a whole bunch of coloured
balloons and she tried to capture each one of them.
As a retired public school teacher Jan loved to write poems for
her kids. With this background and her artwork she has now published her first
illustrated children’s book, Tadeo Turtle.
An Interview with Mary Ann – a Cancer Survivor.
By Janis Cox
February 25, 2014
What were the
circumstances leading you to discover you had uterine cancer?
I had been spotting, but the doctor did not
think this unusual. After seeing a different doctor a year later, I was told that
any bleeding after menopause should be looked into. I don’t blame the first doctor
as I may not have been clear in describing my symptoms. But this is a warning –
any woman who has even a tiny drop of blood after menopause – see a doctor.
When the spotting got more frequent, I went
back to my doctor. She sent me to a gynecologist, who examined me; then immediately
got me in to see an oncologist at the Ironwood Cancer Center, Mesa, AZ, who
sent me to St. Joseph's Hospital to meet with a gynecologic oncologist surgeon.
Of course this was a Friday so everything
slowed down over the weekend. It was first thought I had cervical cancer stage
2. Then after exploratory surgery they found it was uterine cancer stage 2. I
finally had a complete hysterectomy and the cancer had spread to one lymph node
which changed to uterine cancer stage 3c. Later a PET scan found there was
activity around my stomach. That finding changed the diagnosis to uterine
cancer stage 4. Our son wondered how that cancer got from cervical cancer stage
2 to uterine cancer stage 4.
God gave me a peace through this whole
process. Everything happened so fast. I didn't have to make any decisions. God
was in control.
2 Can you tell me what your
initial reaction was? Your husband’s? Your family’s?
Besides God's Word, God put books about a
glimpse of heaven in my path long before my diagnoses. I read His Word of
course. Two other books I read were Heaven
is for Real by Todd Burpo, a
story about a little boy’s trip to heaven and back, and To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, a doctor’s extraordinary
account of her death and life again. The week before going to my doctor I found
the third book, 90 Minutes in Heaven,
at an estate sale. I read it after surgery and thought if the author could go
through what he went through, this will be a piece of cake. His words taught me
so much about being on the receiving end of people who care. So with what the Bible
tells us about heaven and the accounts of several who have experienced it, I
know it is for real for those who believe. And God has given me peace.
I had peace with the thought that I might
be going home to see the loved ones who have gone before me.
I am 73 years old and have been married for
49 years. My father was 73 years old and had been married for 49 years when he
died of cancer. My mom never got to celebrate their 50th anniversary. I prayed
that my husband and I could celebrate our 50th together before He took me home.
I called my husband from the gynecologist’s
to come and get me when I went to the first appointment. I’m sure he panicked
not knowing what was wrong until he got there. He said he couldn't put his
shoes on fast enough. Once he heard the diagnosis, he took over. He said that
at first he felt fear overwhelm him, but the calmness God gave me put him at
ease.
Our son wanted to make sure I was in good
hands. He wanted to know all the details and suggested I come back to his state
for treatment.
Our daughter had questions – lots of
questions that she wanted me to ask the doctor. The doctor said she would be
glad to talk to her. I called my daughter and let her ask the questions. I
think the call helped. My daughter’s relationship with God helped her walk with
me through prayers and lots of phone calls.
Our senior pastor came and prayed with us.
Even a nurse in the hospital prayed with me. I knew Jesus was with me the
entire time.
3 What Scriptures did you
lean on throughout the procedures you needed to go through?
A little book, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, gave me peace through all of this. The
words were like God talking to me personally each day.
The main message I received when reading
this book was to focus on Christ. These words went through my head: Trust in
Me; focus on Me; communicate with Me both listening and speaking; I will keep
my promise and will always be with you; I will give you peace; focus, focus on
Me.
Jesus has been with me every step of this
journey. In Bible study I had attended it was said when we have a mountain
before us, God can take it away, give us an easy way around it, or be with us
all the way over it.
4 What else helped you to
keep peaceful through all this?
I guess watching God at work kept me at peace
from the beginning of my diagnosis and through the treatment. When the doctors
did a PET scan they found activity on my stomach. After four sessions of chemo
I had another scan and the PET scan was clear.
My friend Louise started a Caring Bridge
site for me. The Caring Bridge (www.caringbridge.org)
allows protected websites for connecting people to share your prayer needs and
other concerns. I can't thank her enough. It was a way to let friends and
family know with one message what I needed prayer for and how I was doing. The
words of encouragement meant so much to me. I could never have imagined there
were so many people who cared and prayed for me.
My cousin Kathy came while I was in the
hospital and was company and support for [my husband, Jake, as he drove back
and forth and was a great support when I got home. My brother and his friend visited while I was
in the hospital and came back after I got home. My sister came for a week to
help. My cousin Joan came for a month for encouragement. My sister and cousin
Kathy came back at the end of treatment with a lot of great tips on eating to
prevent cancer.
Friends, family and acquaintances told me
stories of hope and encouragement with lots of stories of recoveries. People
sent cards of encouragement, flowers, books on how to eat healthy, and a
beautiful blanket which had words embroidered, "The Lord did not promise that
life would be easy, but He did promise to go with you every step."
I also received a prayer shawI. I took that
shawl to every chemo treatment. I knew that the woman who had made it had
prayed over every stitch, taken it to the altar at her church and prayed for me
there, too. What a blessing. I felt those prayers. I also was given a pocket
cross with the story of how Jesus died for me. It also went to every chemo
session.
The cancer center blessed me with hats and a
wig. I have quite a collection of hats from my loving caring friends.
But....most of all God gave me a
supportive, loving husband whom I could count on to be there for me.
5 Can you tell me if there
was any growth in your Spirit during this time? And if so, explain how you have
changed
I learned to trust God and that He holds my
future no matter what any doctor says.
I learned that as I backed out of
commitments there were others to step in to take over. Letting go of those
commitments showed me there is time for the Lord and people.
There must have been highs
and lows – can you explain any of them – how you felt and how you were able to
adjust to the circumstances?
I had unexplainable peace through most of
this journey. My low point was two weeks after my first chemo. It was Halloween.
I looked in the mirror. My face was covered with a rash but I still
had my hair. I got in the shower and was washing my hair... my hair was in my
hands and my hands were not on my head. I felt emotions bubbling up. As I
sat on a chair later with tears rolling down my cheeks, I took out my book, Jesus Calling. I was a day behind in my
reading. Tuesday October 30th, said, "I am with you, I am with you, I am
with you."
I went to my computer to write something
funny on Caring Bridge, like Happy Halloween. Instead I stopped to check my
email first. There was an email from Pastor Donavan suggesting I listen to
"All Sons & Daughters". I had a good cry with Jesus to some
beautiful Christian music. The words from one of the songs were, "God
made me beautiful." It was just what I needed. I finished my meltdown with
a good friend, Louise.
During
my first chemo session I had a bad reaction to Taxol, the chemo drug the
doctors used. I was warned ahead of time of the possible reactions and
what doctors could do to reverse them. I had a heavy pressure on my chest and
neck that went down my back. It kept getting, worse and I guess my face was the
reddest red. It took 20 minutes to reverse these effects. The doctor came out
and asked if I wanted to try again and warned me that I might end up in the
hospital. I said okay and they started me again on the Taxol. I had the same
reaction. That meant, no more Taxol for me.
Then
they gave me Carboplatin and I had a different reaction. I got cold and
couldn't stop shaking. The medical staff had not seen that reaction to
Carboplatin before. The nurse gave me Benadryl and a warm pack on my
stomach that helped me to stop shaking. They continued the chemo and this
time I was able to tolerate it.
I told
my nurse that God had prepared me for this, that morning in Jesus Calling. "When the road
before you looks rocky, you can trust Me to get you through that rough patch. My
Presence enables you to face each day with confidence." And in the
previous paragraph, "Before you know it, the ‘obstacle’ will be behind you
and you will hardly know how you passed through it." That is exactly
how I felt after my treatment was behind me. My nurse said why didn't you tell
me you had a talk with God? Then I would have been prepared too.
Several hours after my 5th treatment I had an
experience similar to what I had had with the Taxol but not as strong. The
doctor said that after each treatment my system did not fully recover so by the
5th treatment there was more chance of a reaction. I had a PET scan after my
5th treatment and the result was clear and I did not want to have the 6th
treatment even though the doctors advised it. My fear grew. Several friends
prayed God would take the fear away and He did. I was given some extra Benadryl
before that treatment and I didn't have the reaction I had had with the 5th
treatment.
I adjusted to it all by focusing each day
on Jesus and knowing that He had given me that day. I let Him take care of the
mountains.
A blanket that my friend gave me says it well:
“God
doesn’t say life would be easy but He says He will be with you every step of
the way.”
Thank you to Jan for sharing Mary Ann's story and to Mary Ann for sharing her heart.
PART 2
I look through my journal and read my heart. Maybe I will always carry cancer in my pocket. I smile and think about all the people who have come into my life as a result of cancer. I will never say that I am grateful that I had cancer and I have trouble counting it all pure joy, my brethren, but I do marvel at how God taught me so much and blessed me equally as much as I travelled down that road.
