Update

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Lots has happened in the past 4 weeks! First off, surgery was June 2. Per the surgeon, everything went just as planned! They removed 1 1/2 feet of Beth's colon, the tumor and 27 lymph nodes around the tumor and a ful hysterectomy. Also, they did an iliostomy as well. BIG SURGERY!!! Surgery lasted about 6 hours or so. Beth spent 6 days in the hospital. She was excited to come home needless to say! The recovery has been going exceptionally well. I am amazed at how well Beth has done. I even told her recently that I didn't give her enough credit for how she has handled things. She has faced this head on and strong!!! We are ALL very proud of her and her positive attitude!! 10 days after surgery Beth, Kathy, Mackenzie and myself did the Susan B. Koman walk....what an amazing experience. I have done that walk before, but this year it meant so much more to me. It was very emotional. We had Beth in a wheelchair, she felt strong that she wanted to be a part of it and we wanted to back her in this endeavor. Although she is not a "Breast Cancer" survivor, she is a "Cancer" survivor!!!

On June 15th (I believe that was the date), Beth had an appointment to talk to her medical oncologist to get her pathology report back. Several of us went with her to this appointment...we wanted to hear some great news....that is exactly what we got! The Pathology report showed the cancer was contained in the tumor....ONLY!!!! She was also told before surgery she was considered stage 3 cancer, after treatment and before surgery she was considered stage 1 cancer!!! That means prayer and treatment was working! With that being said and the tumor being gone, Beth is CANCER FREE!!!!! The doctor proceeded to tell her that he wanted to give her an "insurance policy"...due to her age he said he would HIGHLY recommend doing a second round of chemo. BUT, the good news in all of this is initially he told her it would be a 6 month round of treatment, he changed that to only 3 months!!! Which of course he has said that from the beginning.

.....SO, that brings us to today. Today, July 1st, as I am typing this blog, right now, Beth is currently at the hospital getting her first round of chemo. This round is pretty aggressive compared to the last round. She has to go to the hospital once every other week for 4 hours while the medicine is being administered. So all in all, she only has 6 times she has to do this. They said she may lose her hair and they said she may have some other side affects, cold sensitivity, fatigue, upset stomach, vomiting. So I am asking, once again, please continue to keep Beth, Al and the kids in your prayers. This disease does not just affect the person it is trying to invade, it affects the family and friends as well. I know how powerful prayer can be...so I say, "Thank you" in advance.

~Mary

Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Eph. 6:10