Using Faith to overcome cancer

I am the oldest daughter of 9 siblings. It has always been a challenge for me as the big sister. My family considers me the second mama. I have to be available 24/7. I have family all over the world in every time zone. It is not unusual for me to get a call at 1:00 a.m. from my sister in England. I have to give inspiration and support to them all. Now my baby sister is a doctor of medicine and psychology and is extremely good at what she does. She has been practicing for over 13 years and yet I still have to give her advice from time to time.

Last October 2020, I was diagnosed with a GIST tumor in the fundus of my stomach. The tumor showed up on the endoscopy and Cat Scan. The size of the tumor is 9 cm. I was immediately referred to a gastroenterologist who did more tests. These tests involved a liver biopsy, a PET scan and a lymph node biopsy of the lower right groin. In addition to the stomach tumor, the PET scan revealed some type of autoimmune disease as well as nodules in my lungs and spots on my liver, not to mention a thick uterine wall.

Now, I am being referred to an infectious disease doctor. I was also referred to a surgical oncologist, a pulmonary specialist and a doctor of chemo. I don't know exactly how many doctors I see on a regular basis. That is in addition to my primary care doctor, gynecologist, pain management doctors, a psychiatrist, a psychologist and my optometrist who saw an infection in my body in August 2020 during my annual eye exam. For which she prescribed a medicine to help clear up the infection.

Since the PET scan revealed gynecological issues, I had to go see my gyne doctor who did a cervical biopsy and informed me that I might have to do a DNC to thin my uterine wall that is over 7 cm. thick. This is not new because I had to have this same procedure in the Spring of 2019.

My days consists of doctors appointments, labs and scans. I am sure someone somewhere is keeping track of all of this. I have something called My Charts that keeps me informed of my doctor appointments and scheduled tests. I work with the UT Health System of San Antonio, Texas and the University Hospital Network. I am happy to report that these are competent professionals.

My primary care doctor monitors my thyroid, blood pressure and pre diabetes. So as anyone can see, I am an insurance nightmare and a pharmacist gold mine. I won't even mention all the medication I take. But the most important medicine is the chemo medication that costs over $3,800 per a 30 day supply. I started taking the chemo medicine Iminatab or Gleevec on November 30, 2020. This medicine is used to shrink GIST tumors. If the tumor shrinks sufficiently, then the surgical oncologist can remove whatever remains.

Now the chemo doctor who was in contact with the pulmonary doctor decided to send me for a sleep study because the lung function test was not satisfactory. The sleep center gave a sleep monitor to test my breathing and the amount of time I stop breathing in a night. The study revealed that my breathing stopped 100 times in a seven hour period. So, guess what, the sleep center wants me to have a c-path sleep machine. I am waiting on the clinic to get back to me for the date to pick up the equipment.

In the meantime, I went for another CT scan on Monday, February 8, 2021. The next day I had appointments with the chemo therapist and surgical oncologist. During my appointments I was told that the chemo medication is working and my tumor went from 9.5 cm. to 7 cm. Praise God I have a chance to beat this cancer. My mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2014 and underwent surgery to correct some intestinal problems. Unfortunately, she never made it back home. She was too weak from the surgery to fight for her life and passed a week after her 81 st birthday.

The news of my tumor took the family by surprise and deep concern. They were all thinking that my time is limited and started making plans to visit me one by one. There were times when I thought I was going to die. I fell out of the bed one night and could not get up. I called for my son who was in the next room and told him to get some help. He called the fire department and two strong firemen came and got me up. I was so embarrassed because I was semi nude. I only had on panties and no bra. My son tried to cover me with my robe but I was sweating so much I couldn't get my arm through the silk armhole. The firemen act as if I was fully clothe and proceeded to help lift me back into the bed. That night I decided it was time to lose some weight.

On New Years Day, my sister outlined a weight management plan for me. This plan consists of eating a third of my meals and waiting 30 minutes before eating the next one third. I can eat whatever I want, but must stop eating at 7 pm. Most of the time my eating is now managed by this stupid tumor which is limits how and what I eat because as soon as I eat too much or something that disagrees with my stomach, I throw up. And yes, I have medicine for nausea that I can take every 8 hours. The next thing in the plan is to go to the gym for at least 10 minutes a day. So, I joined Planet Fitness for $10 per month. If my insurance had the Silver Sneakers benefit, the gym would be free of charge. To her credit my sister has me eating better, eating less and exercising everyday which is a big step from being bed ridden.

Now for more good news, since October 2020 I have lost 29 pounds. I am feeling better and looking better. I plan to continue on this new regiment and also incorporate fasting 15 hours per days into my routine. It seems difficult but it is manageable. I also joined this program called Healthy Wage that pays you to lose weight. So it is a win win all around.

With my faith in God and the support of my family, I can beat this thing called cancer and any other ailment that the doctors come up with. I also attend a very happening church, Livingway of San Antonio. I started going to Livingway in March of 2020 but did not become a member until January 2021. New year, new me.