National Cancer Survivors Day

      It is National Cancer Survivors Day so figured it would be a good day to update the blog and honor Mike as a survivor/thriver for almost 19 years (July). He has gone through so much and continues to do all he can to live with and not die from cancer! We went to Mayo almost a month ago for scans, bloodwork and to meet with oncology. With COVID still going on we had to drive up to Rochester for him to be tested several days before his appointment. His nasal swab was negative so we were cleared for his appointments. The day at Mayo was VERY weird with EVERYONE wearing masks. We even saw people walking around outside and driving their cars with masks on...

     Mike’s bloodwork was about the same and they included a COVID antibody test which was also negative. Dr. Molina went over the CT scans and said all the nodules look about the same. The radiologist report that came to his Mayo portal said one of the nodules measured slightly bigger... not what we wanted to hear. Dr.Molina says not to worry and that he thinks it is inflammation. We go to Mayo again this Friday for bloodwork and to discuss things. I would love to have a positive spin on things but sometimes it’s hard. The side effects of Blu are real and wear on a person and the fact is that this is a trial so nobody knows the long term side effects!

       The world seems like it is burning from the inside out and everyone is so divided and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight! Seems like every day we wake up with a positive outlook only to be met with ongoing bad/sad news.  We really like Tony Dungy and he has a great daily devotional book called Uncommon Life Daily Challenge and his June 3rd bible verse and words seem so appropriate that I wanted to share. Exodus 14:13-15 Moses told the people “ Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptian’s you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “ why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!” Tony says that God doesn’t want Christians to be soft, weak, or passive. Be good at what you are called to do. Don’t let your stress level grow. You can’t control everything. He says you can only prepare up to a point and then you have to step back like Moses did and say “I’ve done enough. The Lord Himself will fight for me.” It’s hard at times to just be calm and trust that He is always with  us, walking beside us and fighting for us, but...that is what we will do! We will continue to have Faith over Fear!

     Just Breathe,

     Paula