JANE SEABROOK is an illustrator and designer who authored this cartoon and lives in Auckland , New Zealand . In recent years, her artwork has focused on paintings of wildlife for the Fury Logic series of books. She shares her life with her husband, two teenage children, and a growing menagerie of assorted animals.
I appreciate all the prayers, the support and encouragement from you guys in the comments section of my blog, and all the many ways folks have reached out to my family and I during this journey. Thank you! 🙂 I am feeling and doing super-terrific right now, woohoo! By God's help and grace, over the last six months I've been working hard at losing the weight I put on during treatment (most of the excess weight has come off with a 100% raw vegan plan–still am trying to plug away on the remaining extra baggage inside and out). I've been getting physically fit and healthy again and doing lots of walking, biking, and rebounding. Just like everybody else, I'm still a work in progress with tons of room to grow in so many ways. I see more clearly than ever that I want to run to Jesus when I am stressed: not to chocolate, sugar, or junk. God has so much better for me than emotional eating. I am weak but He is strong.
Surgery, chemo, radiation, and a year of every 21 days Herceptin are behind me and I am now on Tamoxifen (a hormone blocker) for 5 years. All this being said, I see cancer as a sneaky, doesn't- play -fair thief in the shadows. Doctors don't say "cured" in relation to anybody's cancer anymore: they say "NED" (No evidence of disease). So many with cancer are plagued with reoccurrences and I personally know some dealing with heavy-duty metastasis, which is pretty sobering stuff. The nature of the beast of breast cancer is to travel and try and take over new territory in the brain, lungs, bones, liver, etc. Nobody knows what causes cancer or how to truly address it's root cause. There is a lot of uncertainty involved revolving around a cancer diagnosis and it's treatment. Maybe reoccurrence will happen for me, maybe it won't. I'm rooting for the free-from-every-trace-of-cancer for the rest of my life route. 🙂 I'm trying to take good care of myself and I use Scripture and "cancer fightin' words" to replace stinkin' thinkin' as well as battle anxious thoughts when they pop up and I see I need to choose wisely what I think about. God surely is what life is all about.
Just 100 to go for my first 1000 gifts recorded!
"Will I trust God completely through whatever He allows in my life"? Yes I will.
"Who is in charge and complete control around here?" God, that's Who.
"What am I supposed to do with thoughts of fear, doubt, worry as I see so many in the grips of cancer reoccurrences"? Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and recognize the truth of a whole Bible full of verses teaching me how He wants me to live. I am not going to die one day before God lovingly brings me Home to Heaven and what a great day that'll be!
Perseverance and tenacity are my middle names (besides Victoria :).
894. Quote from "Jesus Calling" :"When you face unexpected demands, there is no need to panic. Remember that I am with you. Talk with Me, and listen while I talk you through each challenging situation. I am not a careless God. When I allow difficulties to come into your life, I equip you fully to handle them. Relax in My Presence, trusting in My Strength.
If God knows everything, the cancer diagnosis did not surprise Him.
If God sees everything, He saw the bad news coming.
If God has power over everything, He could have stopped it.But He didn't.There are so many hidden meanings in those words. He could have, but He didn't. What that says to me is that He is in control, in every aspect of the universe, He is in control.
Errant cancer cells are not.
White- Coated doctors are not.
Herbs and vitamins are not.
892. I love the word picture I have in my mind of the poster our friends Verona and Darrell (who are living in the realities of cancer) saw of a dog in the middle of a long jump. It says, "Live like someone left the gate open". I like that! God truely has "left the gate open" to live fully with the freedom we have in Christ.