The Bad News Arrives

The afternoon of Monday, January 7th, was certainly one of the darkest days of our lives when Marce received a phone call with results that she has invasive ductile breast cancer. Due to some suspicious signs, in the two month prior she had been undergoing a series of tests, including mammograms, ultrasounds, and MRIs- the last of which was a "MRI-guided biopsy". The biopsy determined that she probably has two lumps, each approximately 1cm in diameter, separated by 1-2 cm, both on her left side. Because imagery is imperfect at picking up the exact tissue densities, it is possible that she has one larger lump comprised of the two lumps above which are connected by less dense cancerous material. We will not know for sure until her surgery, which will probably be the week of January 21-28. Immediately after hearing the news, I took two days off to accompany Marce as she met with numerous doctors and to help research the issue. We were thankful to meet with medical and radiological oncologists and a surgeon at nearby Evergreen Hospital all in one day. On Wednesday evening we met with Seattle's legendary Dr. Henry Kaplan at Swedish Medical Institute. Dr. Kaplan treated my mother successfully for lymphoma several years ago, and is a personal friend of my brother-in-law's family, the Hoffmans. Dr. Clark Hoffman is a retired Swedish surgeon, and thinks the world of Dr. Kaplan. The word on the street is that he is one of Seattle's finest oncologists, and Swedish is also known as one of the best cancer treatment facilities in the US. Interesting fact is that Seattle has some of the highest cancer rates in the US, but it also has some of the best cure rates. The reason for the former is believed by some to be vitamin D related, which is understandable given our lower exposure to sunshine. So there are some facts to help you justify spending $$$ for a trip to Hawaii - its healthy!

While Evergreen has great care, we have decided to plug ourselves into Swedish for treatment. On Monday, January 14th, we will meet with one of Seattle's top breast surgeons, Dr. Jim Hanson. We will also meet with two naturopathic doctors who provide "integrated" treatment of vitamins and minerals that work with the surgery and, if required, radiation and chemotherapy.

Presently Marce looks very treatable in the near-term, probably for the next 10 years. Past that, her "survivability" will be determined by two primary factors:

1- If the cancer has spread to the lymph system, and

2- The size of the largest tumor

For those of you who believe in God and prayer, we would appreciate your prayers for the following:

1- Wisdom in making the right decisions,

2- That the cancer has not spread to her lymph system,

3- That the tumors are indeed two smaller ones (see #2 above),

4- Courage and comfort for Marce and the rest of us.

Marce and I are resting in our faith that "God works all things for good" (Romans 8:28), and that this is merely a bump in the road of His eternal plan for our lives. Events like this serve as reminders about our frailty and mortality, and we are thankful we have a God who offers us hope in Him.

We will update this blog as new information occurs.

Love,

Marc & Marce