About 10 days after asking God if there might be some way I could be spared bladder-removal surgery, I was given a dream.
In this dream I was considering not having bladder removal surgery. (When I was given this dream, I had no idea there were any treatment options other than bladder removal.)
When
I had reviewed all the drug information, there was one piece of paper
left.
It was a sheet the pharmacist had included from the American
Society of Clinical Oncology about bladder cancer. I was casually
reading this when the following jumped out at me ...
"An approach using chemotherapy with radiation therapy may provide the same benefits as chemotherapy with bladder removal."
I re-read this statement several times. Did this really say what I thought it said? It was hard to believe that right there on the piece of paper in front of me was an alternative to bladder-removal surgery.
I
felt this might be an answer to my prayer about being spared
bladder-removal surgery and asked God to please show me if this was not
the case.
I was not shown anything.
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But I didn't know how to go about changing my treatment plan, having no idea who to talk with about radiation therapy.
So I asked God how to do this, and kept having the surgeon in Denver brought to my mind. I sent a message to her through the healthcare system's internet portal.
The
next morning, Nurse Donna from the surgeon's office called to setup a time the following week for me
to meet with the physician assistant who works with the surgeon.
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A few days before this appointment, I woke in the night with the words "virtual meeting" going through my mind. I didn't know why I had been awakened with those words, but the following day I found out.
When I took our car to a
mechanic for a wheel alignment, he determined that the car had damage which
made it unsafe to drive! It would take about a week to get the needed
parts to fix car.
I immediately thought of the appointment in Denver and, in a panic, began considering how I could get there.
I immediately thought of the appointment in Denver and, in a panic, began considering how I could get there.
Then I was reminded
by the Holy Spirit of having heard the words "virtual meeting" in the night.
I called the surgeon's office. Interestingly, the woman who answered the telephone had had a similar car problem just a few weeks before and completely understood my situation. She put the call on "hold" and, in a few minutes, had taken care of changing the meeting
with the physician assistant to be a virtual meeting.
Meeting virtually with the physician assistant would be so much easier
than driving to Denver, yet totally sufficient for what was needed.
Most
of all, it was very comforting to see this example of God watching over
my situation and helping me, even before I knew there was a need.
Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
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During
the virtual meeting, the physician assistant told me that I was not a
good candidate for chemotherapy with radiation and gave reasons this was the case. I asked some questions trying to make sure I understood the situation correctly, for the many the reasons she gave made this option sound hopeless, as though the door was closed.
But then she said she could make a referral for me to
talk with a radiation oncologist in Colorado Springs where I live. She said she had heard very good things about this radiation oncologist who had been trained at the Mayo clinic.
I didn't know what was going on. Was she was just trying to pass me on to someone else to explain why this couldn't be done in my case?
I told her that I didn't want to waste anyone's time discussing this if it couldn't be done. But she insisted that it wouldn't be a waste of anyone's time and that she could make this referral.
I silently prayed and felt I should meet with this radiation oncologist, so I asked the physician assistant to please make that referral.
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A few days before meeting with the radiation oncologist I had a dream. In this dream a man was sitting next to me as I met with the radiation oncologist. It was as if the man was there to support and help me.
When
I woke from the dream I was reminded of various scriptures I had been
given recently in which God says HE will be with me and help me and never
leave me, such as:
Isaiah 41:10, 13 Fear
thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of MY righteousness.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
After
meeting with the various medical people, we stopped the first kind of
chemotherapy, and the doctors started setting everything up for chemo with
radiation.
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When I met with the radiation oncologist she said that I was not an "ideal" candidate for radiation with chemo and told me why. But she went on to say that if, after considering these things, I decided to go this way, she would set it up.
After meeting with the radiation oncologist, I prayed about what had been discussed, and was convinced I should proceed with changing my treatment from chemotherapy/bladder removal to chemotherapy/radiation therapy.
So I called the radiation oncologist's office and said that I wanted to proceed with chemotherapy with radiation therapy.
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Then
I met with the hematology (chemo) doctor.
(By this time I had had 3 chemotherapy infusions)
Initially he was surprised and puzzled that I wanted to change my treatment plan. He asked "You don't want to have your bladder removed?"
I laughed and said that was correct. I did not want to have my bladder removed.
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He asked if I had peace about making this change in treatments.
I told him I had prayed and asked God if there was any way I could be
spared bladder removal. After that, I saw the information provided by
the pharmacist about chemotherapy with radiation, and I came to believe this was an answer
to my prayer.
When I mention having prayed about something, most people ignore this. But this doctor's response surprised me. He said "You said you prayed about this. Are you a believer?"
I replied that yes, I am a Christian. I asked if he was also a Christian, and he said he was.
He warned that the chemo given with
radiation therapy for bladder cancer is harder on the body than the
initial chemo I had been given and that I might need a blood transfusion
and possibly need to be hospitalized.
He asked again if I have peace about making this change. I told him I did have peace about this.
He
then said since I had peace about making this change, he would setup
this kind of chemo and coordinate it with the radiation oncologist, and that he would prescribe things to help me get through this chemotherapy as easily as possible.
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God made a way for me to not have bladder removal surgery, showing me another option. And HE kept me in this way, and also made a way for each of these medical people to agree to changing the treatment plan although their medical training had taught them this wasn't best in my situation.
What God did in this is truly incredible!
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