Liver Ablation Scheduled

[Redwolf8812]

Scheduled for 9am December 31st at UPenn. Have to be there by
8am. It's an out-patient procedure. The nurse said we'll start 2013
with a bang and a cancer-free liver. Love her thinking.


Then it'll be decision-time (and more prayers) for which
chemo.

- Penny

[Mandamoo]

I'm so please that you have this option. Wishing you well with the ablation, recovery and decision making.

[Pray]

I'm also very happy for you and please be assured I will be praying very hard on the 31! Gods blessings to you. Peace my friend, Nancy

[Pamelamary]

Best wishes for a successful procedure and a happy, healthy new year!
Pam

[LeahM]

Starting the New Year with a cancer free liver sounds like a great idea. Best wishes and prayers ascending.
Leah

[NEDenise]

Penny,
Prayers going up...and I agree...cancer-free liver on day one of 2013...YAY!!
Denise

[Bunty]

Way to go Penny! Great news that it's all coming together. I'll be very interested to hear how it all goes.
Best wishes, Marie

[yanyan]

Dec 31? What a nice gift for 2013!! Cheers to a cancer free liver !!

[chrisy]

Great news Penny!
all the best for successful ablation and starting out 2013 cancer free

[Joan M]

Penny,

Good luck with the procedure. Take it easy and relax. Continue on Herceptin and a chemo afterward.

Joan

[NEDenise]

Penny,
You're in good hands...at Penn...and from above!
I'll be sure to send lots of healing prayers with you into the new year!
Best of everything to you and your "team"
Denise

[Paula O]

Penny,

I wrote it on my Day Timer to pray for you at 9AM on 12/31. I hope everything goes super-well for you.

Paula

[JennyB]

Good luck Penny I'll raise a glass for your liver NYE evening here - shoulf just about be procedure time for you ;-) xx

[caya]

Good luck Penny - that nurse sounds like my kinda nurse!

all the best
caya

[Redwolf8812]

Thanks, everybody. I'm part of a research study - they'll be taking extra biopsy samples while they're in there. The last time I had a liver biopsy I ended up in the ER that night from the pain. My pain tolerance is pretty good, so it was REALLY bad, something they said was unusual with liver biopsies. Now that I know what to expect, I can pre-medicate myself.

[fullofbeans]

hoping the bet and happy that you will enter the new year awith a liver NED

[Sandra in GA]

Praying all goes well and without too much pain.
Sandra

[Redwolf8812]

Hope everyone is having a happy and healthy Christmas season. As usual, the holidays came upon us too fast and are going by in a blur. My family and I enjoyed Christmas Eve Mass and a quiet dinner at home. Christmas Day was both joyful and chaotic as we also celebrated my daughter's 9th birthday with family and friends. Hoping to see more family tomorrow.

I'm so grateful to God for our faith. I know how traumatic a stage 4 cancer diagnosis is, but it seems even worse for those who don't believe in God. I've come across many different types of people throughout this journey, and without a doubt, those without faith in God's Faithfulness appear to suffer so much more, both emotionally and physically. They just seem so...sad. Please pray that the Lord claims them and shows His Truth in them.

It's not that I don't ever get mad or sad, but for the most part, I find myself looking forward to everlasting peace and eternal happiness. I know that I will face Judgment, but I know that I will also be forever in the presence of the One Who Loves Me Most. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get every Christmas? In Heaven, we'll have that ALL THE TIME! And I'll finally have superpowers! Not just the ones I make up in my head - LOL. And then, when we face the Final Judgment, my soul will be reunited with a glorified body! No pain, no self-image problems! How sweet it will be! And I look forward to spending this Eternity with all my loved ones - those who have gone before me and those who will come after me.

I told my family they are not to use this illness as an excuse to be less than the people God wants them to be. It's ok to grieve for a bit (after all, didn't Jesus Himself weep when he heard of the death of His friend, Lazarus?) But then they are to praise God and carry on. One day we'll all be enjoying Heaven and God's new earth, just like He promised. Imagine being able to take a hike in the woods or sleep under the stars without fear of tick bites (still trying to figure out why ticks were created in the first place). The world will once again be as perfect as He intended it.

Most of all, I look forward to seeing true happiness and contentment on the faces of my husband and children. They think I don't see the worry and fear, but I know it's there. It lurks just below the surface, just waiting for the right moment to take over their thoughts. By the Grace of God, His Peace, that surpasses all understanding, carries them through.

So Monday - the ablation is still scheduled for 9am. I think it'll take a couple of months to find out how successful it was, and in the meantime, I believe the oncologist wants me back on chemo. So I'm asking you yet again for more prayers. Prayers for guidance and for successul treatments. I've enjoyed these last few weeks without chemo and thank God for the nice break. But it's time to put the armor back on and get back into fighting mode.

Penny

[karen z]

This sounds like a wonderful plan.
Sorry about the pain you will have to endure but it will be worth it for the results.
I will be thinking of you and sending good wishes and prayers.
karen z

[Paula O]

Rooting for ya and praying for ya!

Paula

[Jackie07]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts during this trying time. You will be in our prayers.

[adelay]

Beautifully said...good luck and my prayers will be heading your way.

[tammymarie1971]

Well said Penny!!
Tammy

[Pam P]

Penny, My thoughts and prayers are with you. I just had a liver ablation 3 weeks ago. I went easily for me. I hope the same for you. Now we will wait the 2 months to learn its success. Peace

[Sandra in GA]

Penny,
Thank you for your most beautiful post. You are truly an inspiration for all of us. My prayers are with you.
Love,
Sandra

[NanaJoni]

Penny - what an inspiration and blessing you are to all of us. Your words meant so much to me today. I lost a dear friend to bc yesterday and she shared your faith and strength.

[Redwolf8812]

Tumor grew a little between last scan and today's ablation. I
called it a bastard. The doctor called it a "burned bastard". I was
in there for about 2 hours. He had to use a CT scan to see it
because it was hiding from the ultrasound machine. He also had to
cook it a little longer. I came out of there drenched in sweat!
Nausea & pain are starting to subside.

Came home to find the my bedroom decorated with lights,
balloons, & cards, compliments of my friends.

I am so blessed.

[yanyan]

Thanks for the update Penny! I am so glad the procedure went well ! Happy new year!!!

[Pray]

Penny, Gods blessings to you! I'm so happy your home and have many loving friends around you. Please know that you are in my prayers always.

Your friend,

Nancy

[NEDenise]

Penny!
Great news! I have a feeling every single one of those balloons, cards, and twinkly lights represents a "kindness re-payed" or a prayer sent heavenward on your behalf...maybe both! You certainly deserve both IMHO!!
Hope every single day of 2013 is better than the one before...for YOU..and your beautiful family!!
Happy New Year!
Denise

[Bunty]

Penny, wishing you a speedy recovery, and a wonderfully healthy, cancer free liver!
Best wishes in 2013.
Marie

[schoolteacher]

Praying for you.
AMelia