Prov. 31:25

Cancer is a word, not a sentence.

Hi! My name is Jenny. I have been married to my best friend for 33 years, I have two wonderful children and on June 30, 2015 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am determined to get well and I know that with the strength my Lord provides and the love and support of my family and friends, that will happen. The road to healing is a difficult one… however I strive to be thankful for the blessings I have, to find joy in every day and maybe in some small way be a blessing to those I come in contact with. The support and encouragement that I find on this blog makes my heart smile and helps me to realize that I am not alone. All of you are so much appreciated and help me more than you will ever know. So thanks for stopping by....if you would like please leave a comment after my post....I would love to hear from you.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Happy Dancing!

Hello Dear Friends and Welcome,

If you take a moment and listen very carefully you just might hear me LAUGHING, you just might hear the JOY coming from our house to yours and you might just wonder what is happening in the Lawson household. Well I won't make you wonder any more....grins....I will be happy to share the news with you....I had my LAST chemotherapy treatment today. Twenty four treatments completed as of today and the best news of all...It worked!! My tumor has shrunk and in fact it is almost gone! God has worked His miracle, I am responding to treatment, I am finished with the first phase of my journey and it has gone well! Thank you for all of your prayers on my behalf, for all of your love and support and for your friendship. It has helped me so much as I travel this road and I can honestly say I could never have done it on my own! 

I think the pictures give you a glimpse of how we are feeling today but if that doesn't say it all maybe the letter that I received from Andrew will sum it all up. I read this and others today as I sat in my chemo chair and watched the IV drip....drip...drip...and I am not ashamed to admit this....I cried. The chemo room could easily have been flooded and an Ark would not have been out of place...lol...and when Scott brought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers at the end of my treatment well....( did I mention how much I love flowers...grins....) that was a beautiful end of a very rough journey but one that I never for a single moment walked alone. So please join me in a little happy dance as we celebrate a milestone reached, countless prayers answered and one part of my journey finished!

I will be back soon.....Love, Jenny

It's Done! It's Done!

Hats off to Jenny!

Happy Dancing!

4.1.2016 
To my Mom on her last day of chemotherapy… 
Here we are. April 1st, 2016. It’s been a total of 176 days since you took your first brave steps into your Doctor’s office, thru that big white door and began your treatment against breast cancer. That Thursday morning was the beginning of a battle, a battle that you knew would be difficult to overcome. 
Remember the thoughts you had going into your first treatment? You were worried. Yes, you wanted to beat cancer and were confident on beating it, but you were worried. You were worried about the road ahead, the side effects, the medications and being the loving soul you have always been, you thought of us and the toll it would take on our family. At times throughout this journey, and at times before your treatment began, you asked yourself the question; can I make it through this? 
Well Mom… 
I want you to take time to pause and look around you today. What will you see? You will walk into the same medical building sliding doors to our little elevator. You will be greeted and treated by the same great and kind doctor’s office and staff. You will be loved and encouraged by the same loving family right there, right by your side the entire time, ready to escort you back out that big white door. 
Anything look familiar? It should. These things were right here, same way as when you started and asked those very questions on that Thursday morning on October 8th, 2015. With the help of God, with Dad promising to be there for you every step of the way, the unbreakable strength of our family and the sheer grit and determination that you have shown against cancer, I am so proud to say that my mom has made it through her chemotherapy! 
What exactly does it mean to actually finish chemotherapy? Well, in your case it means prevailing through so much for a total of 5 months, 24 days. 
Or 
15,206,400 seconds
253,440 minutes
4,224 hours
176 days
25 weeks and 1 day… 
Which adds up to about 48.22% of a common year (365 days). 
Unbelievable. 
Just think about those numbers and try to grasp the significance of what you have just achieved! In between this very second and the day when you received your first treatment, you have gone through so much. You have shed so many tears, endured so many aches and pains and overcome countless frustrations. 
But that never stopped you. From the beginning your motto has been to overcome cancer with dignity and love. And boy has it shown. You took the hardest part of going through cancer with exceptional courage, strength and love. On days when you knew you wouldn’t feel good, you brought joy and happiness to your friends and family. You made other patients smile, and nurses laugh. You never stopped being you. You were still our loving mom, helping around the house when you could, picking us up when we were down and giving us warm hugs that made everything seem better. 
From a son’s perspective, it is so hard to see your mom go through so much. But believe me when I say this, I couldn’t be more proud of you. You have shown everyone what it means to be a true cancer hero. All along this journey you have brought new meaning to the term battling cancer. The mom that has seen me through so much in life is still sharing herself and continuing to shine brightly, unchanged by even cancer. 
Today mom we celebrate you and your victory over chemotherapy. You are proving to everyone that cancer does not phase you no matter what it brings. 
We have more on the way, but I say bring it on!... 
Because I know for as long as you continue to be that same courageous loving mom, armed with your strong faith, and you continue to carry yourself with such grace just like you did these past 176 days… CANCER WILL NOT CHANGE YOU, CANCER WILL NOT WIN HERE AND JENNY LAWSON WILL BE CALLED A CANCER SURVIVOR. 
Love you to the moon and back mom, I’m so proud of you. 
Andrew

2 comments:

  1. Oh goodness! THIS made me cry. But I AM happy! Oh Jenny, you have come so far. You are so very, very loved. ♥

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  2. Hello dear hero :)

    I'm just back from work, two stuffed days. While working I thought of you and I so hoped it would be true: you having finished the chemos this weekend. And now I truly see that it's done!!! BIG BIG BIG happy dance! Congratulations, my dear dear friend! I can't tell you how happy I am, I really cannot ... And how GRATEFUL. How grateful for all of you! May there be many, many more years to come to enjoy each others company in health and love as a family. What a special family you are ... Andrew's letter is a testimony of that, what a great young man he is. You can all be so proud of yourself! There's more to come, as Andrew said and you know of course, but this huge mountain is conquered ... and how! That gives us so much hope ...
    I cannot say what's all in my head, but I bet you can imagine. Maybe I can try to express myself a bit better later, my brains are 'affected' by some fatigue, I guess, grins ;)

    Have a wonderful weekend, I'll write to you soon.
    A load of relieved hugs from across that too big ocean (and why do we live so far apart?).

    Love and congrats to all of you,
    Carolien

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