Here for You by Pat Simmons

Author:Pat Simmons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

The news wasn’t good for Rachel. The biopsy revealed she had cancerous cells. Rachel had stage one breast cancer.

A gut-wrenching moan escaped from deep within her. “No.” She would have collapsed if she hadn’t already been sitting with her sisters by her side in the doctor’s office.

“We caught it early. That’s the good news,” Dr. Brooks said. “Now let’s discuss our game plan to attack this head-on. You will be a cancer survivor.”

Will I? She guarded her thoughts so as not to say them aloud. How could Dr. Brooks put good news and cancer in the same breath? Rachel felt sick to her stomach, and there wasn’t much in her stomach. Despite not having an appetite, her sisters had forced her to eat some breakfast.

“You have invasive ductal carcinoma or IDC, which is stage one. It’s the most common type of breast cancer, and it starts in your milk ducts and spreads as it invades the fatty tissue surrounding it. Your tissues are being tested to rule out if certain proteins may have been feeding your cancer. It’s important to know whether your estrogen or progesterone receptors are the culprits. After that, we’ll discuss the best treatment plan.”

“Which is?” Kym asked cautiously.

“Could be a combination of surgery, radiation or hormone therapy, and chemotherapy.”

It was so much information. Rachel wanted to know one thing. “What are the chances of my survival—really?”

“Your prognosis is good.” The doctor smiled. It was genuine. “Your self-examination was the key to early detection. You’ll be a survivor.”

If only those words would come from the Lord, Rachel would have been more encouraged. Even with all the petitions going up on her behalf, she hadn’t heard a whisper from the Lord. Did the life of a survivor include a husband, a family, good health?

Kym asked, “Dr. Brooks, although my sister and I aren’t your patients, would you recommend we get mammograms now?”

“Yes.”

That one word sent chills through Rachel. What if her sisters had cancer too? Her lips trembled with fear.

“As a precaution,” Dr. Brooks added.

Rachel sat quietly, as if she were a little girl again on the sidelines while her big sisters fought her battles. As adults, all three were a force to be reckoned with.

Tabitha faced the doctor. “I’m in pharmaceutical sales, and I know most of those chemo drugs contain morphine and have terrible side effects.”

Rachel sighed and spoke up. “I’m thirty years old, single, and have no children. If my cancer was caught ‘in time’”—she made air quotes with her fingers—“what are the chances of me having children one day?”

Tabitha and Kym nodded their heads in agreement.

“Most oncologists recommend waiting from six months to two years before trying to have a baby. That allows the drug to completely work its way out of the body,” Dr. Brooks said. “The longer you wait, the more the risk decreases of your baby being born with birth defects from eggs damaged by chemotherapy. Also, the risk of your cancer recurring is usually the highest within the first two years.

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