October 2020- No news is great news!

 Hi,

It's been a while since I have posted!  No news is great news! I have had clear scans and continue to do treatments every three weeks and they are certainly doing their job.  I was in getting treatment on this past Monday and my oncologist was very happy about her previous patient who was telling her that her daughter is getting married.  This patient has been under care since her daughter was a teenager.  I was so elated for this patient and for my doctor.  These are the success stories we hope and pray for.  

When I started this journey, my son was 4 years old.  My goal was to be here long enough to parent him until I felt like he could live in this world on his own in all those good ways that you want for your children.  There are morals and values we want for our children.  I wanted Jack to have a heart for others, to know how to give and not always receive, to learn to trust God in everything, to be helpful rather than hurtful, to not always take the easy road, to know how to explain how he feels, to know how to be heard but to listen, to know how to cope, to know how to inspire goodness, to know how to be funny without being stupid.  In some ways, I feel like I arrived there now that he is 13 as of August.  Now, I feel like he kind of is on his own, navigating it all and now he just needs practice.  My next goal is to see him drive at 16 and watch him continue to grow to into a good man with all of those amazing foundational qualities.  He should be a real catch! HA! Then, and only then, maybe I will see him on his wedding day and marry the woman I have been praying for since the day I gave birth to him.  That is such a sweet goal.

I am coming upon 9 years in this journey on November 3rd.  I will be 5 years in May since my second diagnosis.  Today, I regularly live free of fear and doubt.  Periodically, I will wrestle with it, think too hard about it, but then I move on pretty quickly.  I guess we could all do that.  Question ourselves if we are living our best life.  I think that is appropriate regardless of who you are and what you are going through.  Especially in the middle of this pandemic and all that comes with that.  Just live the best life you can possibly live.  That is the best goal.

I appreciate those of you who stick by me, pray for me, and who care for me.  You are my true friends, my true family.  I can't account for each of you, because I write this on a blank white space and don't really expect or even hope someone is reading this.  I just do it and maybe one or two of you are there with me and thank you for that. :)  

It is October and that is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I am signed up to participate in a fundraiser for American Cancer Society- Power of Pink.  Please feel free to donate to my page, or not.

There was an update in June 2020 that my oncologist at Lexington Clinic is all now part of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center network.  This provides access to new information, trial drugs, etc.  I am pretty excited about this update.

Until next time... and live your best life!

Thank you, 

Amanda