Keeping the Right Perspective

What’s your outlook on life today? Do you wake up every morning ready to embrace the day? So many people allow their circumstances to dictate their attitudes; they don’t realize their attitude is a choice…Remember we all face difficulties. We all have obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. The difference between those who are able to rise above their adversities and those who get stuck in them is their attitude.

These are the words that I read yesterday (and again this morning) that have been ringing in my spirit (from the book Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole by Victoria Osteen). Yesterday I didn’t have the greatest attitude. I began to focus on the negative things from our appointment on Tuesday, which left me in a state of worry and frustration. But this morning, I woke up and made a choice to focus on all the wonderful things of my life and to find something to be thankful for so that I may have a grateful heart for all the things that I failed to recognize yesterday that were going right in my life.

Now for the grateful news that we received from our appointment! Dr. Yung (I misspelled his name the other day) stated that my MRI looked great and said that Dr. Comair did an excellent job in resecting my tumor (didn’t I tell ya…I have the best of the best working on my brain…now that is something to be grateful for !). Therefore he didn’t see any reason at this time to begin any type of treatment. He mentioned because of my age (being so young :) ) that it would be best that we waited until MRI’s showed there were cancerous cells coming back…and then, IF they did, we would treat at that time. He stated that because there are side effects from chemo and radiation that can be both short and long term effects; he would rather wait.

We also asked about chromosomal deletions. It is a lot of technical medical stuff, but from what I (Tina) had been researching. It was found that people who had brain tumors with chromosomal deletions (meaning you don’t have these chromosomes) of 1P 19Q…they tended to have longer life spans and better chances of survival because they tend to respond to chemo better. We originally asked the neurosurgeon’s office about the deletions…they said that I had the deletion (meaning I didn’t have the chromosomes which was great news to us), but Tuesday we asked the neuro-oncologist and they said that the chromosomes were still intact. We went back and read the report from pathology and the way it was worded it was said that I was “negative for the deletions”…long story short…we were originally told incorrectly and the report was read incorrectly…so I still have those chromosomes. Which in essence…having those chromosomes basically means, from a medical standpoint, …and in the words of the neuro-oncologist…I may not be as “sensitive” to chemo or radiation. Ultimately if the tumor came back… I may not respond to those types of treatments as well as if I had not had the chromosomes.

We then asked about having other children and how all of these things would affect that process including the medication that I am currently taking to prevent seizures. As far as the medication I am taking…originally I was told that I would only have to take it for six months following my last seizure, which was right after surgery…given that I didn’t have another seizure in that time period. When I asked the neuro-oncologist how long I would need to take these medications he stated “for years.” That was disappointing to hear for the fact that there really isn’t much medical research on how this medication affects fetuses…which I can see why…who would want to risk their child’s well being and development. Anyhow, given that we want four children that was a little discouraging. Something else that was mentioned by the neuro-oncologist was that what he had seen over the years (I don’t believe there is much medical research on this either) was that women who had children after having a tumor were more likely to have their tumor come back and it grow quicker…he said not necessarily during their pregnancy, but afterwards. He mentioned he thought it might be due to all of the hormonal changes a woman has after childbirth.

Ultimately we continue to rely on God and really and truly he has the FINAL say so in what happens with our lives…not to say that we don’t need to use wisdom and heed the advice of wise counselors that surround us, but God directs our paths.

Today I look at this as just another opportunity to bring my faith to another level and rely on my God more and more. I remind myself (as I write this entry) that this just “another opportunity God has given us. He could have given this to many other wonderful people, but He chose to give it to us.” (another quote from Victoria’s book).

We thank you for continuing to read our updates and check up on us. We appreciate all of your love and support and the comments you leave on the blog…this encourages our hearts to move forward. Thank you!