How Great Is Our God

How do I even begin to share my experiences with our Awesome and Powerful God today!!! I am truly at a loss for words.

I cannot hold back the tears as I share the conversation we had with Dr. Peppercorn today, and I want you to know every detail since you have stood by me praying me through this!!!

Monday night, Brian and I visited with Sandy Broome and her family for another amazing prayer time. We got on our knees and prayed specifically in the order of worship, begging and praise!!! It was so calming to me, and I was reminded of my confirmation of healing in this cancer!!!

We traveled to Duke yesterday, and I went in for my first CT scan last night at 6 pm. I would be lying to you if I told you that I was not nervous. I asked them to allow me to keep my mustard seed necklace on, and I placed it on my chin (it was the only spot I was allowed to put it). I was so overwhelmed going through that machine. I just kept repeating the Lord's Prayer over and over and over and over again. I must have said it a hundred times.

We took the boys with us to Durham. So, after we left the hospital, the boys chose a seafood restaurant for us to share a meal together, and then we returned to the hotel to watch them swim!!! It was fun, and it kept my mind off of the upcoming "reading of the scan"!!! I am so glad they went with us. They were able to see where I go for all of my treatments. I was especially proud for Dr. Peppercorn to meet the boys. I wanted him to understand my reasons for fighting the disease!!!

This morning we got up, and I had to immediately go to treatment at 8 am. It went really, really well. When we finished treatment, we went straight to Dr. Peppercorn's office for the results. Of course, when we got there, the results were not in yet. I honestly didn't mind! I was so doped up on benadryl that I needed to sleep in his office for a little while anyway. At about 1:45 pm, Dr. Peppercorn finally came back to the room with a smile on his face. He is such a positive person. So, his response was, "well, your scan came back completely as I expected!"

He explained that my liver so longer has any tumors on/in it. We know for a fact that there were at least three rather large tumors when I began the chemo treatments with numerous lesions. I don't know the difference between a tumor and a lesion. I should, but sometimes I feel I am better off not knowing every detail. So, I let that one slide. He said that my liver looks completely clear except for a few subtle things that faintly look related to cancer. The radiologist said that he would not have even noted these things as related to cancer if he did not already know my diagnosis. Then, Dr. Peppercorn told us that he had to ask him about my breast. The radiologist said he never would have known to be suspicious about my breast area if he had not asked. He said the lymph nodes were not even enlarged, and there is nothing in my breast showing cancer. The only negative reading the radiologist had was several spots on my bones. The doctor told us not to worry about this until he gets the final reading in two days because he is not thinking that it is cancer. However, he has to be open to it. I had a definite spot on my spine when I had my initial PET scan. So he already knew that was there. He said these spots could be other things or they may be small spots of cancer. Metastatic breast cancer often shows up in the bones. However, the chemo drug that I am on is very effective in taking care of them. So, I am positive about this if it does end up looking like cancer spots. As a precaution, Dr. Peppercorn is going to add a bone drug to my "cocktail". I will take it only once a month. He just returned from a conference in Chicago that specifically talked about the effectiveness of this drug for breast cancer in the bones. It was actually amazing. This drug is proving to not only stop the growth in the bones, but it is stopping the growth in the organs and also helping to preven t recurrence!!! So, he was thinking of adding me to this drug anyway if I ever had questions about my bones.

Overall, it was a perfect visit and the scan was all we prayed it would be!!!

God is to receive every bit of glory for this amazing outcome after only 8 weeks of treatments. It just could not of come from anything else!! I praise Him with all of my heart, and I pray that I am testimony of what can be done through the power of prayer and faith in what God confirms in us. This would not be happening if God was not in it!!! I am sure of this fact, and I love Him more and more every minute of my life. He has proven himself faithful in every aspect of this cancer, and I will continue to praise Him each and every step of the way. I honestly cannot understand how anyone could watch the progress of what has happened to me and question God's hand in the entire situation!!! God is the reason for all of this, and I will never stop giving Him the glory!!! There is no juice that I could drink, no diet I could follow and no medicine I could take that can compare to the healing power of my Lord and Savior. He owns my heart and my life, and I will never stop sharing what He has done for me!!! My dream is that my experiences will make God as real to others as He is to me and my family!!! Thank you to each and every one of you for falling to your knees in His presence for me!!! I love you all for what your believe in and for standing by me!!! I can never tell you enough how much you all mean to me!!!

In Him Forever,

Tiffany Pate