Roxanne had faith in God before, but she was changed after what He did for her. Here is her story:
"I never felt
any lumps at all. It was found because of my annual mammogram. God is good and
He was truly with me going through breast cancer. I had breast cancer surgery, a
lumpectomy to remove the tumor. It was stage 1 cancer. I have a strong faith in
God and of course, I was shocked the cancer was in my body. I had a peace from God going through this
cancer journey and many prayers went up for me
In surgery
they removed the tumor, which was the size of the tip of my little finger.
The surgeon removed a lymph node to see if any cancer
cells spread
to them. If cancer cells were found in lymph nodes that
meant chemotherapy, I
sure did not want to go through that. Surgery was day
surgery. I came out of
recovery with no effects at all, like I had not had major
surgery. I was very
surprised. They said after surgery I would have pain and
not feel good for 1-2 weeks.
I woke up the next day after the surgery with no pain at
all.
A lymph node
was removed under my arm, with a two inch cut. No pain under my arm either. I am
still amazed there was no pain from surgery. I should have had pain. Also, because a lymph node was removed, I
was told I would most likely not be able to move my arm and would need to
exercise my arm and maybe have therapy to get my arm moving all the way. I was
concerned because I do sign language to worship at church and other Christian
groups. I never had any problem with moving my arm at all. God was with me and many prayers went up for me going through this.
6 1/2 weeks
for 5 days a week I had radiation therapy. A friend said,
“Roxanne let’s pray God
would not let radiation destroy any good cells and
only destroy bad
cells.” So, I had others pray that also. All my doctors told me with
radiation, my skin would change, be dimpled because of the
burning of radiation
and I would shrink in size on the side I was having
radiation done. I was told I
would blister, be in pain, be tired, and need to put ointment
on it. Some people have to take a break from radiation for a bit and recover
before continuing. Radiation is like
taking a steak and putting it in the hot sun outside and letting it fry.
The steak would have a tough texture, and shrink from the heat.
That was
what I had to look forward to. But, I
put my faith in God again. I joined a cancer support group at UNM Cancer
Center, which has helped and supported me.
I prayed and others prayed and believed God would get me
through this too, and He did. I did not blister, I did not get tired, I did not
hurt, I did not shrink, my skin did not change.
My doctors
were amazed at how I looked going through radiation. I was told
by my surgeon, “You
must have very good skin.” It was
not my skin being good,
it was God.
Good cells were saved. I did not look like I had radiation and never
really felt like I had it either. I wish I had pictures of
the faces of doctors who saw me,
so shocked at how I looked and in less than 6 months after
surgery, also my scars
from surgery could hardly be seen.
I encourage
women to put their faith in God going through cancer or any
sickness or disease. I also encourage woman to get
mammograms every
year. If I had skipped my mammogram in 2010 it could have
been a different
story, the tumor would have been bigger and may have
spread to lymph nodes.
Some scriptures God put in my heart going through my cancer
journey.
2 Corinthians 1 3-4.
“Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we
ourselves have received from God.”
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not be
afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you. I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right
hand.”
There is
power in having faith in God and from prayers. I had peace most of
the time. I feel like I went through cancer treatment but
didn't, like being in a fire
and not getting burned.
I praise God
and love Him for what He did for me and He can do it for others too.Trust Him. He is a good God and is always with us in what
ever we go through. A song was put in my heart after surgery and it is called “God Will Make A Way,” it says, “God will make a way where
there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for
me.” He did make a way, and I love
Him."
Have you seen God do something huge in your life? How did it change you?
Day 18: The C Word
Day 19: Punk to Pastor
Day 21:
Day 23:
Day 24: All Fired Up
Day 25: All Fired Up - Part 2
Day 26: All Fired Up - Part 3
Day 27:
Day 28:
Day 29:
Day 30:
Day 31:
