The dreaded phone call-June 13, 2011

I've always loved reading blogs and about a month ago I told a dear friend of mine that I wanted to start a family blog to help capture memories of my precious babies.  I was not intending to start the blog about my husband who has cancer..........but here we are.


Last Monday, June 6th 2011, around 4:30pm, Justin received a phone call from his dermatologist asking that he come into the office immediately.  Justin had had two moles removed the previous week and had stitches that were scheduled to be taken out on Wednesday.  So he asked the nurse if he could just see the doctor on Wednesday when he comes in to have the stitches removed.  The nurse said absolutely not, that the doctor needed to see him in the next 30 minutes before the office closed for the day.  He said "okay, I'll be right in", hung up the phone, gave the kids and I a kiss goodbye and said he'll be back shortly.  At this point I assumed that the mole was probably precancerous and that they would remove a little more in the office and all would be well.  I'm not much of an overly paranoid person so I wasn't too concerned. 


About an hour later Justin called me and said “the doctor said I have cancer and they are sending me over to Moffitt Cancer Center to be treated”.  Now I started to get a little nervous but tried to stay positive and I continued to cook dinner and take care of the nightly routines while Justin talked on the phone and searched the internet.  The kids laid down for bed that night and I went to talk with Justin and look at his diagnosis report.  I obviously didn't understand any of it so we searched the internet together about everything the report said.  That was not a good idea. As the internet only scared us more.  We both went to bed that night with lots of fear, anxiety, unanswered questions and puffy eyes (well at least me ).  The next morning brought a little more peace.  A dear friend of the family who is a nurse read Justin’s diagnosis report and reassured us that everything was going to be okay. 


We were scheduled to leave for St Augustine on Thursday for a romantic 4day trip but we canceled it because our appointment was scheduled for Friday morning at Moffitt.  It was a rough 3 days as we waited in anticipation as to what the doctor would tell us on Friday.  Many thoughts ran through our head.  But we had many friends and family praying and that brought us some peace.


Friday morning finally came.  We both dreaded going to Moffitt, but especially Justin, since the last time we were at Moffitt was to say good bye to his dad, Jack, who lost a battle with cancer himself. But God had a purpose for it all so we got ready and headed to Tampa.  We arrived at Moffitt about 30 minutes before our appointment.   I sat in the waiting room watching everyone walk in and out of the building and questioned God while my husband was the youngest person there.  My husband shouldn't have to deal with cancer at such a young age........he is only 31!  Why God are you bringing us here and everyone around us is 50 plus?  And within the next few minutes I was thanking God that we were there at such a young age because that means we caught it early and God is going to heal him!  I was thanking him for that appointment!


We meant with the doctor.  He told us that Justin had a very large area of Malignant Melanoma and gave us our plan of action.  He told us that Justin will have to have surgery again to make sure all the melanoma is removed and because they will be removing such a large area that he'll have a skin graft done on the area.  They also will be cutting into his neck to biopsy his lymph nodes.  He will be sent home, hopefully the same day, and will be in recovery at home the next 2-3 weeks.


We then will wait 10 days from the surgery to get the results of the biopsy of the lymph nodes.  If everything comes back clear than Justin is cancer free and will only have to go back to Moffitt for checkups every 4-6 months for the next 2 years.  However there is a 25% chance that the Melanoma has moved to the lymph nodes.  If that has happened than they will schedule another surgery to remove the lymph nodes and continue with further treatment that will be discussed at that point.  The doctor then sent us on our way to get a chest X-ray and blood drawn.


I left the appointment feeling at peace.  The Almighty Healer is on our side and he's going to heal Justin!  By His wounds, Justin is healed! Isaiah 53:5.


We've both gone through many emotions as can be expected.  I pray you continue to pray for my husband that God would give him a peace that only he can give.  Please also pray for the surgeon that will be working on Justin.  That he will be able to remove ALL cancer and that the skin graft will be unnoticeable.


I will try to use this blog to send updates as I know many of you are concerned and telling the story 96 times on the phone can be draining.  I thank you for the prayers, love, support and encouragement.  I’ve already seen God in this situation in so many areas, from the first one being that he gave Justin the instinct to have this mole looked at.   We will hopefully get a surgery date tomorrow and it should be scheduled within the next week or two. 


Love to you all!
Autumn