After my trip to the emergency room on May 23 for a broken collarbone, I was sent home with pain meds, my left arm in a sling and instructions to call my primary care physician (PCP) on the following Monday to get a referral for an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor.

Monday came and before I could call her, she called me. The CT scan showed a mass on the upper part of my left lung…

A WHAT?

So much for being focused on a broken collarbone!

I was told I was being referred to a pulmonologist… a lung doctor, for follow-up and that I should hear from them within a day or so.

A week went by, no word, 2 weeks… nothing… the 3rd week, my daughter, Tasha, starting calling every day. More polite than I would have been, but just asking when the referral would come. We finally asked if we could get a referral to Mercy in north west arkansas. Got a call from NWA the next day setting an appointment for June 12.

Met with the pulmonologist on the 12th. He was great! He looked over the scans and said that there was an 85% chance that the mass was cancer. He scheduled a biopsy for June 17.

While I waited I was a basket case…

I started making plans, not because I wanted to believe it was cancer, but because I wanted to be prepared if it was.

• I thought about getting a wig.
• I wondered if my co-workers would cover my Real Estate business on days I didn’t feel good… that’s silly, of course they would!
• I started changing the little things I could control, like giving up Cokes… my “morning coffee”. And everything else that has sugar in it.

Known fact is that cancer feeds on sugar!

The biopsy was scheduled for June 17. No food… no water… nothing to drink for at least 12 hours beforehand, and what I didn’t know, was nothing to eat or drink for at least 4 hours after the biopsy.

The wait after the biopsy was the hardest part… I NEEDED a coke!

The doctor had said that we should have biopsy results within a few days. So, every time the phone rang, my heart jumped. It went everywhere I went, and was never more than 3 feet away from me.

When it WASN’T the doctor I felt relieved… and disappointed all at the same time.

• I prayed.
• I tried to stay positive.
• I reminded myself that worrying wouldn’t change the outcome.

But if I’m being completely honest, waiting was harder than I expected.

Then, on June 22, the “call” finally came through… and the biopsy showed cancer.

I don’t remember much after hearing those words, I hung the phone up and completely fell apart.

After the tears, I remember sitting there talking to myself.

‘Okay, Cheryl, the pity party’s over. You didn’t get what YOU wanted, so big deal. But it IS what it is, and you’ll deal with it.’

• I don’t know what the road ahead looks like.
• I don’t know what treatments I’ll have.
• I don’t know how many hard days are coming.

But I DO know this…

I’ve made it through difficult times before, and with God’s help, I’ll make it through this one.

NEXT:  Test – Wait – Repeat