2 types of Cancer?

We'll I have been withholding some results in the Pet scan last Tuesday until I had a little more info. Greg and I also didn't want the girls to worry about both cancers, the waiting is almost harder than the prognosis. When a pet scan is taken, anything that is most likely cancer lights up. My abdomen lit up but also there was a spot on my neck. Two years ago I had my non- cancerous thyroid removed , so the thought is that some residual cells have become cancerous. Not really sure yet? Wednesday I had another MRI (I hate that machine)it showed a small tumor on the left side of my neck near my carotid artery. I now have more tests and doctor apps to decide what to do:surgery/radiation/if anything? The chemo/radiation I will be given for the ovarian cancer may take care of the neck too? Please pray for wisdom for all my new doctors to agree as they all sort of have to come to a consensus of which way to proceed.

As for health, I am feeling stronger and better each day and have been able to visit the studio for short periods each day which is a welcomed relief from being on the couch. I can even drive tomorrow and am hoping to teach Sunday School this weekend, I really miss the girls-they are a blessing! I move about as fast as the turtle who crossed the road- but I am moving!

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

I have been reciting this to myself for 2 weeks-even right before I went into surgery.

Holding on to the promises of God

Bonnie

STAGE II Yippee!!

I never thought that I would be so excited to find out I have stage II cancer. But the alternative definitely had a much higher set of risks. Thank you for all your prayers and thank the Lord- He has walked me through this all. We still have a few more tests and hoops to run through before chemo- but I am hoping to keep trusting in God for He has and can do great things. Please keep praying for recent tests and wisdom for my oncologist who will make the final decisions on my chemo "cocktail" and radiation. One of the things that I have always known I wasn't very gifted in is Mercy- we'll I now realize how important it is to show mercy to those who are hurting. Please forgive me if I wasn't very compassionate when your lives were turned upside down. I think I finally get how important it is to give of yourself when others are hurting. A friend shared this verse with me and I have been thinking about it all day..

"From the end of the earth will I cry ( I have cried a lot)unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I" psalm 61:2

I Love you All

Bonnie

I am Home!

Just want to let everyone know I am home and doing great for a person who has just had most of her insides taken out. The girls and Greg are wonderful and Allysa is running the home,work etc. She is amazing. Greg is home all week and will be able to take me to various doctor apps tests etc.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind notes,e-mails etc. I have been totally blessed by everyone and feel overwhelmingly loved. It is truly amazing. The arthroscopic surgery is definitely the way to go I feel no worse than when I had a c-section, maybe even a little better. My doctor is known for being able to do that surgery but wasn't sure I would be a candidate because I had had 3 c-sections and they can leave too much scar tissue to make the surgery feasible. If your one of those people who are fascinated by how things are done she has videos on her web site- crazy huh? ohanlan.com I think she is great and felt totally at peace that she was the best doctor for me. We are waiting on the pathology report to determine if I was stage 2 or 3. If stage 3, I have to return to the bay area for a port to my abdomen for chemo. Please pray for stage 2!!!

Either way I will begin chemo in about 2 weeks. My hair will definitely fall out-BLAH!!! by mid July. At least I don't have to worry about gaining weight too. skinny and bald is better than fat and bald! Not sure how long this will last- at least until Nov....I also will be having radiation to my pelvic.

thank you most of all for your prayers-I will keep you posted when I get new news.

Please continue to pray- I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and he has encouraged me beyond my imagination through all of you. I am very emotional still- but He Has strengthened my spirit. I look forward to the plans He has for me.

I love you all

Bonnie

She's Coming Home!

Well Bonnie has been discharged from the hospital!!! She is going to spend the night in a hotel tonight and then they are going to come home sometime tomorrow! So excited that she is coming home!

We will get results next week with regard to what stage cancer she has but we are praying it isn't stage 3 because then she will have to go back up there and they will do another surgery to put a stent in for chemo. So prayers right now are Stage 1 or 2. Also that she will have a good trip home tomorrow. As when she will be starting chemo it will probably be around the beginning of July.

Surgery DONE!

Just to let you guys know a little more now that things have settled down. My dad and my aunts, Betsy and Shirley, told me that they saw my mom and she was soo relieved about everything. She is doing good and so thankful the surgery was all laparoscopic. After a very long day we are all thankful that she is doing good. God is good and we are hoping that my mom can come home soon!

She's Out

Bonnie’s surgery was from 3:15 to 8:24. That’s 5 hours and 9 minutes. The doctor came out and said that there was no bad news. The doctor said the tumor was aggressive and went across the abdomen from ovary to ovary. There was no visible invasion into other organs. So they did not put in a “port” and “soaker hose” for chemo in the abdomen.

They took out a tumor, ovaries, uterus, tubes, appendix, gall bladder, and lymph nodes. They will check all of the parts for cancer. We will get the results of the pathology report in several days. All laproscopic so no big open incision in the belly. She will have general chemo and most likely radiation therapy in the pelvis.

The above two paragraphs are from my aunts and dad about what the doctor said concerning my moms surgery. I will let you know when I know more

Surgery is Later

Hey everyone,

The surgery time has been pushed back an hour and a half. So we are looking at surgery actually being around 1:45. My mom has a specific prayer request of the surgery being all laparoscopic, it is less invasive and that way she can come home sooner. That would also mean the cancer is localized, which would be a huge answer to prayer! Its a long surgery so I should be posting something tonight but probably not till later. I will for sure get an update on here by tomorrow morning. Thanks for all your prayers today!

Surgery Time

So Bonnie's surgery is tomorrow at 12:15. We will know more after that and I will let everyone know as soon as I can. Please be praying during that time. Thank you!

Surgery

Ok so my mom got off the phone about 30 mins ago with Dr. O'hanlan and the surgery is going to be on Thursday. So tomorrow my mom and dad are driving up to the bay area for her pre-op tomorrow afternoon. Dr. O'hanlan believed that the sooner the better so she had an opening and my mom is now set to go. Please be praying for her on thursday! The surgery is latro-scopic (I think that is what it is called) so the recovery time is shorter and she should be back home by saturday. We will know more after the surgery so look back here on thursday night or friday morning for results.

The Beginning

My name is Allysa Johnson for those of you who don't know me and I am one of Bonnie's daughters. I am going to begin this and just get all of you up to speed. It probably will be me doing most of the updates but my mom will probably have some on here too. I hope this will just help everyone know what is going on and if you ever have questions this can be place for you to turn. We are so thankful for all your prayers, concern and love!

Ok so to give the whole story, last thursday Bonnie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is a cancer that is very hard to detect so the fact that we have this diagnosis and we found this out now is huge. About a week before the diagnosis Bonnie found out that she had a tennis ball sized tumor on one of her ovaries. Her OBGYN ordered an MRI for the next week and from the results of the MRI this past thursday the doctors concluded that the mass is cancerous. After hearing the results Bonnie came home and told our family. Amazingly God worked it out that we were all home (which never happens) and we all heard the news together. It was a hard blow to us all but we know that God has a plan and we fully trust Him during this time. In the past few days Bonnie has had several tests and scans to further help the doctors understand what is going on. We also met with an oncologist yesterday who answered a lot of the questions. Right now the next step is surgery because with ovarian cancer it is too hard to tell anything until they go in there and check everything out. We are in the process of scheduling surgery in the next week. We are in contact with an OBGYN oncologist who is in the bay area and she will be doing Bonnie's surgery. Her name is Dr O'hanlan and if you are interested in learning more about her you can read about her at www.ohanlan.com.

We really can't thank you all enough for all the support and love we have received in the past few days. All your prayers and encouragement have meant so much to us all. Bonnie is doing pretty good and her spirits are pretty high considering everything. It has been hard news for us all but we are taking it one day at a time. I will let you know when the surgery is going to be when we find out (it should be in the next day).

If you have any questions please comment and will do my best to answer them. Thank you again!