Getting the news…
life is about to change.
It was a completely normal Tuesday. Paul had texted to see if I wanted to join him for lunch at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. We had a pleasant meal, and as he was at the counter paying our ticket, my phone rang with a local number I didn’t recognize. Upon answering, I hear the words, “Is this Jami Sullins? This is your doctor.”
I stepped outside to take the call because I knew what was coming next. If the test results had been benign, her nurse would have called.
“Jami, you have breast cancer.”
And the phone went silent. Dead. Silent. It was the worst time for a dropped call.
“Hello? Hello?” And the tears began to fall down my cheeks.
Just then, Paul walked outside, saw my face and he knew.
The phone rang again and the doctor explained that she was taking time out of her vacation to call me and chat. She had terrible phone reception but wanted to personally explain the next steps to me in what became a 20-30 minute call.
Crazy thing is-the diagnosis wasn’t a huge surprise. God had prepared us.
I wasn’t new to the procedures of what I had been through in the few weeks prior. I have had 3 lumpectomies of masses in my breast before, the first at 18, then in my 20’s and again in my 30’s. Because of this, I learned at a young age the importance of self-exams.
-Girls, Women, Females-TOUCH YOUR OWN BOOBS!
There is no right or wrong way to do self-exams. My best advice: ditch the washcloth, sponge, or poof when washing your breasts. Use your hands. Know what they feel like. Know what is normal so you can know when something isn’t!
I have found all of my lumps myself. Since they have been fibroid cysts in the past, I know what they feel like. I still get them on occasion, but I typically just keep any eye on it for a bit because they can come and go with my cycle. But I knew this one was different. This was large, firm, solid, and didn’t move. I told Paul, “Honey, I have a mass in my boob and I am calling the doctor tomorrow.”
He knew that if I was calling the doc, this was different. He looked at me with a solemn face and responded with “I had a dream about this a few weeks ago.”
We knew then and there that God was preparing us. He spoke to Paul in a dream, and I had that gut feeling of when the Holy Spirit is speaking. Now let me assure you I know that God did not do this to me. I also know the power of thoughts and we were not believing the worst. We simply had a heads up that we were in for a battle.
After contacting my doctor, she immediately scheduled a mammogram. Since I had that gut-check, I asked my bestie to go with me. “Carri, I know I’m gonna be fine, but this is different than before and I would love some support with me if you don’t mind.” Of course, she joined me knowing that this would mean Chuy’s for lunch after.
Mammograms are never fun, but this one was even worse. I put on the stylish half-cape, and they marked my old incision sites from past procedures and put on my metal pasties (fyi: they mark your nipples with a metal sticker before the mamo). As my left breast became a flesh pancake, I could feel the tenderness worsen. But I am tough, and I can take it! I wasn’t surprised one bit when I heard the tech ask me to hang out for a second. She even offered to go get Carri from the waiting room to join me.
Back to my dressing room to stare at the walls while I knew she was immediately notifying someone to what she had seen on the screen. Next step—Immediately to Ultrasound.
Like I have said, I know this routine but what I wasn’t prepared to see the size of the mass on the ultrasound screen as she stretched the digital ruler across. I was right—this was different than before. And that mass was not the only one she marked. There were more. I don’t think she was supposed to say anything, but she let me know that someone would be calling me to schedule a biopsy. “I am sure it is just another fibroid, but just to be safe.”
Did she believe that or was she just saying that to calm my nerves?
As we sat at lunch, Carri confirmed what I had seen on the screen. Three separate masses, one being significantly larger than the others. There was a heaviness at lunch that day, but we are both believers so fear never entered the conversation.
The next week, Paul went with me as I had a biopsy. Breast biopsies really aren’t too bad. This one was simple and quick. Lay down on a bed, they use a local anesthetic to numb the area and insert a large needle into your breast while a tech uses an ultrasound to illuminate the mass. The doctor counted to 3 and a LOUD “click” sounding similar to an ear-piercing gun. Three times and he let the tech know that he had some good samples. He concluded with “It looks like a fibroid but appears to be growing quickly so you will likely be having surgery soon to remove it.” Really? Again-did he believe that or was he just trying to keep me calm? The whole thing took less than 30 minutes from the time we walked in the door to the time we left.
Almost a full week of waiting and then we circle back to where I first began the story.
The Call.
The Diagnosis:
Invasive Ductile Carcinoma
Triple Negative
Interpretation: It’s a nasty one but also common and totally treatable.
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Treatable. Awesome. But now what?
I spent the next week talking to a few amazing women who have braved the journey already. I had a lot of things to learn and a lot of decisions to make. Where do I want to go for treatment? What do I want my treatment to look like? Traditional? Holistic? A combination? I bought books and searched online. So much information!!!
On this journey of education, I am lucky enough to have someone in my life who is extremely passionate about natural healing and nutrition. Paul and I enjoyed an evening at Kathy and Joe’s house as Kathy introduced us to foods that would promote healing and aide in my recovery. We discussed toxins and what Paul and I need to remove from our lives and diet. But we also discussed how amazing our God is and that he provides us with good food to stimulate healing in our bodies. The conversation was amazing yet overwhelming as she shared her passion and made suggestions of things to consider. Again-I have learned so much in this short journey-probably more than a whole year in college!
I jumped into many nutrition changes immediately!
1.) Cut out ALL sugars, even the ones that I thought were okay like syrups and honey.
2.) Stop all meats-especially red meat! (My friend Patty just laughed at this one as she has been Vegan as long as I have known her, and we have had several conversations about how I could never do it.)
3.) Go to an all-organic diet. (It’s insane how many pesticides are in our foods.)
4.) Matcha (blech) and black tea are now my BFFs and I can’t have too much of them.
5.) Increase all veggies and fruits.
6.) Seeds and legumes are my friends.
7.) Fermented Foods are my friend as well.
8.) A massive increase in vitamin D (natural is best but supplements help too).
9.) Addition of Vegetarian Omega-3 from algae.
We are also working on removing as much plastic serving dishes and food storage containers as we can. I am changing out most of my cosmetics like soaps and lotions to make sure they are free from toxins and chemicals. These are changes that most people would make gradually over time, but we feel like time is of the essence and we need to jump on as much as possible immediately!
As I read the book Turning Off Breast Cancer, I see that Kathy was dead-on in her recommendations to me.
I am now about half-way through another book called Radical Remission and much of the information is totally in-line with the other book and the conversation.
I spent a lot of time and energy praying, researching, and reading about different healing journeys and treatment plans of cancer.
It’s not an easy decision and one that we are not making lightly. I believe that both alternative and traditional treatment can help me battle this, but I also know that both have downsides as well.
After looking at our options, I have decided to follow a traditional treatment plan with holistic changes at our house and in my lifestyle.
I will be having my chemo port put in on Monday and will begin chemotherapy treatments very soon. But friends…rest assured…I am prayed up and surrounded by God’s love and healing.
I am ready to Kick Cancer’s Ass!
And because I know I have an AWESOME and supportive community, and I know so many of you will feel helpless in this fight of mine, these are ways to you can help us:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit will intervene in every aspect of my journey and my fight. I am praying that I will meet people that need encouragement and joy and that I can bring a smile to everyone that I encounter. I am praying that the chemo will be so effective that the remainder of my treatment will be minimized or better yet, unnecessary. I am praying that my story will uplift and encourage others.
- I have made an Amazon Wishlist with several items that would be helpful and loved. There are items at all price points. You can view it by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
- Since I am on a pretty restricted diet, a mealtrain would be difficult. There are a few organic/vegetarian restaurants nearby that Paul or a friend could grab food from. If you want to donate money for those occasions, my cashapp is $JamiSullins or Venmo is @Jami-Sullins
- Those Organic and Whole foods are EXPENSIVE and not what our budget is used to seeing. Whole Foods, CostCo, or Sprouts Market gift cards would sure come in handy.
Please understand, we are not asking for you to spend any money, but I also know that many of you have the Lord’s gifts of hospitality and caregiving, so I wanted to provide ways you could help.
My prayer request:
I am asking all my Bible believing friends to stand with me in prayer. My current prayer request is that the chemo works so well that future treatments are minimized.
In the story of the woman who received instant healing, Jesus said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” Matthew 9:22
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