A new friend

Meet Moby. A little mouthy puppy who has come home to live with MOm and I. We love his little mouthy self!

So pray for that adjustment...untimely to say the least but we'll get through it.

I say untimely because mom has surgery this friday. A lumpectomy (sp?) and reduction mamoplasty.

Thank you for keeping up with us and giving mom your love and support. it means a lot to us both!

"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:24-28

Done and moving on...

Done with Chemotherapy. Last day was the 27th of September. HOORAY!

One month of rest...rest in the hurried, distracted, healing, busy sense of the word...

and surgery on the 29th of this month.

So busy busy busy getting ready. Fall cleaning, winterizing the garden, moving through some last minute projects...

Thanks for keeping up with us even though I havent updated for quite sometime...

Liz and Joan

starting something new

So Monday Mom had chemo again. They've started her on a different drug now because she's on the 2nd half of chemo -->Monday was chemo #5 of 8. But the side effects are different and so its been a learning experience of what to expect with this.

So far she's doing well but has a lot of bone pain which is exhausting.

New things are starting for me as well. I have decided to do my 4th year internship (to finish my bachelor's degree by May) at my home church Berean Baptist in Brunswick. So I'll be living at home and working at the church (about 10 minutes away).


Saturday I am heading up to NB for 3 weeks. I'll be helping out at Coldstream Baptist Church's Vacation Bible School and then starting the school year up there. I'll return on the 11th of September.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

half way through in st andrews

So last week Mom and I went up to St Andrews NB. We were there from the 27th to the 30th and had a fabulous time. It was the week between chemo...the time she has the most energy. Aside from rash from the sun and a sore mouth she was feeling really good and so we enjoyed lots of outings such as a whale watch, a trip to the botanical gardens and high tea on water st.

as of monday (the 2nd) mom had her 4th chemo treatment. WE"RE PAST THE HALF WAY POINT!!! on the physical examination the lump in her breast couldn't be found. Praise Jesus!

of course that doesn't mean she's "all better" chemo must go on...but it means its WORKING really well.

that's all i have for now. sorry for not writing for such a long time. xoxoxo Liz

Brighter days...

Mom is feeling much better today. That is such a relief to her. Her energy slowly creeps back just in time for another treatment. AH well. As our days so shall our strength be.

The last few days have been really hard on many levels. I won't go into it much. God is faithful and good...He knows how to quiet our tears with His perfect love.


"When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me." Micah 7:8b

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Romans 8:26

Chemo #2 = Goodbye Hair...

So here it is. Mom is losing her hair. She kinda reminds me as a molting duckling. She rubs her head and hair falls out. Our bet is that by tomorrow it will be gone as she showers. She is taking this in stride.

Chemo went really well today. She mostly slept through it. When she wasn't asleep I read aloud to her from "Pilgrim's Progress"...which is (I'm finding) a fantastic read.

We came home...and wished we were back in the air conditioned hospital...UGH SO HOTTT.

so...after mom slept for a while we ate cream-sicles and played in the sprinkler...

Chris made us a delicious dinner.

And after we ate mom and I went for a drive to the ocean...
and blessed the sea side with mom's fluffy white hair which floated off in the breeze.

And we got more ICE CREAM
...cuz Mom has cancer. its our excuse for most things.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
nor shall the flame scorch you...For I am the LORD..." Isaiah 43:2-3a

More Chemo tomorrow.

HI Everyone!
I'm back from camp and ready to jump back into the world of cancer! Mom is doing really well. Her first chemo was on the 21st of June and her next one is tomorrow. Please pray for her since the initial couple days after a treatment are very disagreeable to her system.

She had a pretty ugly reaction to the steroid that they gave her to help with nausea, which caused her to spend one night in the hospital last week. Nothing serious but just some esophagus spasms. So pray they lower the dose of that and the reaction isn't there this time around.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!!

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills--
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber...
neither slumber nor sleep." Ps 121:1-4

Mom's first day of Chemotherapy

Chemo started today. We went in at 8:30 this morning and got home at about...1:30. LONG day. That whole time wasn't just chemo though. It was some "chemo education" ...longer than necessary...but informative.
Then Mom was hooked up to her meds and we started having fun. Mom has a wonderful sense of humor and an ability to laugh in the worst of times...which is something I am so thankful for. It definately came in handy when I fell in April and is coming in handy again now. Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart does good like medicine"...Praise God for merry hearts.
So we made a few friends, had a few laughs, a few "dance partys"...and came home. Mom said she felt "high as a kite"...and then started to feel tired and sick.
She's had a nap...and been chilling on the couch. I managed to get a little dinner into her and pretty soon we'll be calling it a day. She's a trooper for sure. I love her! <3

She goes in for a shot tomorrow, and then nothing else for two weeks...then chemo again. By the way...the PET scan was fine. Nothing of note.

"Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint" Isaiah 40:28-31

Praise the Lord that with Jesus there is always a "But..."

...

Mom told me to tell you that she starts chemotherapy on Monday...and she has a PET scan tomorrow.
That's all.


I just returned from Canada. I had a wonderful time visiting the campus of NBBI where I just graduated. It was super quiet there...and I was able to spend some time thinking and relaxing and enjoyed laughter with some friends. It was refreshing.

I've decided to put my plans on hold for the fall concerning the internship I had in Canada to work at a church there. I think the best way for me to spend this year is to stay home with mom. So I'll be working here, and ministering in my church, and VERY EXCITING!! teaching social studies with my friend's 2nd grader who is being homeschooled this year.

So the year looks bright despite a "delay" from my perspective...
in reality all our days are known by the Lord...and He is in control. May this decision shine His love into our home.

"Be quiet, why this anxious heed
about thy tangled ways!
God knows them all, He giveth speed,
And He allows delays."

scratch that...

Okay...so Mom's not having surgery on the 17th. And the tumor is only 2.7 cm and the one up under her arm is 2.4 cm. That is good news. We're planning on not having surgery until after chemo is over.

Mom has a whole list of things to do in the next week or so before starting chemotherapy. She has to have a bone scan and cat scan and a heart scan and a mediport inserted (so she doesn't have to have a new IV every time she has chemo.) and she has to clips inserted to mark where the tumor is.

then chemo begins. I'll let you know the exact dates when we know but chemo starts very soon.

Outrageous Goodness

This blog entry isn't about my mom.

This is about God.
I've found myself frequently saying just in passing lately, "God is good".
And that phrase passes across my lips with no thought behind it. I know its true. But in the midst of anger and fear and anxiety and everything else...how dare I not think of what I'm saying...?

God is good. Without goodness...He would not be God.

Consider for one moment...the goodness of God.
He didn't have to make so many kinds of flowers...
He didn't have to make them smell good.
He didn't have to give each kind of plant a different leaf...
And consider that these brilliant beautiful plants keep us alive by "breathing in" what we breath out?
Look at the multitudes of different creatures that fill up our planet? DIVERSITY...the humpback whale...the labrador...the spider...the sparrow...
the Bible tells us that God cares for the grasses of the field and the birds in the air...how much more does He care for us?
God build humans in His image...
I mean seriously...look at your feet...who came up with that?!? That's brilliant!
Or your eye?
Or your heart...or ...anything. How good is He?
I mean how nice is it that we don't feed our young like pelicans do? its nice that we have breasts to get cancer in at all...

What about the fact that I'm here in Brunswick Maine...and so is God...but He's everywhere else too. No one is ever out of reach. No one ever cries and He doesn't hear them. No one has ever been born that He has not known...No one has ever slipped under the radar.

And there's never been a moment of your life that He doesn't know about. He sees every thought. He hears every sigh. He feels every hurt...

Or think about the fact that God hates sin. So often we think that's because He's this super party pooper in the sky...but its not. God hates sin because He loves us. God tells us not to kill and lust and steal because ...can we just be honest and say life would be just better if we didn't hurt each other and take each other's spouses and stuff...Wouldn't life be better if we told the truth? Wouldn't life be simpler if babies grew up with both parents? In truth we can agree that a good God made good laws for us...and is just for hating when we break them?

Think about how GOOD He is for loving us...I mean, so many times we define ourselves by our sins...subconsciously or not. I mean we call people things like theives, murderers, liars...we come up with titles for everything. God knows what we've done. Most importantly He knows that most of us NEVER think that He's good. We never consider our Maker...we just keep living as though we came up with the idea.

He doesn't love you because He's lonely and pining away. He doesn't love you because you've done Him any favors. He just loves you because HE IS LOVE. ...think about it. Most of us wouldn't be very lovely if everyone knew everything about us. I wouldn't be very loveable. But He who knows me completely still loves me completely. That's insane.

His goodness is extraordinary. Its outrageous. If you could grasp it all at once it would probably kill you. It is truely shocking. And the funny thing is that we go through life really thinking we're worthy of this kind of love.

we're not.

The God who put rings around Saturn and gave me the ability to laugh and cry and think...the God who thought of stripes for tigers and webs for spiders...

I DO NOT DESERVE HIS LOVE. And news flash...neither do you.

SO....where is this all going...

cancer happens...

and I find myself saying, "Oh, God is still good..."

Oh but isn't He?

MRI results

Mom heard from the Dr yesterday about her MRI...
Unfortunately it was not a very clear report. They told her that the original tumor appears to be larger than they had thought at first (bigger than 3 cm) and it is still unclear whether the 2nd tumor is in a lymphnode or in breast tissue.

Anyway...since Doctor's can never be discouraged they scheduled her for surgery on June 17th....two weeks from today.

Obviously we still have some unanswered questions. We intend to sit down with the Dr this week or next and have a talk.

We appriaciate your prayers.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
Thhe LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

still waiting...

Goodbye May...

Due to the long weekend we still have not heard results from Mom's MRI that she had on Friday. Hopefully the results will be clear enough for us to start moving along on treatment...

we should find out tomorrow or Wednesday.

I'll let ya'll know.

Meet Him on the beach.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were just one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
sorrow, anguish, or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed You,
You would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why when I needed You most, You were not there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you see only one set of footprints in the sand
is when I carried you."


Great is HIS faithfulness.

The imformation explosion...

WOW! I'm learning so much!

At the Dr's office yesterday we were given a totebag full of INFORMATION. It is actually quite intense. I went through it this morning and divided it into two piles: Medical Information and Caretaking Information. I am working through the 2nd pile and left the first pile for Mom, because she is far more medically inclined than I am. And knowing all that stuff will be helpful to her...not so much to me.

So...my pile includes:
Integrative Medicine info
Where to find help ...info...
support group/services
and the biggest hurdle of the day...Nutrition info

Don't get me wrong we've always been a family that focuses on healthy eating and yaknow...blahblahblah...

but apparently the nutrition needs of someone with cancer are far greater than the average Joe on the street...

So now I'm learning all about how to increase Mom's protein intake and calories and whole grains....
honestly I'm glad to have concrete things to work towards right now. I am grateful to be able to help and support Mom and at the same time take care of my own need to feel useful. I am glad for the help that has already been offered by friends. For example Mom's best friend Liz has offered to help if I want to spend a week at Camp Good News this summer...which might be in the middle of Mom's treatment. A friend from church has offered to help us get some gardening projects done so that they're not hanging over Mom's head while she is sick.
Those things mean a lot right now.

So anyway...I should get back to reading my book on cancer nutrition.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

This afternoon Mum and Dad and I met with Dr Greatorex to discuss Mom's cancer. I will do my best to relay to you what we learned and where we go from here. Mom has IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma). In the words of our pathology report this is: "a cancer that begins in the milk duct but grows into the surrounding normal tissue inside the breast. This is the most common kind of breast cancer."

Her cancer is Grade 2 which means the cancer cells are growing faster than normal cells. This is the middle grade between Grade 1 (slow growing) and Grade 3 (fast growing). The tumor is 3 cm.

In the breast there is a network of blood vessels which bring nourishment and remove waste etc. Often a concern with breast cancer is whether or not these vessels have been invaded by the cancer. This would increase the risk of the cancer returning. In Mom's case these vessels are cancer free. This is very good.

In all of this there is one big X-factor. Mom has a lump in her armpit on the same side. The big question is whether or not this lump (which is cancerous) is in the lymphnodes or if it is in the breast tissue.

IF it is in the lymphnodes (the most likely situation) then the "plan" would be surgery then chemo then radiation therapy.

IF it is in the breast tissue then it would be necessary for a mastectomy since that would be two "cancer centers". So, chemo would come first, then surgery.

We don't really know anything until we know which situation applies to mom. She has an MRI tomorrow afternoon to try to determine which shoe fits. Lord willing there will be a clear answer so that we can move forward into battle.


That's really all we have to share right now. We are so thankful for the support of so many friends and loved ones. Please keep in touch and feel free to send along any questions to my email : epherlan.1988@gmail.com
Pass on this blog to anyone who might want to be kept "in the loop". Good night!

God is good all the time. All the time God is good.

womens | Save the ta-tas®

womens | Save the ta-tas®

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The journey begins...

Hello everyone!

This blog is about my mother, Joan Kincaid. I welcome you to read it to be informed, to pray, and to be encouraged. It is for our family, for our friends, coworkers, neighbors,...and whoever else might need to watch our new journey which has recently begun.

Several weeks ago mum found a lump in her left breast. After two biopsies they discovered that it was cancerous. At honestly at this point that is all we know. We have a meeting with the Dr. at 2 o'clock today to discuss details and "the plan".

I think Mom is doing a lot better now that we know its cancer. I feel that the 12 day wait from when we were told "it might be cancer" to when it was confirmed was intensely anxious. She is such an amazing woman (I'm sure if you know her you agree) and still keeps her chin up and goes about life with a smile...although a little more absent minded than usual. =)

I am so thankful that I am able to be home with her during this time. I just graduated from New Brunswick Bible Institute where I had a fantastic time learning and growing in my faith in Jesus Christ. God always prepares us for difficult times and right now I am glad for that Rock that I have in Christ. When everything else in life is unstable He is always there.

I will let you know how things turn out with our talk to the Dr.