Hello everyone,
I just wanted to ask for prayers for my great-aunt. She recently turned 80 and, after a bout with severe back pain (spinal stenosis) they did a CAT scan and also found she has pancreatic cancer (this is the same cancer that killed her sister, my maternal grandmother, 8 years ago). Unlike my grandmother's slow-growing cancer, however, my great-aunt's is the fast-moving kind; it has already spread to her liver.
She is currently also fighting a bladder infection, has two blood clots in her lungs due to physical inactivity, and is dehyrdated. The doctors want to get rid of the clots first and she has to be free of the blood clot medication for a certain period of time before they can take a biopsy. Apparently radiation therapy is available to shrink the size of the tumor, but recovery from this is basically not an option.
She lives in Illinois, about six hours from where I live. My grandmother's death was difficult for me and I think in large part spurned my anxiety issues. Now, 8 years later, it's like deja vu. My great-aunt is the matriarch of my mom's side of the family and never had any children herself, was always very independent and well-loved by family. We don't know how much time she has left, but as you might imagine, the impact of this on my anxiety is great (though I'm still in a bit of shock over it). Please pray for her (Doris is her name, but we call her "Auntie")...and for my family as well.
Thanks, Sara