Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk. A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing and I'll tell you why. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together.
Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. What time is it? It's joy time. Hello everyone. Oh my goodness, we're so happy that you have tuned in today.
I am Dr. Joy with Joy Time and I am so excited to introduce you to my dear friend, Dr. Sandy Robertson. And today's a special day, Sandy. It's not really. It's any other day. It's just May 8th. No, no, no. You know why?
Let me tell you why. I'm not really going to ask you how old you are on air today, but you look fantastic for your age. Thank you so much. And thank you so much for coming in today to share so much about your story. I'm so excited for our listeners to be on today. I'm new here. This is only my second time being on the Truth Network and I'm so thankful that our very first Joy Time Podcast you could join me.
My first questioner is a little bit about how we met and what our relationship is about and a little bit about your story and what we're going to talk about today. Absolutely. So I'm a pharmacist and? Yes, I'm a pharmacist. That's right.
And when I was in pharmacy school finishing my last year of clinical rotations, you were finishing your residency. Yes, your fellowship. That's right. And what that means is she's super, super smart and is just. That's not what that means at all. Oh, and absolutely.
I'm a glutton for punishment is what that means. No, it means that not only did she get her doctorate of pharmacy degree, but she also completed a residency fellowship. And now you are a rock star pharmacist working in family medicine. So you train physicians who are residents still. I do.
You train them on medication. Yes, I do. So I'm a teacher basically.
You are. I mean, you call them professors really, but I'm a teacher of pharmacotherapy. And my students are physicians.
They're really bright. You are really bright and you are amazing. But before you finish your fellowship, you've had your very first pharmacy student. Yes, let me tell you about that pharmacy student. So this was part of my requirement as a fellow. I had to show that I could be an adequate preceptor, that I could lead and that I could teach. And I had this cute, adorable brunette walk through my door by the name of Dr. Oh, my goodness.
Yes. Oh, my goodness. And I really needed to impress my boss. So when I tell you that my first pharmacy student was going to work her little tail off a month. But I'm so sorry. Looking back, I'm so sorry. I'll put you through that.
What is the saying if it doesn't kill you and makes you stronger? There you go. That's right.
That's right. But so we met then under more of a professional type of, you know, right. Relationship. And then years later, I moved to the Triad area, and we ended up in the same Sunday school class, and had a kind of a funny story of how we realized who we were because so many years had gone by.
But we just picked right back up. And now, I'm not even sure that three days pass by before you and I talk on the phone. No, it's pretty normal. It's a Monday through Friday thing.
Now listen, if she calls on the weekend, there might be a crisis. But when we're when we're commuting back and forth to work, that's when we catch up. And that's when we talk.
And that's right. And I have really, I cherish it so much. Oh, me too. Wonderful. And so a part of this friendship that we've had now for so long, we just walk life together. And I think our listeners, they certainly can relate to that.
Yes. You know, if if they have friends in their life, and they talk to regularly, or maybe it's family members, right? Maybe it's a cousin or a sibling, or even a daughter or a sister.
A daughter or a son, you know, that you talk to, and you have such a special relationship with friends and family. You just do life together. You do like the good and the bad, the good and the bad. And we celebrate each other's accomplishments. And I am your biggest cheerleader, and you are mine. But we're not afraid to call each other and say, let me tell you what has happened. And I need some prayer, right? Right.
Absolutely. So I remember specifically on January the 13th of this year, so not too long ago, you and I were having our normal Monday drive to work. And you said to me, you know, I had a little itch and on my right breast, and I felt a little something. You said I just I felt a little something. And I remember telling you that just as in passing. Oh, it was nothing. Right. Right. Say more about that story.
Please do. So I was sick with just a virus the week before, and nothing big. And but didn't, you know, when you're at home, you know, you don't have the brawn, that kind of stuff. Right. So So I was just resting. And I had this itch in this one little area. Right.
And when I did, it was very pronounced, this very small, pea size, something. And I remember, like, my brain happening, like, was that something? I don't know. Was it? Yes.
No, wasn't even sure. And I kind of blew it off. And then I told my husband about it. And I said, Do you think I should even call?
He said, Yeah, just go get checked out. But then I forgot about it over the weekend. And then I mentioned it to you on January 13. And the reason why that's important is because that was my mother's birthday, she would have been 85.
And she had passed away five years earlier of ovarian cancer. Yes. Yes. That's the significance of that day. Right.
That now I've realized how significant all of God's timing is. But yeah, keep going. Right. Yeah. Well, I remember, like you just said, we were just talking in passing. Sure.
It wasn't like you were calling me for that purpose. Not at all. And you were so really just dismissive about it, because a lot of women have cystic breast tissue. It's very normal to have dense breast tissue. And it's normal to have it. It's normal to have places that when you do your monthly exam, that you feel and you think, hmm, is that a cyst? Is that something to worry about?
And even when you get your mammogram, and you have this dense tissue in your letter, it'll say, you have dense tissue, you always need to have a 3d type of, you know, either ultrasound or ultrasound. Right, exactly. And so you weren't that concerned. But I remember thinking, I'm so glad you're going to check it out.
Right. And because you do work with all of these family medicine folks, right, you have direct access, right? So yes, it's time for me to just, I want to admit something to you and the listeners.
So what I did, so my, my PCP, my primary care provider, is also with cabarrus family medicine, and is also my friend and my personal physician and kind of my boss, or your colleague, right, right, right. And so later that week, even though I said that to you, I was too busy that day. It was literally three days later, I had not thought about this at all. And then something popped in my head. Text your PCP, text your friend.
I would say that's the Holy Spirit. It absolutely was. So I texted her and she she always knows when I'm fishing. I'm like, Hey, are you in the office today? And she said, No, I'm working from home.
What's up? And I literally said, I think I fabricated a small lump in my right breast. And I just need you to tell me that it's okay.
Because I think now I'm starting to think about it, it just popped in my head. And I just want to put that in my mind. And she literally said, just drive on over to my house, and I'll, I'll fill it.
So in her bedroom, you know, take your off. And, you know, she's seen it before. And she said she was very reassuring, but she she found it. And so it kind of I was like, Well, thank you for finding it.
Because I thought I'd made it up. Right? She had nothing to worry about.
Let's just do a routine mammogram and an ultrasound just to be sure just to check check the box. So that's how that started. Do you want me to keep going? At this point? Yeah. You were still feeling like it's probably nothing? Or were you a little more worried? Was not worried at all? Okay.
At all. I'd had a mammogram in August. Right. So and it was normal. And but I was happy to go and just check, you know, check it, right? Because otherwise, it would just still be popping up.
Right. So I go in, I have my mammogram, and they did the ultrasound right away. And the radiologist who I also knew came in and right away said to me, this is not a cyst. This is either fiber adenoma or a baby cancer. And I could not have been more shocked.
Like it really, really took me back. That's what he was saying with with confidence to me. But that's what it was just looking at the ultrasound. Yeah. Right. And he has how many years of experience?
About 33. Right. And what's so interesting as we get along in this story, because we're going to take a break in a minute. We're going to see that everything he said to you that day, just after the ultrasound was exactly right. Yes. Isn't that amazing?
Just after a small little ultrasound. That's right. It's amazing. So we're going to be back in a little bit. So stay tuned as we hear more about Sandy's story and bring you encouragement today.
Welcome back. This is Dr. Joy with Joytime. And we are having a very encouraging conversation with my great friend, Dr. Sandy Robertson, as she's sharing with us a part of her journey of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
And so hopefully you were able to tune in earlier. We're picking back up in her story where she had found this tiny little spot just randomly one day. She went in for some extra testing. And the physician, who's an expert of 30 plus years, came in and said to you, This is likely a baby cancer. And he also said, It's a miracle that you found this because it was so small.
And you need to, you know, if you're a person of faith, you need to thank God for this. And so we had a nice moment. And he very quickly, you know, scheduled a biopsy. So I'll just kind of quickly go through that and kind of how all of this roller coaster of emotions hit because I think probably a lot of our listeners have been there.
Maybe they're there now. So it was it was shock that was then followed up by, like, immense gratefulness and gratitude, because I still didn't know if it was cancer or not, but just wow, I cannot believe it. Wow, I cannot believe that this little itch that I had just for literally five seconds has led to all of this. So fast forward, the biopsy, the biopsy did come back invasive ductal carcinoma, estrogen receptor positive hers to negative is quote the best cancer to have. And just fun fact, because you know, I'm a nerd. Absolutely. So this is the most common type of breast cancer. So 65% of premenopausal women will have this type of cancer. And 75% of postmenopausal, which I am, will have the estrogen receptor positive hers to negative.
Okay. And the reason why that's the quote best cancer is because if you block all the estrogen in your body, we can do that with endocrine therapy, like tamoxifen, other agents, you can really, really reduce the chances of recurrence. Okay, so even though Yeah, bad news, you have cancer. Good news. It's a tiny baby cancer, and it's the best kind of cancer, and we can treat it and it's going to be great.
You're gonna have some bumps in the road and that's great. Fast forward, go to the oncology surgeon. She was wonderful. She agreed. We were like lumpectomy radiation, you're probably gonna be good. This is a miracle.
I can't believe it. And I literally at that point, I remember saying out loud to the Lord, like, thank you for saving my life. Thank you. Like, thank you. Thank you.
You found it right so early. But I have to say this to the to everyone, because I said it out loud to the Lord, and I mean it today. I said to him on that moment, I said, if I need chemo, because that's what everybody is most afraid of, right?
Right. If I need chemo, I will do it. Because if you need me to be in that room, to witness to someone or maybe outside, I don't know if you need me to even do the chemo, the worst thing. I will do it. And I said it out loud to him. Okay. But honestly, I thought I'm not going to need it. But if I do, I'm going to do it.
And I'm not going to complain about it. And I'm going to be okay. So now, fast forward oncology surgeon said, let's go ahead and plan the surgery, but we have to get an MRI that is protocol. So I go in for the MRI. And then that is when the shoe dropped. Oh, I remember this.
You remember that day, I remember this, it came, the result came in my portal. So I didn't the physician didn't call me to tell me what it was, I had to read it. And it was a hot mess. So it so this seven millimeter mass on MRI was now 1.4 centimeters, which that freaked me out, which I knew already had that.
But then north of that north of that cancer was this crazy area that just looked very angry and looked very suspicious from malignancy. And it was over three centimeters. And it was just awful. And I happened to be carpooling with my husband that day. And I read it right before I got in the car. And then he was driving. And I literally like the fear just came over.
And I just like ugly cried. And just to explain to our listeners a little bit more, basically what the MRI showed was that in the same breast, you had two different types of cancer. So right. So that that then went into a second biopsy that came back. Now it's called DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, which either stage zero cancer, pre cancer, it's cancer cells that are completely in the, the milk ducts, okay, of your breast, okay. But the weird part about it is it was estrogen receptor negative and highly aggressive, whereas the other invasive invasive carcinoma was estrogen receptor positive low grade. So then on this conundrum of I have two different kinds of cancer, not only in the same breast, but in the same quadrant of the same breast. So then lumpectomy became mastectomy because it was going to be too big to remove. And so that was done on March 31. But before that, the tumor board of the hospital, right?
Yeah. They're like, No, I know this case right here is something else. We have all got to get around this table. They were confused. They were so confused. You know, in the medical community, we say you never want to be an interesting case, right?
Because interesting case could be, you know, badness. But, but I was thankful to have so many physicians that would actually got together and to decide kind of what was the best treatment plan. I felt like I had a dream team, right? Yes. And so I just want to make sure that the listeners know that falling apart and completely having fear does not mean that your faith is wavering. Oh, absolutely. And and I felt like then like after I took a moment to really digest that, then I could say to the Lord, Wow, okay, you, you really did save my life, because you pointed out a cancer that hadn't yet gone invasive. That was the quote, nasty cancer that was so much worse than the little thing that we found in the first place. So it was just, I mean, it's an amazing story. It's a scary story. But it really, I had all the emotions.
But in the end, it all comes back to I cannot believe that he loved me enough to make me scratch my breasts. That's how it all started. Right. It's really crazy. And you think about from January the ninth, which is when you found it, you told me on the 13th.
So now we're into March, right? And now there's a lot more opinion around what to do. And you're making you're making the decision to have the whole breast removed for the mastectomy. So that's a really hard decision. It's a very personal decision. And you probably remember this from our conversations, I became very introspective, then, right, I didn't really want to talk to everyone who had gone through this journey, because the journeys are so different.
Right. And I really had to just tune everybody else out. And, you know, just talk with my husband and kind of what I wanted to do. So sometimes people want to help, but just the opinions get overwhelming.
I felt very overwhelmed, very overwhelmed. You just want to make the right choice. Right.
There's so many different choices. Right. It's hard.
It was really hard. That's really a good point. Because so many people said to you, why don't you just go ahead and have both breasts removed? You should definitely do that. And, and the tumor board and the experts who know the data from the new clinical studies and all the medical research that's been done. They can guide you based off evidence and data. And you're trusting in that. And people do mean well. Yes, they mean well. And it's completely fine if you choose to have a double. But you know, I chose based on the data and kind of how I wanted to proceed that that a single mastectomy was going to be the best course for me. And I feel really, I felt really, really good with that decision.
There's this such this piece. Okay. You know, you know, when the Lord says, you know, I give you peace that surpasses all understanding. I don't I cannot explain to you how I have slept so well, I've had a great appetite. The Lord has spared me from these hot flashes.
And when I had to stop my estrogen. I mean, all of these bless it is from the Lord. And I just feel honored almost like, you know, I'm in this fire, but it's a privilege to be there.
I love the verse in Psalm 34 that says the Lord is close to the broken hearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. And I was able to just from the outside, walk with you a little bit in this valley. Right.
And the valley can be dark and the valley can be scary. Yes. But the whole time you're walking through it, you would say to me, I know that God's with me. Yes, I know that he's going to help me. And I remember you saying to me something like, no matter what happens in this situation, he is still good.
And my circumstance does not define his goodness. Right. So no matter what comes back from this mastectomy, because, you know, there's pathology that has to be done. They take out some lymph nodes. A lot of waiting. A lot of waiting.
And the lymph nodes could come back positive for the disease to spread or they could come back clear. You know, going in. But you still had a piece about it. And what I saw from you was trusting in the Lord without knowing what was coming next.
Right. So everybody stay tuned, because when we get back, we're going to talk about how do we find joy when life hurts? So you don't want to miss more from Dr. Sandy Robertson. Stick with us. Well, we are back.
Thank you so much for staying with us. It is Dr. Joy here with Joy Time Ministries with my wonderful friend, Dr. Sandy Robertson, and she's been sharing her story that she's currently walking through with breast cancer. And before the break, we had gotten to the part of your story where you had made the decision to have your mastectomy. And I'd love for you to finish up and share with our listeners what happened through that stage of your journey as we continue this afternoon. Yes.
Yes. So the so great news with the pathology on that. All of my lymph nodes were negative. The mastectomy actually was easier than I thought to recover, which is such a blessing. I had kind of prepared for some misery and it was less than that for me. Anyway, everybody's journey is different.
So so thankful. And then there were some other tests that you've had to wait on. So there's so much research in breast cancer and especially this type of breast cancer. So because my lymph nodes were negative, then they went on to this very fancy genomic testing that we won't talk about.
It's super, super fancy and sophisticated. But you get a score. And based on this score, if it comes back high, what the data shows is that it can substantially decrease your risk of having a recurrence of cancer 10 years from now. Now, breast cancer is sneaky.
That's what you have to remember there. There could be a cell of breast cancer that could escape the breast, go through the lymph node and be hiding out and smoldering in your body literally for 10 years. And where that breast cancer cell likes to go is your bone.
So I just learned this. I honestly didn't know this, but that's where the recurrence of breast cancer usually goes is to bone cancer. So here's here are my numbers. My score came back very high and that was very disappointing.
And it was another moment of fear when I saw that score. And what that score showed me was that in 10 years, I had a 22 percent chance of having recurrent cancer at a distant site if I only took tamoxifen and did not take chemo. But if I chose to go through chemo now, that 22 percent went down to 7 percent. Which is a huge difference. Oh, are you kidding me? Yes. Right. It was a no brainer.
So that was just my score. But then there was even more sophistication where a different prediction model. So I'll just skip to the I'll skip to the great news. If I choose to do chemo, which I am, as you know, my chance of recurrent cancer being bone cancer in 10 years is only 3 percent.
Which is just reason to like shout. Are you kidding me? It was great news. Now, do I really want to go through chemo as a pharmacist that knows all the side effects and all the scary things that can happen? No.
But do I think I can get through it and do it fairly easily? I really do. Your attitude is amazing.
I really do. I'm like, let's bring this on. Let's do it. And it's happening May 19th. Right. Which is a week from Monday for us.
Right. I remember when you called me when you got the score because we had been praying for that score to be low. I remember saying on the phone, we just want that score to be two. We do not want that score to be high. And you said that your score was thirty thirty four. That's right.
Thirty four. And I remember you calling me and you were teary and I was teary and you walked through your feelings, which is so important. I want to encourage our listeners in that, you know, it is OK to feel God created us as beings who feel. And we saw Jesus in our scriptures. He felt we saw him have compassion. We saw him have holy anger. We saw him cry, you know, when he went to meet with Mary and Martha.
He was in Lazarus, had been dead. We saw Jesus have so many emotions. And I think one of the lies that the enemy wants to tell us is that we're supposed to be happy all the time. Right. And that we should never feel down.
We should never feel lonely. Oh, my goodness. Right. That is.
God gave us these emotions and he let us experience that through the Bible through reading through Jesus. Exactly. Right. So it's normal. That's right. The key is you can't let your feelings drive your life.
Right. You have to recognize them for what they are. But you have to let the Lord guide your life and you have to stand firm on his holy word. And so there's a story in the book of Acts that I wanted us to just think about this afternoon. And it's when Paul and Silas are making their trips and they are proclaiming the gospel to people. And they are hated by the people, especially by these high up officials. And so they get beaten and thrown into prison. And in Acts chapter 16, what we see them do, it says in verse 25, but about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the prisoners were listening to them.
Now, I love that so much is because they had been beaten and they were bruised and they had been thrown in prison. And you think about the valley that they're in. Right. Right. That's bad stuff. That is terrible. They're not only physically right.
Like, you know, hurting and bleeding and bruised. But now their lives have been taken over and they're in prison. And their response is to sing. Right. And to praise God. Right. But how hard is it when we're in the valley to turn up that Christian music and to sing?
How hard is it to thank God and praise God? And I wanted you to share with our listeners just some tools. Right.
Some things that we can try to shift in our lives so that when we are in the valley, we can keep our perspective in a better place. Right. I mean, I'm a very practical person and I know kind of the way that I like to think about things. And I'm I tend to be a control freak and think about me a little bit. And, you know, I'm the pot near the kettle. Right.
Exactly. But when it comes to times of this type of valley for me, and I've only been in a few in my life. I've been very blessed, but I have been in a few. When you're at the lowest, that's when you know, you're just empty.
And what I tend to do after I will just thank the Lord is I just write in a gratitude journal. And it's just the simplest things. And I want you to know it's been so effective this time. Anytime you talk about the C word cancer word.
It's not as scary to me as it is to some people because I'm in the health care profession. But I am not kidding you. When I started writing all this stuff down. Like the flowers are beautiful.
That cheeseburger tasted delicious. It's like the silly things like this is so good. Like you.
I don't know. Everything just seemed a little brighter. Like, wow, this is life. This is life. And I have been given a second chance. Right.
Because let me tell you my goal. And when I'm my biggest gratitude is my family. And part of that family is a new granddaughter. She's only one. Right. I love her. She's the joy of my life. And when she's 10.
This is this is my imagery in my mind. Okay. When she's 10. That means I will. This breast cancer is long gone. And we're all going to be whitewater rafting down Yellowstone. You know, that's that's the grandma that I want to be.
Not the grandma with bone cancer. I don't know if that's going to happen. But that is the imagery and the gratitude that I have. Like because I'm going through this now.
That is hopefully going to help enable me to do that. I love that. And I heard a speaker say this one time. And so it's really stuck with me that when you're in a valley and life is dark and you feel that you can't see. And you want to feel the joy of the Lord, which we know is a gift that God gives us.
Right. It's a part of the fruit of the spirit. Real joy only comes through Jesus. And it's very different than temporary happiness. But if you're trying to get over from misery, sadness, loneliness, darkness to joy, the bridge is gratitude. Yes, it truly is.
If we will stop and not just think about what we're grateful for. But there's medical science that shows when you write things down, how much it changes your life. I mean, you can listen to any success coach and they will say you need a vision board. You need to write it down because when you the act of writing it down, the neuroscience behind that, it plants it in your subconscious.
It makes you make decisions to get to that goal. So it's very similar with gratitude. Right.
When you focus and you write down with pen and paper. Right. Well, I mean, that's how we studied right back in pharmacy.
That's right. Write it down. We write our notes. We'd rewrite it.
We'd highlight it. Yes. And that's how it sticks.
That's how it's right. And I'm just laughing when you're saying this because, you know, the Bible verse consider it pure joy. Yes. When you're going through trial and you do it with gratitude and I kind of laugh like pure joy. Like, I don't know, it's like 90 percent joy. No, it's pure joy.
Right. What I love also about this story with Paul and Silas in that verse that I just read. The last part of that verse says as they were singing hymns of praise and praying that the prisoners were listening.
You know, when we go through something that's really hard. People are watching. They are. People are watching to see. I wonder if her faith is real. I wonder if this relationship with Jesus that she's talked about so much and she goes to church and she helps in the Sunday school class.
I wonder what's going to happen now that she's in the fire. I think we have to be careful about not letting that be our sole goal in how we respond, because we need to cry. We need to grieve. We need to be human. But I think it's important to know that we're also being a witness during that time.
Right. That you the way that you're handling this and the way that you are praying and the way that you're working through it. I mean, you're encouraging me. You're encouraging so many people in your life.
You are. You are such an encouragement. And you are bringing a steadfastness of faith to a valley that you have. You are determined. The Bible talks about that we need to be steadfast in our faith. Yes. That God is the same when our circumstances are good.
That's right. For our circumstances are bad. And this is a long journey. And, you know, the waiting period and the roller coaster and the fear and the shocking news. And, you know, I talked about, you know, the the terrible crying, you know, the sadness that I had when I read the MRI that was that data was confirmed, that information was confirmed. And then and then I was lifted back up and I was really encouraged and I was thankful. I was even thankful for, you know, just everything that had come back.
But then the day that I got the score and the day that I knew, even before I met with the oncologist, I knew I was going to chemo. And that was the second horrific cry that I had. I could not contain it. Like, I contained it all day. And then it happened in the closet and my husband, bless his heart, was there. All he could do was hold me. And then I thought it was all out.
You know, it was like, you can't. There's no more tears left and you can't breathe because your nose is so stuffed up. And then I got in the shower to try to make it better. And then it all happened again. And then I got in the bed and I was fine. I was fine. And then I was praying. And then it just I don't I just want to make sure people know that I'm I had moments.
Oh, you know, you're human. And then but but then by the time I got to my oncology appointment, which was last Friday, it was just such an encouragement when she even had better news for me and she had answers. And she was so gracious. And she said, when this side effect happens, this is what we're going to do. And this side effect happens is what we're going to do. And you're going to get through this.
And you have such a positive attitude. It's like, that's right. I'm going to lean into this. Like, I can do this. I'm strong.
I can do this. And it just I don't know. It almost feels empowering a little bit. Right. Well, mindset is everything.
Yeah. Your attitude and your mindset. And so as we think about if our listeners are going through a tough valley, a few things that I would encourage them to think about are these things. Number one, cling to God's word and know his word. Right.
We've got to know our Bibles. Right. We and then when we read God's word, we need to write down on sticky notes, things that really bring us encouragement. Put those sticky notes on your bathroom mirror.
Right. Put them on your steering wheel. So when you get in your car in the morning, you're reminded of God's word journal. Use a gratitude journal. Talk to good friends. Have good friends.
Yes. And remember to pray and be honest with the Lord. Don't go anywhere. We're going to come back and we're going to continue along this journey with Dr. Sandy Robertson. So stay with us.
We are back. It's Dr. Joy with Joy time, and I'm here with my great friend, Dr. Sandy Robertson, as she's been sharing the journey that she's in the middle of right now. Well, we want to open up the phone lines for anyone who may want to call and ask Dr. Sandy Robertson a question or you or me, but mostly you. The number here is 866-34-TRUTH.
That's 866-348-7884. If you'd like to ask her a question or if you want to even ask a question about finding joy when life hurts, we just want to offer you that opportunity. We left our last break thinking about practical ways that we can keep the feeling of joy in our hearts and in our minds. We talked about gratitude. We talked about clinging to God's word. We talked about community. Right.
And having a great, so important, right, a great community of and friends that we can talk to. And I wanted to also point out that we need to remember that we can control our mindset. Yes. That is so important when the enemy attacks our minds and he wants to remind us of all the bad things that might happen and all the quote unquote what ifs that might happen that we have the power to stop those thoughts. Right. And we can change the channel, change the channel. You've taught me some really good strategies with that just in life when worry is getting the best of you, you know, changing the channel, the big X, you know, all the things I have the big X on. You know, I won't even mention it here, but the scene that when Satan puts that that scene in my head, then I just put the X on it and and I have a better scene.
That's right. We need to recognize the schemes of the enemy when he's trying to fill our hearts and mind up with all of the what ifs and the path of destruction that our mindset can take us down. And we need to replace those thoughts with godly thoughts. And I think that's why writing down scripture, posting it to your bathroom mirror, keeping a gratitude journal that you can write in is so empowering. I mean, it's so important, right? And being honest with your friends, honest with your family, looking for that encouragement, and and not trying to always be the the one that's the bubbly, happy, everyday person, because that's not real.
And just trying to be honest. Yeah, with it, I think is really helpful. And it's, it's hard for me to be on this side of the medical, you know, to be the patient because I'm so used to being the helper. And so it's an adjustment for me. And one thing that I've learned, like just the simple, the simplest things, the text and the cards that I receive, it means so much. And then it also like, it convicts me, I'm like, Sandy, you need to do better than sending cards to other people. And so I like, literally last week, I was at a store and I saw like a card thing.
And so I just went out and started buying some cards just to have there. Because it means so much because the encouragement from and these are all you know, Christian ladies that are sending me these words of encouragement. So it's, it really is very, very helpful, right?
So tell me some things that you have received. And if you are giving some advice to one of our listeners now, who maybe has a friend going through this or them themselves, right? What would you tell them to do for their for their friend? Yes.
Well, hmm, that's a great question. I would say, sending texts that say, there's no need to respond. I just want you to know that I'm thinking about you and I'm praying for you. Oh, I love that because you really it releases any responsibility. I love that. I love that it does. And I do I do usually respond.
But it's just nice to have like no strings attached. Or you know, I had a friend that she didn't even ask permission. She she kind of knew what I was doing that day. And she said, she texted me at five o'clock, I've left dinner for you on on your front porch. Oh, how nice. That was so thoughtful. Right. And she's like, don't you have to talk to me? It was just just that kind of kindness was so nice.
I could have made supper that night, but it was really lovely to go home and it just be there. So it sounds like if the Lord prompts you to think about your friend who's going through something, just do it. Just do it. Right. Don't even don't even think about it. That's right.
That's right. What would you want to share with someone who maybe has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer? What would what would be some encouragement you would share? Well, I just I'm sorry that you're having to go through it.
It's not fun. And every day is going to feel different. I think it's normal to think about it every day. I don't it doesn't consume me, but it's hard to completely get it out of your mind because usually, you know, every two or three days you're having to do something or you're getting some email or it just it has to be on your mind. So that's OK.
But you need when you start obsessing about the negative side of this, that's when you have to put it out of your out of your mind and you have to just really focus whether you need to talk to someone or just go do something fun. You know that I'm an exercise freak. So that is my natural endorphin.
That is my Prozac. So it really works for me to go. And I like to really work out hard. I like to work out so hard that I just don't have the energy to think you really do work out hard because I made the mistake of going with you once or twice to what you call the boot camp at the YMCA.
And let me tell you what. I was embarrassed because I told you we could call this show the fit and the flabby because you are so amazing when it comes to so many different things. But you are so regimented. You are so loyal and you take your health so seriously and you work hard at staying fit and eating. You eat things on a salad. I don't even know the name of them. You need to eat more vegetables.
You know you go and get these salads podcast right different podcasts for sure about about our eating habits and how different we are. I do think your lifestyle. It does play a part in this.
I mean this is our temple and the Lord does you know expect us to take care of it. Right. Right. And so I work really hard at that as well and to try to do my part. But and it does it helps me to sleep. It helps me to think better. It clears my mind.
I'm the most creative when when I'm in the middle of spin class and I don't know why. Just things come to my mind. So whatever but whatever works for you whether it's walking outside whatever it is it's very important to just keep all of those things.
And you made a good point. Stay regimented. Whatever your life is before breast cancer. It doesn't end like I still go to work. I still go out to eat with friends. I still go play with my granddaughter.
I'm still doing all these things. I feel well. I do not feel sick at all. I feel fantastic. So it's this weird thing like well yeah I have cancer but I feel fine and that's not everybody's case with cancer. But I'm like you know fortunate. Right. So it's kind of this weird thing. And I love thinking about it this way that you're not alone and your story is not over.
Right. The fact that God is still writing your story and just because something has interrupted what you thought was going to be your life. It could be cancer. It could be another type of sickness. It could be something happens to someone that you love. If you still have a heart that's beating and you still are breathing. There's air in your lungs. There's a song about that.
Yes. God is not finished with you. And he is writing a beautiful story even through this heartache.
Right. He's continuing to write that story so you can trust in him. Well I want to thank you so much for just your honesty. You know for you to come and share. I mean it's not like it's been two years since you've been through this. You're in the middle of this. I mean you're having your first chemo in a little over a week.
So you're still in the middle of walking through it. And it's so just I think it's so encouraging for our listeners. It's actually therapeutic for me to talk about it. So it really in my case it doesn't mind. You know it's helpful to just put it out there.
I don't want to hide against this facade of breast cancer and I just want to get out and talk about it. And I hope it is encouraging to others. Also comforting to know that you know it's a roller coaster.
That's normal. Right. And I love the fact that we can have an honest conversation about faith. You know faith is being sure of what you hope for and being certain of what you do not see. One of the parts of that verse that I love so much is that you can't see ahead. We don't have a crystal ball.
We don't have anything that's going to say to us oh in 15 years we're going to be doing X Y and Z. Right. But we walk forward one step at a time. You know the Bible says that his word is you know it's a lamp into our feet.
And so when you think about this lamp it only shows you the next step or two. And so you walk with courage. You walk with hope. But we're human and we have our peaks and our valleys even in our relationship with Jesus.
Right. And when we get along with him in our closet and we cry and we pray he is faithful to meet us there. So I want to pray for us and then we'll wrap up with our time together here with our first podcast for Joy Time. So thankful. Thank you for having me. For you being on our on our show.
Let me let me pray and then we'll wrap up. Lord we are so thankful for you. We are so thankful for your faithfulness. How you love us.
How you're with us. How your promises are true. We can stand firm and we can be steadfast on your word.
We can know that beyond a shadow of a doubt you are true to who you say you are. Thank you for my friend Sandy. Thank you Lord for this wonderful time together that we can hopefully bring encouragement to our listeners. I want to lift up all of our listeners whatever they're going through Lord that they would trust in you.
They would put their faith in you and they would walk closely with you in their faith journey. We love you and I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So it is awesome to be your friend.
Let me just say right back at you. And it is awesome that today is your older friend. I'm your older friend. Wiser.
Just by a few years. But what a blessing to have this on your birthday too. Happiness of birthdays to you. And I am excited to see all that the Lord is going to continue to do in this journey. Thank you. You know maybe there'll be a part two. Maybe there will be.
I mean who knows. I know it. And you know it's not going to be easy. And I know there's chemo is never easy. Right.
You know but you're going to face it with courage and you're going to face it with your faith leading the way. That's right. Remember what I said to him. Yes that's right.
When I really thought there was like a I don't know ninety percent chance. But I'm going to be there. Absolutely.
That's right. Well thank you so much listeners for tuning in today. We hope that this is the first of many Joytime podcasts and more to come. You can connect with us at Joytime.org and make sure you check us out over on Facebook and Instagram for your dose of daily encouragement and joy.
