Red Chemo Day

Nov 25

In case you missed it, my mom has been writing, and her last couple of blogs are about me.

Now that the clock has struck midnight, it is Chemo Day for me.  It is surreal that I’ll be going back to my Chemo Room to get hooked up to the hard stuff.  I need strength to Do It Well–please pray for me that I would continue to feel God’s anointing over me.  My family and friends, in rippling circles, also need strength to help me do this.  In some ways, my family has the harder task: Brad is going to work, Maren is going to school.  They must be responsible, and kind, and strong with so much bubbling unseen below the surface.  Please pray that they too would have peace and strength.

Truth:  It’s going to be hard.

Truth:  The Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  –Psalm 100:5

This verse speaks to all of my worries.  God is good and His faithfulness extends to my children and my children’s children.  That is a rock I can stand on.  That is a solid foundation.

Here are the specific prayer requests for tomorrow; I’m wearing red for this first chemo:

  • Blood counts/Exam: I need to have strong counts and pass my oncologist’s assessment that I am ready for chemo.  Game face is on!
  • No allergic reaction: I’ve seen 20 or more allergic reactions in the Chemo Room, and Taxotere (chemo drug I’m getting) caused most of them.
  • Poison would target the cancer cells and spare the healthy cells.
  • Appointment is at 12:20; the chemo will probably drip from 2-5pm(ish).  (Eastern).

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. –Psalm 100:4

40 comments

  1. God’s got this.

  2. I am praying for you, girl. Your cyber friends think about & pray for you & your family a lot. Sending love from Georgia

  3. Shannon K /

    GOD HAS GOTTEN THIS! Whenever I pray for you girlfriend – I get the same feeling and His word is always the same – “I GOT THIS” and a peace NOT of this world washes over me. He is smiling. He doesn’t understand my fears, yet He is always patient with me. He brings joy to my soul. Go red! You bring joy to the chemo room!

  4. God has got this and we are cheering praying and any other thing we can think of for you goregous.

  5. Good morning Jen! I love symbolism. This weekends candle was lit in Bath Abbey. There were beautiful red chandeliers that I kept admiring there.
    Thinking of you this afternoon.
    Marion

  6. Charity Buchanan /

    Will be praying.

  7. Tiffany Green /

    Praying so hard for you Jen! You’ve got this…God’s got this! His love endures forever and He will always remain faithful! Lean on Him and feel His presence in that chemo room. Keep doing today well! Love and blessings!

  8. Kim Rourke /

    I am in my red and ready to warrior through for you and all the family today! May each calming breath you take today be filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit!

  9. I am praying for you! You’ve got this and you will do it well! I am going in today for my bilateral mastectomy (have completed chemo) and have found so much inspiration and strength for my own journey from you. May you feel God’s loving arms wrap around you.

  10. Wearing red and praying for your good cells to be strong and for the bad cells to be vanquished by the red chemo today!

  11. Praying for you, Brad, the kids, your mom, the legions walking this with you. Praying for decimation of all cancer cells. Praying you will be here for decades and know and get to love on your generations.

  12. Red Beads, red Christmas decorations, we will throw in all the red we can find, plus the love, prayers, and a touch of glitter. Much strength Neecie and Leo

  13. Linda (aka. "T") /

    Hoping for your counts to be strong, the chemo to eliminate the cancer cells, and your body to be spared from the allergic reactions. Thinking of you today and keeping your family in my prayers.

  14. Tiffany /

    Wearing red today!! Warrior face on, ready to battle along side you. Prayers for all numbers to be where they need to, to get this started!! Love you!!

  15. Praying.

  16. Newbie friend /

    Lifting all your requests in prayer, The Lord
    Hears our prayers. Wearing Red today, sending love..

  17. Prayers and no worry!

  18. cameron /

    Praying specific prayers for all of you (I love it when you give us specifics) and wearing RED in your honor. You can do this Jen because God is right there with you.

  19. I will wear and think red today…I am right beside you…

  20. Warm thoughts and prayers for you and you family. We are thinking of you with red clothes and red foods, all day long.

  21. George - Penni Jarjosa /

    God bless you Jen.
    You and your family are in our prayers everyday!

  22. Rainbows hold special meaning for me ~ it’s the way my father let me know our life in a new state was going to be great (and it has been). The fact that you’ve chosen it as a symbol for this all-important Chemo series let’s me know MY guardian angels are hovering over you, too (and they’re a darn fine bunch of folks!). You’re definitely facing a major war, but you’re ahead of the game in already knowing the enemy. It can’t sneak up on you and take you unaware. Your blogosphere buddies (dressed in red) are already on the battlefield; prayers and positive thoughts are forming a protective barrier. We have met the enemy and they are ours! Now go and “DO TODAY WELL”!!! 🙂

  23. Lindsay /

    Today is a good day! C-ya later cancer cells!! Praying for you!

  24. It takes some rain to make a rainbow – we can weather this one together. You focus on you, and your little family and what their needs are, and your red coated army will handle the peripherals.

  25. Bonnie J /

    Praying for strength, praying for grace and the apprehension of ALL that the Lord bestows, praying for peaceful hearts for the family and you. This is Thanksgiving week and we are so very grateful for you and what you mean to us all.
    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; HE will never leave you or forsake you. ” Deut.31:6
    Wearing red and praying, love you deeply! !

  26. Praying for you. This is going to be good RED day!

  27. Susan Taylor /

    Today would be a fantastic day to use a few drops of frankincense and wild orange essential oils. Just rub them together in your hands and breathe in deeply. Thinking of you today with joy and love.

  28. Boys and I will wear red today here in FL. Hope it is an awesome red chemo day!

  29. Wearing red for you!! Hang in there Jen, you got this.. Sending love and prayers.

  30. Sue Nitz /

    Dear Heavenly Father, I lift up to you today your beautiful daughter Jen. As she journeys through this time of healing I pray that you will continue to give her strength and peace. I pray that you will keep her body strong and ready to receive her medicine. I pray that the doctors will be “wowed” by her body’s reaction to her treatments. Guide the administering hands and the nurses that will be tending to her. Bless all those that Jen comes in contact with. May they feel the peace and love she feels from You.

    Dear Father, I also lift up to you Jen’s family. Keep them safe and healthy. May they feel Your loving presence with them always. Watch over Maren while she is at school and Greta while she goes about her day. May Brad continue to feel Your strength and peace. I pray that you bless the Andersons with the means, so that they won’t ever feel burdened by the cost.

    And finally, Lord God, I pray for all those whose lives Jen has touched. May they continue to be strengthened by her journey and may they come to feel Your presence in they lives in a deeper way.

    In Jesus name I pray.
    Amen

  31. Sharon Hajek /

    Dear Child of God. Hug yourself and feel God’s presence within you. Breathe in God. Breathe in God’s peace……Breathe in God’s love…….breath in God’s healing.. Every breath is God saying I am with you.
    I join with the legions of Jen’s red army of faith as prayer destroys the evil cells within you.

  32. Definitely praying for you today, Jen!

  33. As always, you and your family are in our thoughts, prayers, and hearts. Kick cancers butt!

  34. ohiofishergirl /

    All of us are wearing red today in honor of you and red chemo day! 🙂 Lauri

  35. Listening to “Wrapped in Red” by Kelly Clarkson, and saying a prayer for you today! ~ Your “Stranger Friend” in Nevada.

  36. Colleen /

    I have been and will be thinking of you all day and in the many days to come! You can do this! I have so much faith in you. Stay strong, focused and positive and God will see you through. Love always!! Colleen

  37. Maureen H. /

    Wearing red in Indiana (easy to do in Hoosier-land)… a good color in which to do battle! Like all those images of St. George fighting the dragon. That’s how I see you today.

    And how great that the battle and the healing are one in the same, in your case quite literally–and inside the struggle you face is the peace that you seek, for He said, “I am the Way.”

  38. Praying for you this afternoon, as I listen to the Newsboys:
    Stay strong, You are not lost
    Come on and fix your eyes ahead
    There’s a new dawn to light our day, our day
    You’ve gotta stay strong
    You and I run
    For the prize that lies ahead
    We’ve come too far to lose our way…
    His grip is sure
    And His patience still endures
    There’ll be no letting go today, no way

    Praying for the Lord’s strength as you “do today well.”

  39. Sending lots of love, prayer and hugs your way Jen! Wearing red, you are in our thoughts every moment…

  40. Jennifer Berigan /

    Several of the girls at the Komen Greater Cincinnati Affiliate office wore red for you yesterday. Just wanted to let you know that we are praying for you and think about you all the time. Happy Thanksgiving!!!