Today Is That Day!
Special Gratitude Edition
Guest Post by Tonya Penfield
My daughter-in-law (Jaclyn) of 14 years lost her mother to cancer when she was only ten years old. Unfortunately, she inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation producing a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed with BRCA+ with triple-negative cancer which is very serious. We hung on to God’s promise, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 4:2)
As a result, she and my son had three daughters almost back-to-back before she would need to undergo inevitable mastectomy and total hysterectomy surgery to safeguard against this daunting probability.
Her third child was born in 2021, and in 2022, she began a plan for two phases of chemotherapy (12 in first phase and four in second phase). She had her fourth treatment in January of 2023 which included two chemo drugs and immunotherapy. Her white cell count was dangerously low (1.3) at this time. After this treatment, she chose to shave her hair and we joked that “it takes a thick skin to rock a bald head.” She was able to withstand seven chemo treatments in Phase One, but her platelets and white blood cells could not sustain the remaining five chemo infusions planned.
We remembered that “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”. (Proverbs 31:30)
In March of 2023, her ultrasound showed the cancer was not spreading. She discontinued the last nine chemo treatments because it was just too hard on her body. She had a double mastectomy on April 2, 2023. The surgery went well, and there was no sign of the cancer in or around the surgical area or the lymph nodes.
Providentially, on Good Friday 2023, Jac’s pathology report did not show any cancer anywhere! We could almost hear the celestial angels singing “Tetelestai” (Greek for “It is finished.”). God closed the lion’s mouth for Daniel, parted the red sea for Moses, gave Sarah a baby, raised Lazarus from the dead, and miraculously healed my precious DIL!
Jaclyn had such positive energy and faith that it made the road easier for all of us. She reflects God’s goodness every day. We give thanks to our God of all mercies, grace, comfort, and strength. He walks with all of us, and He used our beautiful daughter-in-law to show us what joy, courage and love really look like. I believe she belongs in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith. We testified that one day, we would tell the story of how God fought for us and we overcame what we went through so that we could tell the story to someone else … today is that day!
“The Lord will fight for us; we need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)
