Sharing about my journey to my diagnosis.
Hi Everyone,
Today I’m sharing the story of my diagnosis – Part 1. I’ve written so much that I will be sharing in 4 parts over the next few weeks. Thank you for bearing with me in the 4-part explanation. I’ve tried to condense it, I really have.
Since my cancer news on March 17th of this year, I have been asked several times about symptoms and how I found out that I have cancer. I thought it would be best to communicate in written form so that it can be shared, and maybe helpful for someone else. I feel encouraged to give glory to the Lord for His faithfulness on this journey. I pray this blog helps me to do just that.
This post has taken me longer to write than planned. Once I started to look back on the timeline of symptoms, I wanted to make sure I was thorough to include dates as well. It’s been quite the assignment to retrace my appointments and our suspicions.
Overall, my message through this post is to encourage anyone who’s reading to BE. YOUR. OWN. ADVOCATE. Your health is important! There has never been a better time than NOW to address your health and wellness concerns. Trust your gut if you know that you are experiencing symptoms out of the norm. I knew that I was, and even with being relentless to search for answers, it still took several months to determine a cancer diagnosis. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I had cancer.
My blood work was normal. My blood pressure was normal. For years I have maintained regular physical exams and completed routine blood work. I learned I was pregnant in January 2021 and our son was born in September 2021. I was checked throughout my pregnancy with routine prenatal visits including urine samples, blood work, and ultrasounds, etc. All of which were normal.
Cancer can be slow growing. My doctors estimate that I have had cancer for years. The average interval between the first and second metastases in thyroid cancer progression is 14.7 months. Progression from single- to multi- organ metastases occurs in 76% of patients at 5 years. (www.thyroid.org)
I don’t know how long I’ve been living with thyroid cancer, but I do believe that something about my third pregnancy triggered its growth for me. If you’ve heard our son’s birth story, you already know he’s thought of as a literal miracle. Realizing now that I also had cancer while carrying him during pregnancy just confirms it. Thank you, God, for our sweet boy! Praise be to God that our son is healthy and well, with no concerns of cancer.
Let me pause and explain what I’ve learned about cancer. My own experience supports what I have learned, but the following empowering information comes from Chris Wark’s “Chris Beat Cancer.” No one says it better when it comes to receiving a cancer diagnosis: “The way you are living is killing you.” Hits different, right?
Chris Wark was diagnosed with Stage IIIc colon cancer at 26 years old in December 2003. After prayerful consideration he radically changed his diet and did every natural non-toxic therapy he could find. Now, Chris is a cancer survivor, patient advocate, author, and speaker. He shares his story and other cancer survivor healing testimonials. There is a lot of information to be found on the internet about cancer, but I’m forever grateful for Chris Wark’s corner of the internet that spreads encouragement and positivity surrounding a cancer diagnosis, or better yet, a healing journey. Check it out: www.chrisbeatcancer.com/about.
Chris writes (and I’m severely paraphrasing here) “Several recent studies have concluded that between 70-95% of cancers are caused by our diet, lifestyle, and environment. I’m going to add a fourth factor: stress. … Many researchers believe that less than 5% of cancer is genetic, and 70% are caused by diet, lifestyle, and environment, which leaves 25% of cancers caused by unknown factors. So, 70% has almost everything to do with you. That’s huge. … The very first thing I tell every cancer patient – and that you need to know – is this: cancer is a divine tap on the shoulder. Cancer is a wake-up call. This is an interruption in your life. And there’s a message attached to that tap on the shoulder … I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad about yourself. I’m not trying to put shame on you. What I’m telling you is that now is the time to take full responsibility for your life. One of the most important things I did, in the beginning, was to be honest with myself and say, “Well, maybe this is my fault. Maybe I had something to do with this. If I contributed to my cancer, then maybe I can contribute to my health.”
I’m here to publicly take ownership of my cancer. This may be a strange statement to read if you’re not as familiar with a cancer diagnosis as I have become. I can admit that I haven’t been living well. Cancer has brought a lot of things to a head for me. In a lot of ways, I’m grateful for this divine interruption in my life.
I do not like having cancer, but I am benefitting from this forced reset that continues to challenge me in different ways. I’m learning to rest. I’m learning to be more present with my family. I’m pursuing health and eating well. I’m going on walks and moving each day. I’m setting boundaries. I’m researching and finding that the products I allow in my home and put into my body really matter. I’m curing my busyness. I’m taking steps to forgiveness. I’m leaning into unresolved trauma. I’m being humbled. I’m healing.
You see, I’m the mom that skips lunch sometimes but eats the leftovers off my kid’s plates and calls it a meal. I crunch too much into each day without taking breaks, but I justify it because I’m helping people, and I love what I do.
My husband often quotes C.S. Lewis. He is fond of The Screwtape Letters. If you haven’t read it, it is supposed to be the correspondence between a high-level demon, Uncle Screwtape, and a lower-level demon, his nephew Wormwood. The letters tell the story of a demon trying to keep a man from belief in God but once those efforts fail, it is a story of demons doing their utmost to make a believer impotent in his faith.
- “Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds.”
- “Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God’s creation.”
- “Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.”
- “Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. … This will jam their minds and break down that union with Christ.”
- “Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.”
Hi, it’s me. My name is Kaley Shawley, and I’m a recovering busy individual. I’m growing in awareness and I’m shifting my habits because CANCER. God uses it all.
So, here I sit face-to-face with chronic stress and anxiety that I’ve carried and internalized for years. I’m not saying I haven’t tried to work through some of it, but I’m here to say that I’ve known I haven’t worked through enough of it. It’s caught up to me in the form of cancer.
Stress weakens the immune system. When your immune system is overloaded or suppressed, you can develop cancer. Not everyone who stays busy or who eats whatever they want will develop cancer. In my case, God has allowed this to be part of my story.
I wanted to share these things before I share more. A cancer diagnosis is pivotal, but it can be an opportunity to heal. Often, we associate cancer with a looming death sentence, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Cancer can stop us in our tracks and cause fear. I have been fearful, but I have also been blessed. This diagnosis has given me something, it has given me a clear chance to make a meaningful change. Death is not looming from some hidden place; it is right here and right now.
This reminder of my mortality brings my salvation to mind. Many years ago, when I trusted Jesus, I thought about how quickly my life could end and I knew then that I wasn’t ready.
This diagnosis puts life into perspective. Life really is a vapor and truly understanding that is powerful. I have hope. I know God can heal. With all those things being true, I find myself wanting to go deeper in faith and deeper in life.
Thanks for listening to Part 1 of my cancer diagnosis Ted Talk. Thank you for your continued prayers.
In Him,
