Lita M. Worthington - Scars to Pearls: A Medical Healing and Spiritual Journey Through the Phases of Malignant Melanoma Stage IIIA Skin Cancer with Micro-Metastasis.

SCARS TO PEARLS

SCARS TO PEARLS

A Medical Healing and Spiritual Journey Through
the Phases of Malignant Melanoma Stage IIIA
Skin Cancer with Micro-Metastasis.

LITA M. WORTHINGTON RNC, RNP

OB-GYN, REINFERTILITY NURSE PRACTITIONER

2018 Lita Worthington

SCARS TO PEARLS

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture Notations are from the following sources

Thin Line Bible, NIV (1996). Zondervan Publishing

Referenced Authors within this Book include:

Stanley, Charles F. (2017). The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, C. F. Stanley (Ed). Thomas Nelson

Young, Sarah (2004). Jesus Calling, Enjoying Peace in His Presence, S. Young (Ed). Nashville, TN by Thomas Nelson

Morgan, Robert J. (2016). The Strength You Need, R. J. Morgan (Ed). Nashville, TN by W Publishing Group, Imprint of Thomas Nelson

Collins, Francis S. (2006). The Language of God, F. S. Collins (Ed). New York, NY, Free Press a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

NIV Womens Devotional New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs (1993). Zondervan Publishing

Referenced Institution Mentioned in this Book

Stanford Health Care, Stanford Cancer Center

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018948245

ISBN 978-1-595558237 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-595558282 (Hardbound)

ISBN 978-1-595558497 (eBook)

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

I Dedicate this Book to;

My husband Scott ~

God brought us together

Without your love and unfailing support

My life would be empty

You are my life

Thank you for loving me

To Lindsay, Matthew, Hawkeye, Easton, Kendyl, Daniel,

Karrington, and Reagan

How blessed am I

To have you all be my rock ~ when I needed you most

I cherished all my boo-boo kisses and squishes

Thank you for loving me

To my entire family, Pastor and friends

How I have appreciated all the love

Thoughts and prayers this past year

You have meant so much to me and I am humbled

Thank you for loving me

To my entire team of physicians and staff

Your knowledge and confidence

Allowed me to trust you with my care

Please know Im grateful and love you all

Walk with me on a journey toward Heaven

Our journey toward Heaven begins with each step we take here on this earth. At times we chose a path that seems lost or off track. We are constantly redirecting or not. Our lifes journey does not mean we will never experience sin, failure, frustration, hardships or trials. A life without pain, sin, trials or failure is simply not a guarantee. Our trek can be on rugged terrain with steep climbs and unsteady footing. But our time spent in His Word, with His Gift, His Riches to us will strengthen and mature our trust in Him. It is with trust in Christ Jesus that sheds light unto our path, eases our trek, and stabilizes our footing. Then our journey toward Heaven will be filled with Peace to guard our hearts and minds, always. It will always be through Him who gives us strength to continue the climb. Even with a mature faith and love for our Lord, our challenges on this earth continue. But it is the hope of salvation and life eternal with Him that help during these trials. Im counting on it. We cannot know the strength of our faith until it has been tested. Even during our trials, He is watching and waiting for us to seek Him out. It is with prayer and a thankful heart which will grab His attention. For He is always watching and waiting for us to invite Him in. He will hold us by our right hand and He will meet us in the quietness of our soul.

I wrote the opening notation when I found out I had malignant melanoma skin cancer, Stage I, for the second time. This was late January of 2017 and I had just made it past my third year of being clear, without reoccurrence from my first diagnosis back in November 2013. No big deal, many of those who have had melanoma skin cancer stage I before would think. Get it excised and move on with life. This is what I also thought at first. But it was the news of cancer having made its ghostly way into my lymph nodes that redirected my plans for the year. Suddenly I was Stage III A, and the unexpected had occurred. How did this happen?

One of the major contributors to skin cancer is sun exposure. I have lived a very sun-exposed life, having participated in competitive outdoor athletic activities of tennis and swimming at a very young age, and still do. I also experienced life on a tropical island for about six years and, for the past fifty, sunny California has been my home. This coupled with a significant family history of skin cancer, my personal history with ALL three of the various skin cancers, and the medical provider in me (OB-GYN nurse practitioner) motivated me in part to bring additional awareness to skin cancer and all that surrounds it. The good news is I do not have to reinvent the wheel here.

There are many experts already leading the charge on skin cancer research. We have excellent cancer research institutions in the United States and I was fortunate to literally stumble into one of them. The health institution I crossed paths with has been recognized and earned top designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for its broad scope of research, in which they are known to be a leader in breakthrough treatments. They were one of only forty-nine top cancer centers to receive such recognition. A prestigious and well deserved acknowledgement. The multidisciplinary care within the entire department was executed seamlessly. I did not know any of this with my first appointment. It was by chance that Stanford Medicine, Dermatology Clinic and Cutaneous Oncology, is where my story begins. I have been appreciative of all the medical expertise within this department and the attention I have received during my recent diagnosis. Which is why they deserve recognition in this book. However, I will not be mentioning any of my team of physicians by name.

I have learned so much about skin cancer and felt provoked to share the most accurate facts from current information available regarding the risks associated with it. To receive care from well-respected and world-renowned leaders in the area of dermatology was my good fortune. I will be sharing a broad overview of current information on skin cancer and all that goes with it, in respect to my journey.