My name is Elreta Dodds. I am a member of Lifechurch Southfield (located in Southfield Michigan) which is under the pastoral leadership of Pastor Alan Tumpkin. I am also a ministerial assistant there. On February 22, 2015 I gave a testimony during service in which I talked about being recently diagnosed with uterine cancer and the events that followed in my life thereafter. A few days later, David Alan Campbell, who is another one of our ministerial assistants, asked me for a synopsis of my testimony. I gladly obliged and gave him a detailed version. He wanted to share the testimony with others so I suggested that I blog it for easy access. The following is what I gave him. I hope that it is helpful and encouraging to whoever reads it.

Introduction

A little under a month ago, Pastor Alan informed the church that I was diagnosed with uterine cancer and he had me come up to the podium for prayer.

• It was an aggressive type of cancer and needed to be taken care of immediately. 
• I was scheduled for a complete hysterectomy. 
• The hysterectomy included the removal of my uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, cervix, and 24 pelvic lymph nodes.

Testimony

There are four parts to my testimony and then I have a plea. The first part to my testimony has two parts itself.

Part 1

The first part of my testimony is the “Hallelujah!” part.

Part A of this part is that my recovery has been going very well. 

• Although I was experiencing a lot of discomfort and there was pain, the pain was manageable. 
• After three days I stopped taking my pain medication because it was doing more harm than good. 
• Although I was weak and tired and experiencing some pain and discomfort, I was able to walk up and down the stairs, walk around the house; get in and out of bed, etc. (without assistance). 
• Along with God’s grace, the reason why my recovery process has been going so well is because I was given an epidural during the surgical procedure. This is a relatively new addition to this type of operation. It has been added to significantly improve a woman’s recovery after having a hysterectomy. Every woman needs to know this.

Part B of this part is that they couldn’t find any more cancer.

• They gave me a CT scan and chest x-ray before the operation and didn’t find any cancer. 
• While they were taking everything out during the operation they didn’t see any cancer in the surrounding areas. 
• After they examined what they took out they didn’t see any cancer in the ovaries. 
• No cancer in the fallopian tubes. 
• No cancer in the cervix. 
• No cancer in any of the 24 lymph nodes they took out to sample. 
• The only cancer that was found was found in the uterus, which they threw away. 
• The doctors don’t like to use the term “cancer free,” instead they like to say “we didn’t find anything else.” So, I’ll say it the way they say it…they didn’t find anything else.

HALLELUJAH!

Part 2

The second part of my testimony is the “Hallelujah Anyhow!” part.

• Although they didn’t find anything else, the cancer was a very aggressive kind of cancer. 
• They discovered that the tumor had moved into the middle wall of the uterus (there are three walls; in layman’s terms they are the inner, middle, and outer) 
• They also found cancer cells in one of the main blood vessels of the uterus which means that there’s a possibility that microscopic cancer cells could be floating around inside of me. 
• Because of these things they recommended preventive/precautionary chemotherapy. 
• They made it clear that they are not treating me for cancer with this chemo (because medically, they didn’t find any more cancer) 
• They told me to think of it like a “fortified flu shot.” 
• They indicated that they could be giving me the chemo for nothing and that there might not be any cancer cells at all in my body but they don’t know one way or the other and therefore recommended this treatment in an attempt to reduce the possibility of recurrence. I agree with their reasoning and agreed to the treatment. 
• These days they have ways of significantly reducing the side effects of chemo…all except hair loss. 
• It took me almost eight years to grow the hair I have. I’ll probably lose it, so don’t be surprised if you see me coming to church wearing scarfs and wigs. But…

HALLELUJAH ANYHOW!

Part 3

The third part of my testimony is the “God’s peace beyond understanding!” part.

• God is blessing me with great peace and with what I am referring to as a “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego type of faith” to help me through this (Daniel 3:14-18, God is able to deliver; but if he doesn't, I will praise him regardless)
• From the very start of this trial I have not been worried, mad, sad, depressed, or in despair. I haven’t lost any sleep nor shed any tears. I am just glad I am saved and I know that God knows what he’s doing. His will be done, not mine. 
• We who are saved will have eternal life in the kingdom of God (heaven) through faith in Jesus Christ as attested to in Romans 10:9 which says that if we confess Jesus as Lord (God) and believe he rose from the dead, we shall be saved (from eternal condemnation; hell).
• My motto has been: “If I live I live. If I die I live. I’m saved. I can’t lose.” 
• I realize that my response to this is not a “normal” response. The peace God has given me is beyond my understanding. I look at it as supernatural. 
• I believe therefore that God has showered me with his Holy Spirit in order to comfort me during this time which accounts for the great peace and faith that I have.   
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7, and 1 Peter 1:3-7 are the scriptures that attest to these things.

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS PEACE BEYOND UNDERSTANDING AND SPIRITUAL GIFT OF FAITH!

Part 4

The fourth part of my testimony is the “Lifechurch Southfield!” part.

• Lifechurch Southfield came in like the Calvary by praying and exercising the gift of mercy. 
• When I talk about how God has blessed me and continues to bless me through this trial, I always include Lifechurch Southfield as part of my testimony. 
• On January 25^th Pastor Alan brought me up to the podium to pray for me (after I had initially told him about my diagnosis). He prayed a beautiful prayer and had the church pray along as well. 
• Lifechurch has been praying for me along with other saints and churches. 
• The prayers of the saints availeth much (James 5:16b). I believe God has acknowledged the prayers of Lifechurch, other saints, other churches, and my family and friends. 
• Jacob Hudecz is over a food ministry team at Lifechurch that delivers dinners to church members like me who has had major surgery and are in recovery. They deliver dinners three times a week (for three weeks). Pastor Alan called me to ask if I would like to participate in something like this. I said yes. 
• After I came home from the hospital, the team began delivering dinners to me on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings; and even on one Sunday after church service. 
• The blessing to me was immediate. My energy was low and I was experiencing a lot of discomfort. It was so nice not to have to be concerned about grocery shopping and what to cook and eat (my sister was also a great help; she brought me home from the hospital, went to the grocery store a couple of times to pick up a few items, and took me to the pharmacy to get my meds). 
• The team brought me so much food that I had to freeze some of it so that it wouldn’t go to waste. It reminded me of the account in 2 Kings 4:1-7 where Elisha blessed the widow abundantly with jars of oil. 
• The food ministry is a great example of how the gift of mercy has been manifested at Lifechurch Southfield and is also a great testament as to how important the gift of mercy is. 
• A couple of my neighbors know what’s going on and saw the team regularly delivering dinners to me. I believe the church has been a great witness to my neighbors just by this one act. 
• Jacob’s team members are Elaina Hosley, Krya Leverett, Devediah Paramore, Shauna Morrow, Lisa Hill, Gloria Bridges, LaTawn Oden, Doris Ray, Kathy Jackson, Nikki Pardo-Boccaccio, Brenda Kind, and Jacky Weidman.

PRAISE GOD FOR LIFECHURCH SOUTHFIELD!

My Plea

• My plea is to all the women in the house. 
• If you notice any kind of irregular vaginal bleeding in between periods (if you’re still having periods) or after menopause (if you’ve stopped having periods), see a gynecologist right away. 
• Ask to be screened for cancer. If you come up against resistance, see another gynecologist. 
• I began spotting (bleeding a little) in September (my periods stopped roughly nine years ago so I shouldn’t have been bleeding at all). I immediately made an appointment to see my gynecologist. She gave me a pelvic exam and ultra sound (to check for fibroids) but did not suggest screening for cancer. After the tests were done, I didn’t hear back from her office and consequently thought everything was all right, particularly since by that time I had stopped bleeding. 
• I began bleeding again; three months later in December. I immediately made another appointment to see my gynecologist. This time she realized the possibility of cancer (amen and blessings to her), gave me a preliminary diagnosis of uterine cancer, and gave me two screening options: she could perform a uterine tissue biopsy there in her office (be aware that there is a slight risk of puncture of the uterus with this procedure) or schedule me for a hysteroscopy (which is exploratory surgery of the uterus where they scrape tissue from the lining of the inside wall and send the lining to the lab). I chose the latter option because it is more thorough. 
• I was informed that I had cancer about a week after getting the exploratory hysteroscopy. It was an aggressive cancer (papillary serous endometrial carcinoma). 
• I realized that the cancer had had three extra months to fester (from September to December). I would have asked to be screened for cancer in September had I known to ask. 
• While consulting with the hematology oncologist (“chemo doc”) in early February, he told me that in three more months the tumor would have made its way through the outer wall of the uterus had it been left unchecked. This no doubt would have significantly increased the risk of spread of the disease throughout my body (metastasis). 
• This is why it is so important to get screened immediately for cancer if you begin experiencing irregular vaginal bleeding.

GOD RESCUED ME DESPITE THE DELAYED SCREENING! PRAISE THE LORD!