My Mom has started feeling a little better! She says she can actually enjoy food again because she can taste it. Her bone pain has also gotten better. Her neuropathy still hasn’t started to diminish yet. This still bugs her the most. Her fingernails are still misshaped and colored, a couple of them have fallen off within the past week. My Mom didn’t have radiation yesterday because of the holiday so today was her first day of radiation this week. She will also miss Friday because we are going to Cedar City to watch Carson play soccer in the Special Olympics. She hasn’t had too bad of side effects from the radiation yet. She feels more tired but so far nothing she can’t handle. She still has about six more weeks of radiation! My Mom has also started wearing wigs! She says she finally feels good enough she can wear them all day. She had a hard time wearing a wig all day when she didn’t feel good, a wig was just too much.
We have a fun weekend ahead of us! My Mom and Dad are going to Cedar City on Thursday to watch Carson play in the Special Olympics. My friend Shayla and I are going to follow my parents to Cedar City on Thursday and spend the night with them and then on Friday Shayla and I are going the rest of the way to Las Vegas! I feel like this is going to be a much needed vacation for us all. It will be nice to get away for a little while and try to relax. This also might be a little difficult for me because I haven’t wanted to leave my Mom’s side lately. I am a Momma’s girl for sure!!
My Mom and I have signed up for Relay for Life on July 8th in Smithfield. We are excited for this. If any of you want to join our team and you will be in town July 8th you are welcome to! We are on the Budge OB/GYN team, this is where my Mom works part time. If you can’t join and still want to help out you can donate money to our team or to my Mom’s name, who is a participant. All of the donations go to the American Cancer Society in helping to create a world with less cancer! Just click on the link below and you can join our team or donate. Thank you!
http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11GW?fr_id=30492&pg=entry
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Radiation....
Radiation started yesterday. Today was my Mom’s second day of radiation. She will do radiation Monday through Friday for about seven weeks, this means she should be finished about mid July. She will go to radiation every day on her way home from work at 3:30 it only lasts about 15 minutes a day. She said the only thing that bothered her was that she could kind of smell burning while she was laying there. When she got home she said that her sternum felt like it had been burned under the skin. On the right side of her chest where they took out all the muscle all she has left is skin and then bone. Before they radiated that spot they put a cold rag on her chest because they didn’t want the radiation to go too deep. Today they told her to come in early because they have decided to increase her margins so they need to mark her up again. They are now radiating the lymph nodes up her neck and some lymph nodes around her back. My Mom asked them why they decided to radiate more but the Radiologist Doctor doesn’t travel down here from Ogden until Monday. She was told she will meet with the doctor again on Monday. This worries me that they have now decided to radiate more of the lymph nodes. I don’t know if the doctor saw something different yesterday or what‘s going on. They won’t tell us until the Doctor meets with us. This scares me. They also told her not to take any of her vitamins until radiation is over and to put aloe vera on her skin after each radiation treatment. She will now have to put the aloe all the way up her neck and back. My fingers are crossed that the radiation will all go well!
She still has really bad neuropathy and gets sharp pains down her legs occasionally. My Mom explains her neuropathy like when your feet fall asleep and they get tingly before they wake up. This is how her feet and hands feel. She still can’t hold a pen very well unless she takes her nuerontin. If she doesn’t take the nuerontin she goes crazy because she can’t pick anything up or feel her feet well enough to walk. She trips over a lot of things and has tripped a few times going down the couple of stairs we have going into the living room. She doesn’t get hurt though! We kind of laugh after it happens. Then after we laugh she gets frustrated. I think that people think that once you are finished with chemo all the side effects go away and you are ok now. That isn’t the case. Usually the worst part of the chemo is after you are finished because then you have all eight treatments in your body. I think my Mom gets frustrated too because sometimes people think she is fine now and can do what she could do before her treatments. She is starting to feel better though, this is a good thing. She will probably start feeling fatigued before too long. The Dr. told us about a week after her first radiation treatment is when she will start feeling the fatigue. They also told her today that since they are doing more radiation she will have more side effects, more fatigue and burn. :(
Some of our family friends, Joy and Pat, came to visit us for the weekend. My Mom really enjoyed there visit, she didn’t want them to leave! All of our family lives in Oklahoma and we haven’t had any visitors since my Mom’s diagnosis. We all had a good weekend and enjoyed the company!
Overall my Mom is doing well! She is getting better and things are starting to feel a little bit more normal again. Her hair is still prickly, it’s trying to grow back in. My Mom is excited for this, every day she asks if it looks longer. She has gotten really good at wearing the scarves over her head, she is really creative with them. She also has the cutest hats! She got the cutest Marilyn Monroe wig at the cancer center the other day. They had a make-up class and got lots of free make-up and two wigs. She looks dang cute in them! I keep telling her she needs to wear the Marilyn Monroe one. She can totally pull of any wig she wants to!
Once again thank you for all of the prayers! Yes, they are working, keep them coming!
P.S. Feel free to comment. I never know if anyone reads this so if you comment it keeps me motivated.
She still has really bad neuropathy and gets sharp pains down her legs occasionally. My Mom explains her neuropathy like when your feet fall asleep and they get tingly before they wake up. This is how her feet and hands feel. She still can’t hold a pen very well unless she takes her nuerontin. If she doesn’t take the nuerontin she goes crazy because she can’t pick anything up or feel her feet well enough to walk. She trips over a lot of things and has tripped a few times going down the couple of stairs we have going into the living room. She doesn’t get hurt though! We kind of laugh after it happens. Then after we laugh she gets frustrated. I think that people think that once you are finished with chemo all the side effects go away and you are ok now. That isn’t the case. Usually the worst part of the chemo is after you are finished because then you have all eight treatments in your body. I think my Mom gets frustrated too because sometimes people think she is fine now and can do what she could do before her treatments. She is starting to feel better though, this is a good thing. She will probably start feeling fatigued before too long. The Dr. told us about a week after her first radiation treatment is when she will start feeling the fatigue. They also told her today that since they are doing more radiation she will have more side effects, more fatigue and burn. :(
Some of our family friends, Joy and Pat, came to visit us for the weekend. My Mom really enjoyed there visit, she didn’t want them to leave! All of our family lives in Oklahoma and we haven’t had any visitors since my Mom’s diagnosis. We all had a good weekend and enjoyed the company!
Overall my Mom is doing well! She is getting better and things are starting to feel a little bit more normal again. Her hair is still prickly, it’s trying to grow back in. My Mom is excited for this, every day she asks if it looks longer. She has gotten really good at wearing the scarves over her head, she is really creative with them. She also has the cutest hats! She got the cutest Marilyn Monroe wig at the cancer center the other day. They had a make-up class and got lots of free make-up and two wigs. She looks dang cute in them! I keep telling her she needs to wear the Marilyn Monroe one. She can totally pull of any wig she wants to!
Once again thank you for all of the prayers! Yes, they are working, keep them coming!
P.S. Feel free to comment. I never know if anyone reads this so if you comment it keeps me motivated.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
One Day at a Time
Today was a bit of a rough day for my Mom. When my Mom has a rough day we all have a rough day. She is still having some bone pain in her legs and hips as well as neuropathy in her hands and feet. She said her body feels like it has started chemo all over again, it could be the chemo trying to come out of her body. She was really discouraged today because she feels like at this point she will never feel better again or be able to use her hands or walk normal because of her feet. It’s hard to see my Mom sad and discouraged, especially when I know she is such a strong person, it takes a lot for her to feel down. I know it will get better, it will just take time.
This last Tuesday the 10th we had an “exiting” appointment with Dr. Ben Jacobs, the oncologist. He will not do a cancer marker test until after she has finished all of her radiation. My Mom will start taking the tomoxifen after radiation as well, this is the pill she will have to take everyday for five years. After radiation we will meet with Ben Jacobs again and he will go into more detail about the pill and the cancer marker tests.
Yesterday we went to the McKay Dee hospital in Ogden, they took CT scans of my Moms chest and tattooed her for radiation. My Dad and I couldn’t go back with her so we walked around the hospital. I have never been in such a nice hospital. They had a fountain and a big pond outside with tables and benches. The cafeteria was huge and had every kind of food you can imagine. After exploring the hospital we went back to wait for my Mom. It took them about an hour and a half to do everything. I am not sure what all they did because I didn’t go back with my Mom. I did see her chest right after and it was marked up with red pen. The dots that they tattooed are so tiny you have to look for them. They look like tiny freckles. Radiation will start on May 23rd. She will go Monday through Friday for five to seven weeks. Hopefully the chemo side effects will subside a little before she starts the radiation. I am really hoping the radiation will be a piece of cake for her compared to the chemo.
I was thinking today how hard the year 2011 has been for my Mom and family so far. Who would have ever thought that any of this would be happening, life can change in a second, the only thing constant in our life is change. Its been about five months since my Mom was diagnosed but it feels like a lifetime ago. All I want is for my Mom to be cured and start feeling better. I know it will happen, one day at a time.
“A hero is just an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” -Christopher Reeve
My Mom is easily my HERO.
This last Tuesday the 10th we had an “exiting” appointment with Dr. Ben Jacobs, the oncologist. He will not do a cancer marker test until after she has finished all of her radiation. My Mom will start taking the tomoxifen after radiation as well, this is the pill she will have to take everyday for five years. After radiation we will meet with Ben Jacobs again and he will go into more detail about the pill and the cancer marker tests.
Yesterday we went to the McKay Dee hospital in Ogden, they took CT scans of my Moms chest and tattooed her for radiation. My Dad and I couldn’t go back with her so we walked around the hospital. I have never been in such a nice hospital. They had a fountain and a big pond outside with tables and benches. The cafeteria was huge and had every kind of food you can imagine. After exploring the hospital we went back to wait for my Mom. It took them about an hour and a half to do everything. I am not sure what all they did because I didn’t go back with my Mom. I did see her chest right after and it was marked up with red pen. The dots that they tattooed are so tiny you have to look for them. They look like tiny freckles. Radiation will start on May 23rd. She will go Monday through Friday for five to seven weeks. Hopefully the chemo side effects will subside a little before she starts the radiation. I am really hoping the radiation will be a piece of cake for her compared to the chemo.
I was thinking today how hard the year 2011 has been for my Mom and family so far. Who would have ever thought that any of this would be happening, life can change in a second, the only thing constant in our life is change. Its been about five months since my Mom was diagnosed but it feels like a lifetime ago. All I want is for my Mom to be cured and start feeling better. I know it will happen, one day at a time.
“A hero is just an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” -Christopher Reeve
My Mom is easily my HERO.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Race for the Cure
What a GREAT weekend my Mom and I had! We walked in the 5K Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! Neither of us have ever walked in this race before but have decided we will do it every year now. It was AMAZING!
My Mom and I stayed the night in Salt Lake on Friday night. We registered for the race Friday afternoon and walked around to the different booths that were there for the race. We got a lot of fun free stuff, and a lot of PINK! The race was held at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake, which is a big outdoor mall. After registering and walking around the booths we walked around the mall and shopped for a little while and then went to dinner at Applebee’s. We then went to the chocolate factory for desert, they have the best caramel apples, so we shared one! We then went back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest before the race the next morning.
We woke up Saturday morning about 6:15. We ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the mall for the race. The sponsors had set up more booths and were handing out more free stuff, backpacks, key chains, hats, pins, etc. We then headed toward the starting line for the race. Salt Lake was a happening place on Saturday morning, there were over 17,000 people that had registered for the race! During the race I kept looking behind us and in front of us and was amazed at how many people there were everywhere!
After the race all of the survivors met at a place they called the pink café. It was a tent they had set up to pamper all of the survivors. Once again they were giving out more free stuff for the survivors. They had food, mini massages, flowers, and so much more. I left my Mom at the pink café because the “pampering” was only for survivors and they were getting ready for the survivor parade. The survivor parade happened after everyone was finished with the race. They put all of the survivors into different categories, my Mom was in the newly diagnosed category because she has not yet been cancer free for a year. They then had the 1 to 5 year survivors and so on. There were so many women walking in the survivor parade, it was awesome! All of the survivors then stood on the stairs and they let white doves go and then played the song “I Run for Life” by Melissa Etheridge. The energy that I felt at this time was amazing. There are so many people there that are fighting and have fought for their life. Every single one of the women that I met had such a bright and positive outlook on life and are such an inspiration to everyone! Everyone needs to be a part of this race one day!
I didn’t want the weekend to end because I loved spending time with my Mom and being away from everything back home. It was a nice little getaway and I’m so sad it’s already over but I can’t wait to do this again next year!
I Run for Life
My Mom and I stayed the night in Salt Lake on Friday night. We registered for the race Friday afternoon and walked around to the different booths that were there for the race. We got a lot of fun free stuff, and a lot of PINK! The race was held at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake, which is a big outdoor mall. After registering and walking around the booths we walked around the mall and shopped for a little while and then went to dinner at Applebee’s. We then went to the chocolate factory for desert, they have the best caramel apples, so we shared one! We then went back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest before the race the next morning.
We woke up Saturday morning about 6:15. We ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the mall for the race. The sponsors had set up more booths and were handing out more free stuff, backpacks, key chains, hats, pins, etc. We then headed toward the starting line for the race. Salt Lake was a happening place on Saturday morning, there were over 17,000 people that had registered for the race! During the race I kept looking behind us and in front of us and was amazed at how many people there were everywhere!
After the race all of the survivors met at a place they called the pink café. It was a tent they had set up to pamper all of the survivors. Once again they were giving out more free stuff for the survivors. They had food, mini massages, flowers, and so much more. I left my Mom at the pink café because the “pampering” was only for survivors and they were getting ready for the survivor parade. The survivor parade happened after everyone was finished with the race. They put all of the survivors into different categories, my Mom was in the newly diagnosed category because she has not yet been cancer free for a year. They then had the 1 to 5 year survivors and so on. There were so many women walking in the survivor parade, it was awesome! All of the survivors then stood on the stairs and they let white doves go and then played the song “I Run for Life” by Melissa Etheridge. The energy that I felt at this time was amazing. There are so many people there that are fighting and have fought for their life. Every single one of the women that I met had such a bright and positive outlook on life and are such an inspiration to everyone! Everyone needs to be a part of this race one day!
I didn’t want the weekend to end because I loved spending time with my Mom and being away from everything back home. It was a nice little getaway and I’m so sad it’s already over but I can’t wait to do this again next year!
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| Getting ready! |
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| Start Line |
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| Survivor Parade |
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| My Mom and a friend she met |
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| So many people |
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| So many SURVIVORS |
It's been years since they told her about it The darkness her body possessed And the scars are still there in the mirror Every day that she gets herself dressed Though the pain is miles and miles behind her And the fear is now a docile beast, If you ask her why she is still running, She'll tell you it makes her complete I run for hope, I run to feel I run for the truth for all that is real I run for your mother, your sister, your wife I run for you and me my friend I run life It's a blur since they told me about it How the darkness had taken its toll And they cut into my skin And they cut into my body But they will never get a piece of my soul And now I'm still learning a lesson To awake when I hear the call And if you ask me why I am still running I'll tell you I run for her soul I run for hope, I run to feel I run for the truth for all that is real I run for your mother, your sister, your wife I run for you and me my friend I run life And someday if they tell you about it If the darkness knocks on your door Remember her, remember me We will be running as we have before Running for answers, running for more I run for hope, I run to feel I run for the truth, for all that is real I run for your mother, your sister, your wife I run for you and me my friend I run for hope, I run to feel I run for the truth, for all that is real I run for your mother, your sister, your daughter, your wife For you and me my friend I run for life I run for your mother, your sister, your wife I run for you and me my friend I run for life
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Pictures!
I have posted some picutes from the last few months, since my Mom's diagnoses in December. We had a trip planned to Maui before my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and the Dr's told us to go! We enjoyed it and are already talking about going back.
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| Maui -January |
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| Maui |
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| Hawaii has the best shaved ice ever!! |
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| Last day in Maui |
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| Mom and Dad |
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| We are Family! January |
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| Everyone who shaved their heads with my Mom! - February |
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| Shaved heads -February |
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| We went to Las Vegas in March for the WAC tournament. |
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| My Mom enjoying some sun on her bald head. Don't worry, she didn't stay out long! -April |
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| Maui has some of the craziest trees! |
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| My Beautiful Mom! -February |
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| Our hotel in Maui |
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| Maui |
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| My Fun Mom! -January |
Monday, May 2, 2011
Radiation is a Go!
Today Heaven got a true angel. One of my friends, KC Nordick, passed away this morning after a long, hard battle with colon cancer. He was an inspiration to everyone that knew him. He was definitely dealt a hard hand in this life and was still so positive through it all. I first met KC about four years ago, my first year of college. He was in my sociology class at Utah State and worked at the bowling alley, where I had started hanging out a lot at that year. When I first met him, he had not yet been diagnosed with cancer and was an amazing bowler. These past few months I have gotten to know KC a little better, I saw him a lot at the cancer center getting treatments the same time that my Mom was getting hers. My Mom got to know KC as well, this is been a hard day for us all. Even after he was told that his cancer was terminal, he still held his head high. He had learned to accept his fate and was ok with it. I know today that he has gone to a better place and is no longer in pain. I am truly blessed that I got to know you, rest in peace, KC!
We met with the Radiologist today at the cancer center. We will start the radiation later this month. We went over some of the pro’s and con’s of radiation therapy and the pro’s out weighed the con’s. This will most likely insure us that the cancer will not come back in the same area behind where the breast was. One of the con’s is that the radiation can cause cancer. (Chemotherapy also can cause cancer, isn’t this ironic?) This is a really low probability, 1 in 1,000 is what the Radiologist told us. My Mom wants to make sure that she is doing everything possible so that this cancer will not return.
We will go down to McKay Dee hospital in Ogden next Friday the 13th. My Mom and I are both superstitious, we decided that we will turn this into a lucky day. She will be doing all of the radiation treatments here in Logan but they have to get a baseline CT scan before they start the radiation. When we go to McKay Dee they will take x-rays, examine my Mom’s chest and decide exactly where and how deep they will do the radiation. They will then tattoo my mom with little black dots, this will be their guide when they do the radiation. She will do radiation for at least five weeks, Monday through Friday. We are not sure yet the exact day that radiation will start but we are guessing sometime around the 20th of May.
We are also going to try and meet with an infectious disease specialist at McKay Dee so that we can get my Mom’s bone infection under control. We are going to leave her port in so that they can give her some kind of IV antibiotics to try and get rid of the infection. Bone infections may never go away but my fingers are crossed that we will get rid of the bone infection in her maxillary jaw bone.
My Mom is feeling pretty good today, she is a real trooper!!! She has worked full time through this whole process and has only missed one day of work! Can you believe it?! She has whiskers on her head, she is really excited about this. We are all curious about how her hair will grow back. Everybody says it will grow back curly and red! That would be pretty dang cool. I guess time will tell us.
Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers, you guys are awesome!
We met with the Radiologist today at the cancer center. We will start the radiation later this month. We went over some of the pro’s and con’s of radiation therapy and the pro’s out weighed the con’s. This will most likely insure us that the cancer will not come back in the same area behind where the breast was. One of the con’s is that the radiation can cause cancer. (Chemotherapy also can cause cancer, isn’t this ironic?) This is a really low probability, 1 in 1,000 is what the Radiologist told us. My Mom wants to make sure that she is doing everything possible so that this cancer will not return.
We will go down to McKay Dee hospital in Ogden next Friday the 13th. My Mom and I are both superstitious, we decided that we will turn this into a lucky day. She will be doing all of the radiation treatments here in Logan but they have to get a baseline CT scan before they start the radiation. When we go to McKay Dee they will take x-rays, examine my Mom’s chest and decide exactly where and how deep they will do the radiation. They will then tattoo my mom with little black dots, this will be their guide when they do the radiation. She will do radiation for at least five weeks, Monday through Friday. We are not sure yet the exact day that radiation will start but we are guessing sometime around the 20th of May.
We are also going to try and meet with an infectious disease specialist at McKay Dee so that we can get my Mom’s bone infection under control. We are going to leave her port in so that they can give her some kind of IV antibiotics to try and get rid of the infection. Bone infections may never go away but my fingers are crossed that we will get rid of the bone infection in her maxillary jaw bone.
My Mom is feeling pretty good today, she is a real trooper!!! She has worked full time through this whole process and has only missed one day of work! Can you believe it?! She has whiskers on her head, she is really excited about this. We are all curious about how her hair will grow back. Everybody says it will grow back curly and red! That would be pretty dang cool. I guess time will tell us.
Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers, you guys are awesome!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Step One.... CHECK
Chemo is officially over now!!! YES!!! I felt like that day was so far and that it would never come but it has. Four months of chemo is over! Next step, radiation. We are really nervous for radiation because we have heard some horror stories. We have been thinking that radiation wouldn’t be as bad as chemo but there are lots of people that seem to disagree. We have heard from multiple people that radiation was so much worse than the chemo. This is scary! There are also people that have said that radiation was easier on them than chemo. Everyone is different and we won’t know how it will be for my Mom until we start the radiation. I am praying that it won’t be as hard on her as the chemo. We are all ready for my Mom to start getting better.
Her neuropathy is getting really bad. She is frustrated because she thinks it will never get better. I keep reminding her that her last chemo was on Wednesday, April 27th, and it won’t feel better right away, it will take months. There is a chance that the neuropathy may never go away, this would really suck. I keep telling her it will though, it will just take time. I met a woman a few weeks ago that had breast cancer and had finished all of her treatments a year ago. She said that she had really bad neuropathy in her hands and feet as well and sometimes she still has the numbness in her hands and feet but it was nothing like it was while she was going through her treatments. My mom is really having a hard time holding anything. I guess the chemo has burned some of her nerve endings.
Tomorrow we will meet with the Radiologist at the cancer center. I really wish that my Mom didn’t have to get radiation but it raises her chances by 10% of the cancer not coming back behind where her breast was, like in her rib bones. So, I know it has to be done. The surgeon told us that if my Mom got her whole breast removed and she had clear margins around where the tumors were then she would most likely not have to do radiation. However, we went to Salt Lake, before chemo was started, for a second opinion and we were told that since it was in the lymph nodes (only one that they found) and by the size of the tumor, radiation would raise her chances that the cancer won’t come back in the same spot by at least 10%. Since then we have known we will do the radiation. I am kind of clueless about the radiation right now but tomorrow the Radiologist will go over everything with us and then we will know more.
I have been thinking lately about how scary cancer is. Cancer is so common, everyone knows someone that has it. The month that my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer there were 19 other women that were also diagnosed. More than is usually diagnosed in one month and they were all around the same age as my mom. This is weird. I have also heard so many other stories about people that have since been diagnosed with some kind of cancer and so many of them are around my age, one of my friends has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, I am sick of the word cancer! It seems that the question of “if” we get cancer has changed, it has turned into “when” we get cancer. I seriously felt like my family was immune from this disease. Since my Mom was diagnosed my whole prospective regarding cancer has changed. A boy I went to school with has Ewing Sarcoma, I see him sometimes getting treatments when my Mom does. He says that when his treatment is over he is leaving the country because the United States has one of the highest cancer rates. I have really been thinking about this lately. Why do we have the highest cancer rate? This is scary. It is our lifestyle, the way we eat, the pollution, etc. These days everything causes cancer. Somehow and someday I really hope that we can find a cure.
Sorry, I kind of went off on a tangent. I just get so worked up about this subject sometimes. Anyways, we meet with the radiologist tomorrow so I will fill you all in on what we find out!
“Believe that problems do have answers, that they can be overcome, and that we can solve them.”
- Norman Vincent Peale
Her neuropathy is getting really bad. She is frustrated because she thinks it will never get better. I keep reminding her that her last chemo was on Wednesday, April 27th, and it won’t feel better right away, it will take months. There is a chance that the neuropathy may never go away, this would really suck. I keep telling her it will though, it will just take time. I met a woman a few weeks ago that had breast cancer and had finished all of her treatments a year ago. She said that she had really bad neuropathy in her hands and feet as well and sometimes she still has the numbness in her hands and feet but it was nothing like it was while she was going through her treatments. My mom is really having a hard time holding anything. I guess the chemo has burned some of her nerve endings.
Tomorrow we will meet with the Radiologist at the cancer center. I really wish that my Mom didn’t have to get radiation but it raises her chances by 10% of the cancer not coming back behind where her breast was, like in her rib bones. So, I know it has to be done. The surgeon told us that if my Mom got her whole breast removed and she had clear margins around where the tumors were then she would most likely not have to do radiation. However, we went to Salt Lake, before chemo was started, for a second opinion and we were told that since it was in the lymph nodes (only one that they found) and by the size of the tumor, radiation would raise her chances that the cancer won’t come back in the same spot by at least 10%. Since then we have known we will do the radiation. I am kind of clueless about the radiation right now but tomorrow the Radiologist will go over everything with us and then we will know more.
I have been thinking lately about how scary cancer is. Cancer is so common, everyone knows someone that has it. The month that my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer there were 19 other women that were also diagnosed. More than is usually diagnosed in one month and they were all around the same age as my mom. This is weird. I have also heard so many other stories about people that have since been diagnosed with some kind of cancer and so many of them are around my age, one of my friends has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, I am sick of the word cancer! It seems that the question of “if” we get cancer has changed, it has turned into “when” we get cancer. I seriously felt like my family was immune from this disease. Since my Mom was diagnosed my whole prospective regarding cancer has changed. A boy I went to school with has Ewing Sarcoma, I see him sometimes getting treatments when my Mom does. He says that when his treatment is over he is leaving the country because the United States has one of the highest cancer rates. I have really been thinking about this lately. Why do we have the highest cancer rate? This is scary. It is our lifestyle, the way we eat, the pollution, etc. These days everything causes cancer. Somehow and someday I really hope that we can find a cure.
Sorry, I kind of went off on a tangent. I just get so worked up about this subject sometimes. Anyways, we meet with the radiologist tomorrow so I will fill you all in on what we find out!
“Believe that problems do have answers, that they can be overcome, and that we can solve them.”
- Norman Vincent Peale
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