The Plan for Mom

This morning, we went to meet Mom's oncologist for an update on her current status and to find out more about the protocol for her treatment. First of all, I loved her oncologist! He's so empathic, very informative, quite respectful, and extremely thorough. The basic report is that: we're dealing with Stage 2 breast cancer; they're still not sure which came first - the malignant cells in the breast or the malignant cells in the lymph nodes - but it matters not; she does need chemo; she most likely needs radiation on both sides. The doctor went on to say that a team of doctors studied her case to help think about what the best treatment plan was. Given the uniqueness of this case, the doctors used Mom's situation as a learning tool, which pleases me to know that many people helped determine her most aggressive and proactive plan...I just hope they know what an amazing woman they are helping and that she's not just "some lady" but a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a friend. (I have no doubt that her doctors keep this in the forefront of their minds - they are all such kind, warm-hearted, gentlemen, but it crossed my mind to think this way when her oncologist was reporting how many people thought about this "case.")

Bottom line: she'll need 6 rounds of chemo - each round 3 weeks apart and lasting about 4 hours at a time. I've learned a lot about the chemo treatments. He explained what medications make up the chemo treatments and the side effects of each med - which is a list that includes but is not limited to nausea/vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, low white blood cell counts, lung damage, leukemia, teary eyes, and heart pump damage. Luckily, with MORE medications to help prevent and "ward off" some of these side effects, the only ones they can't really control or "keep a watch on to monitor" are the hair loss and fatigue. She's expected to drink a LOT of water everyday to help stay hydrated, therefore to help with fatigue. She's also supposed to monitor her temperature to make sure she doesn't have any kind of infection.

So, after a chemo "prep class" and a standard echo-cardiogram next week (on Mom's birthday), she'll be set for starting chemo about a week & a half from today. I say she's "set" rather than "ready" or "prepared" because there's really nothing that gets you "ready" for that. She's doing a great job looking forward and trying her best to mentally prepare for what's ahead, but that's hard to do when it's such a daunting, long road. We're trying to make the most of the pretty miserable situation - looking at the bright side that at least she won't have to fuss with her hair or worry about the kids splashing her at the pool this summer since her hair won't be an issue. We'll make the most of chemo treatments - listening to music, watching movies, reading good books, or just chit-chatting away. We'll buckle down and kill what's left of this piece-of-$h#t cancer. (Amen!)