the three of us

it was nice to share quality time w/my mom and sis this weekend.

my mom is feeling good about starting radiation a week to 10 days after her dec. 7 appointment -- so she can still go to cabo san lucas w/her friends as planned in february.

i brought a bunch of frozen, home-cooked meals for her. she said the radiation makes you tired about 1 to 4 hours after each 20-minute treatment, so people who work usually get it done in the afternoon and then go home or back to work for a short time.

i also got to borrow a skirt, shirt and blazer for a banquet i have thursday: just like the old days with all three of us under one roof!

the cancer docs

mom saw her two oncologists for the first time today.

it appears that adding radiation and tamoxifin on top of the lumpectomy will greatly improve her likelihood of staying cancer-free (27 percent chance of reoccurrence down to 8 percent). so she has to find out in a few weeks when she can start.

my sis is home for the holiday, and i'll be there this weekend. good times!

overall, news on breast cancer is good

while 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetimes, the survival rate is 88 percent for 5 years.

read other facts in dr. gupta's article for cnn (i originally read something similar for time): http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/10/10/breast.cancer.QA/

miss manners

i got a thank-you card in the mail from my mom, for the flowers and stuff since this whole ordeal began.

totally not necessary!

but i understand. i, too, am compelled to write thank-you cards, and i'm told i'm pretty good at it. this must be why....

Study shows tamoxifen can prevent cancer for years.

I saw this story on Yahoo! and decided to post it here. Sound like great news.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051115/hl_nm/breastcancer_dc

i made casserole

... to give mom for her freezer when she's tired from the radiation.

of course, we don't know when that will start, but it could be december, the "most wonderful time of the year."

she said that the lethargic effect is cumulative, so it's "not bad" at first.

we'll see.

at least i got to see her new burgundy leather jacket. after all she's gone through, she deserves at least that.

it's that much?

mom said today that if she does radiation, and she seems to be leaning that way, it's 5 days a week for 6 1/2 weeks, but it greatly improves her chances.

side effects are lethargy and skin irritation.

still have to look more into this.

i told her it's a perfect excuse to be lazy for the holidays.

realistically, i hope i can cook for her so she can have some kickin' meals in the freezer!

happy weekend

i got to see mom for the first time since her surgery this weekend.
she seemed fine and didn't want to talk about it, i guess. she appeared to be feeling well -- well enough to throw pot roast and chili together. maybe i should ask her some other time.

she did say she's leaning toward radiation no matter what, but it still could be weeks before she sees the oncologist.

i hate that this could cast a pall over the holidays, but again, things could be worse.

i brought karin and mom some breast cancer pink ribbon stuff that i got at the gift shop at swedes: pins, socks and other stuff like that. since some of the money goes toward research (actually, directly in rockford), i felt like doing it.

smarty pants

yeah, you're not smart, ms. computer and math genius.

all i do is write, edit, go to meetings and blab on tv.

uh, what do I know anyway. I guess Mom doesn't know about this blog. Can you guess who the smart one in the family is?

i couldn't have said it much better

karin beat me to it: she summarized the day well.

i have to add that i have presents for her and mom when i see them this weekend. i think they'll like them.

and mom knows about this blog? i never told her. at least i don't think i did....

the results are in

Mom got the pathology results today and radiation may be in her future. She sounded disappointed, but in my mind, it was pretty good news. Not the best, but pretty good. Any further treatment would be preventative.

Luckily my job is taking me back to the midwest this weekend (actually Monday next). Nonetheless, it will give me a chance to see Mom -- as well as Grandma and Betty, so I'm pretty excited about that.

"Trust your instinct thought you can render no reason." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
That's what I've done with this whole situation. After the initial shock of hearing the news, I really had a "gut feel" that things were going to "be OK". And it wasn't just me telling myself that to make myself believe it. So far, for what it is, things have gone well and I believe they will continue on that path. Cancer is not good. Removing it all in one surgery is good.

Thanks everyone for all your prayers and thanks to God for listening.

Mom, if you're reading this, I hope it didn't make you cry.