The Servant's Quarters

Update on Mom

It's been quite a while since I posted anything about my Mom's struggle with cancer. That's probably mainly because it's been going fairly well. No news is good news, right? That's not to say that there haven't been struggles. (She had her last chemo about a month ago, I believe. It was the worst round she received in the months since her surgery last summer. I spoke to her yesterday, and she's still feeling the effects.) But for the most part, things have progressed as we expected them to without set backs or disappointments.

Ah, if only I could end this update right here.

But I can't.

Mom's original treatment plan called for several infusions of chemotherapy, which she completed at the in late November/early December, as I already stated. (Wish I could nail that down more precisely, but I'm just not remembering the timeline that well right now.) After that, her doctor told her that he would give her a break to get past the holidays and rest up prior to beginning the seven weeks of radiation treatment. We were delighted that we would celebrate the holidays with Mom feeling reasonably well.

The news got better. A couple of weeks ago, Mom told me that she had been told by one of her doctors that the radiation follow up was optional. She could take it or leave it. It was up to her. Mom decided that she had had enough. She was going to refuse the radiation infusions, which were supposed to be administered Monday through Friday for the entire seven week course. We brushed aside any concerns about whether or not refusing the radiation was a wise decision. At least for me, it didn't really enter my head. I was just so happy that the ordeal was over. Granted there were still upcoming hurdles. Mom had decided at some point to have a mastectomy on the other side to help prevent a recurrance of the cancer. That surgery would have to be faced eventually. She still had 52 weeks of infusions of an anti-cancer druge to overcome, but these would be delivered intravenously once a week and cause side effects only in rare cases. And of course, the countdown clock is running on her five years. If she can stay cancer free for five years, she earns the label of "Survivor."

None of that matter, at least not to me. For now, we had dodged a bullet, and I could stop worrying about Mom receiving these terrible treatments that make her so sick.

A couple of days ago, we talked again on the phone. The doctor in charge of her case had overruled the doctor who told her the radiation was optional. We were back to facing seven weeks of radiation, five times a week. The first treatment is scheduled for tomorrow. The doctor has assured us that the radiation will not burn her. The skin around the site may be come pink and a little irritated, but that's all. (The only other person I've known who received radiation treatments for breast cancer was a man who was horribly burned by the procedure. His chest was burned black by the treatments, and the pain was incredibly intense.) However, I'm sure that the radiation will sap her strength. She may end up laying in bed or in her recliner, feeling like a limp dish towel. She'll drive herself on Friday, but how long will it be before she's not up to taking herself? Will we be able to find enough people to drive her to the clinic every day for several weeks? (It's about a half hour each way.)

Like the chemo, we won't know what's what until the treatments begin and we see how she handles them.

I really wish we could have dodged this bullet.

Lord, please walk beside Mom and the rest of our family through this. You have been so faithful throughout the chemo. It was difficult, but we didn't come up against anything that was insurmountable. Please stay with us through this, and bless Mom. Let her handle the radiation treatments with few, if any, side effects.

We give you the glory for everything, Father.

Amen.