2 Down...6 To Go.

Mom had her 2nd Chemo Treatment last Wednesday the 23rd. This time things seemed to be a little better. She is still very easily fatigued but it will probably be that way for the next 6 months or so until this is all done and over with. On a good note though, she really didn't feel nauseated like last time so that has been a good thing.Jason, Austin, and I headed to Defiance on the 24th for a brief Chirstmas lunch with Mom, Dad, and Andy. Today Adam and the crew is heading back from Tennessee and will be in Defiance until Saturday and we are heading there Friday. I'm sure Mom will be glad to see all the kids......sure she'll be happy when they are gone too :)

Good news....for once!

Mom had the genetic testing done to determine if she had the mutation in her BRCA genes. If she had the mutation then the chances of recurrence were not very good odds--so if the mutation was present the next step would have been a double masectomy. She got the word today that she does NOT have the mutation which is a huge relief! Once the chemo is done she will probably still have to go for radiation should not have to have surgery. Also, this is good news for myself and my two pretty little nieces. If mom had the mutation in the gene there is a risk of it being passed down. So good news there! 2nd Chemo treatment is still on for the 23rd.

Winter Break

Mom has been put on Extended Medical Leave from work. It isn't really her health that is keeping her off--she is only part time and she has used all of her sick time so the school board decided that since she would have to be taking time off because of her treatments and dr appointments that the best thing to do for the time being is to put her on leave. Basically, the end result is they are holding her job for up to 2 years. Obviously, she doesn't expect to be out that long but good to know that she has a job when this is all said and done. I told her what better time to have off than the winter when it's cold and nasty she won't have to get out in it daily. She will have to go to the appointments and treatment but that won't be every day. She has been pretty fatigued and still not feeling too well--her body seems to still be adjusting to the Chemo. I think her having the break from work will be a good thing so she can just focus on getting the treatments in and getting better! Next Chemo is still scheduled for 12/23/09.

1 down 7 to go!

Mom's first chemo went pretty well (as well as chemotherapy can go?!?!?). She got a headache about half and hour after she was done and then went home ate a little lunch and took at nap. About 6:30 she started to feel nauseated but was able to eat a little she never got sick. Today she said she felt better this morning and that she was just tired. So far so good. From what the nurses said, sounds like there is a better chance that she might start to get sick this weekend. Fingers crossed that she won't but if she does they did give her some medication to help. She will go every other week for 16 weeks. So basically a total of 8 treatments with weekly blood draws and doctor's appointments in between. So that is the latest!

Chemotherapy Begins

Mom starts Chemo tomorrow at 10:15 at Defiance Hospital. I am planning to take her and spend the night there to make sure that everything goes alright. Keeps the prayers coming!

Update--Chemo in about 2 weeks

Mom is healing up and doing pretty good. She even went to work today. I think she was pretty tired though! She went to the Oncologist on Friday. He said that she is "doing well" and he said that he doesn't tell many people that so that was reassuring. With the spread of the cancer to the lymph nodes she is in Stage 2 but certainly manageable. He wants to see her back in two weeks and then the Chemo will start after that. He wants to make sure that all her incisions are good and healed before doing the Chemo--makes sense. So we will have a nice Thanksgiving with all the kids! Mom is still in good spirits and just ready to start the Chemo to see how it will affect her. Again, thanks for all the prayers, thoughts, cards, meals, etc it really is making this whole situation a little easier to deal with!

Chemotherapy

Sounds like Mom will start chemotherapy the week of Thanksgiving. We are thankful that this was caught early and that she is still with us. Just disappointed that she has to go through all of this.

Not Great News...but she'll be okay!

Mom went to the doctor today and got her drain out of arm so I am hoping that this will alleviate some of her discomfort. At the appointment she found out the test results from the lymph nodes that they removed last week at her surgery. Unfortunately, they did find cancer in 2 of them. This really doesn't change much as far as treatments and what will be done next. She goes back to the surgeon next to assure that the incisions are healing properly and also sees the Oncologist to finalize Chemotherapy. My guess is that will start within the next couple of weeks. I say the sooner the better (easy for me to say). Mom said they showed her some exercises to do to get her arm back in shape---sounds like that was a lot of fun :) She is hanging in there and trying to get into a routine every day to keep things as normal as possible. Looks like she may not be back to work for awhile. I think that her main focus as this point needs to be focusing on staying healthy and keeping herself strong. Mom really appreciates all the cards, calls, meals, etc. A good support system is one of the most important things in someone's recovery and my mom is blessed to have a great network of friends and family!

Getting Out

I headed to Defiance yesterday. Mom had a bit of cabin fever. She and I went out to see Grampa at the nursing home and Mom picked up a couple of things that she needed. It was pretty quick trip but I think it's just what Mom needed! She continues to feel better almost daily. She is still pretty sore. She gets the drain tube out on Tuesday and I would hope that would take care of some of the discomfort. Slow but sure she is recovering from this surgery. No other doctor appointments until next week so we won't know much else until then.

Spoke to Mom yesterday and she seems to be doing a little better. She said the mornings are pretty rough but she was hoping that today she could get up a little more. She was hoping to be back to work in about 2 weeks but said she wasn't sure if that would be able to happen. I reminded it had only been 48 hours since her surgery. That is about it for now!

The Big "C"

Well Mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer October 13, 2009. Since the start of this all she has had to undergo two surgeries, testing, and several doctor appointments. The most recent surgery was on Monday November 2, 2009. They did several things. First, they removed the lymph nodes from under her left arm, they took out some additional tissue around where the lump was to assure that the cancer was gone, and they put in a port to be used when she starts chemotherapy. The surgery went well (easy for me to say)--they found no more cancer in the lymph nodes but they did send them for additional testing just to be sure(not sure when the test results come back). She stayed in the hospital Monday night and was able to come home Tuesday about 2 or so. She is still feeling pretty rough (to be expected). For now, she will continue to recover from this surgery and then in the next 2-4 weeks depending on how she is doing she will start a course of Chemotherapy (I don't have all the details on the schedule).

Keeping friends and family updated.

I thought that I would start this blog (with my mom's permission)--to keep everyone up to date with her fight. I know that my Mom has touched so many lives and she has so many people who care for her. That means the world to our family. My mom is a fighter and I know that despite this set back she will beat this and will be around to watch her grandkids graduate high school (mom's words--she doesn't have time to be sick). We all appreciate all the calls, cards, prayers, kind thoughts, and on and on. It is amazing to me how so many people want to help and I know that is because my Mom has always been the one to reach out a helping hand to someone in need. Karma is a good thing. I will try to update this several days per week. As always, continue to pray for her as this isn't going to get much easier for awhile. I will be glad to take any phone calls or emails. I know mom will probably not feel like talking. Please leave comments and I will make sure that Mom sees them!