My Mommy, my bestest friend, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer on February 27, 2013. She had just endured three major surgeries in the last year and had been on pain medication for over 8 months. Finally feeling better she quit taking her pain meds. About two weeks before her diagnosis she called me and told me her stomach hurt. That she was in a lot of pain and couldn't eat. Going to the bathroom was immensely painful. We wrote it off as constipation, possibly diverticulitis. She tried going on a 3 day diverticulitis cleanse, no help. Finally she went to the doctor. Her doctor ordered a CT scan of her abdomen. She went and had the scan and later that night she got a phone call telling her she needed to come into the Dr's office the next day. She was scared, I was scared, but we didn't know why yet. The next day she went to the Dr's office and they told her she had CANCER. WHAT? CANCER??? NO! NO! NO! Who could believe that? Who would want to? The part that angered me soooooo much, was that she was all ALONE. Who in their right mind could tell someone that and expect them to just drive home and go on with their day? I was and still am disgusted with how her Dr's office handled the whole situation. Her husband told me the news and I immediately went to be with my Mom. When I got there she was crying, who wouldn't be? I was in shock. I just didn't want to believe it. I found her pouring over the internet reading way too much, and feeling hopeless. It didn't hit me for a day or two. I just couldn't believe this was happening. Then I got obsessed with the internet research. Sad, crying, depressed. I can't, I WON'T lose my Mommy. Well a few days passed and my Mom had some Dr's appointments and got a treatment plan in place. Gone was the hopeless, tearful woman I saw the day she was diagnosed. ;Back was my Mommy, the fighter, the strongest, most head strong person I know, the person I knew wouldn't let this get her down.
Fast forward to today.
My Mom has had 3 chemo treatments and 1 to go this Thursday, 5/16/13. Chemo sucks...period. really got her down. But in a week, she was feeling better after her treatments. Now that she's coming upon her last one, she's like a seasoned pro at this. She knows what to expect. She lost her hair, and we made the most of it. We actually cracked up when I shaved and yes, vacuumed her head! She has been so positive! Her last blood test showed her CA-125 levels are down by 7,000 and the tumors are shrinking. Chemo, as crappy as it is, is doing it's job. She is scheduled to have surgery early in July.
With my Mom's diagnosis I was scared. My maternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45 and died at age 47 of breast and ovarian cancer. My great grandmother also had breast cancer. There is also male breast cancer on my Mom's side, among many, many other cancers. What did this mean for me? I feel like a ticking time bomb, but what could I do? When researching ovarian cancer I kept seeing all these things about BRCA1 and BRCA2. So I got curious. Researched more and more about it. When I found out it was a mutated gene that may cause these cancers, I knew I HAD to be tested. And so my journey begins....
Jamie♥☺
Fast forward to today.
My Mom has had 3 chemo treatments and 1 to go this Thursday, 5/16/13. Chemo sucks...period. really got her down. But in a week, she was feeling better after her treatments. Now that she's coming upon her last one, she's like a seasoned pro at this. She knows what to expect. She lost her hair, and we made the most of it. We actually cracked up when I shaved and yes, vacuumed her head! She has been so positive! Her last blood test showed her CA-125 levels are down by 7,000 and the tumors are shrinking. Chemo, as crappy as it is, is doing it's job. She is scheduled to have surgery early in July.
With my Mom's diagnosis I was scared. My maternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45 and died at age 47 of breast and ovarian cancer. My great grandmother also had breast cancer. There is also male breast cancer on my Mom's side, among many, many other cancers. What did this mean for me? I feel like a ticking time bomb, but what could I do? When researching ovarian cancer I kept seeing all these things about BRCA1 and BRCA2. So I got curious. Researched more and more about it. When I found out it was a mutated gene that may cause these cancers, I knew I HAD to be tested. And so my journey begins....
Jamie♥☺
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