April’s Adventures

In 1990 my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Through the course of a couple of years she had Chemo, Radiation, a mastectomy, and then restoration surgery. She had been given the all clear and was to be checked up on every so often. Well when we moved to Georgia she got a new doctor. They did a CAT scan on her and found some on her lungs. The doctor wasn’t overly concerned and said that they would just keep an eye on it and that it is small and looks like it could have been there all along but was just slowly growing since her breast cancer. This scared me more than anything with her living so far away and it just sucked knowing she does have cancer and that I knew it had a mind of its own. When she moved to Minnesota she found a new doctor and he was a lot more proactive. He wanted her to be screened every 3 months to make sure it wasn’t getting worse. He also put her on a new medicine and at one point we thought it was shrinking. 

Well last weekend she was having shortness of breath. On Tuesday she had to go for her every 3 month scan. On Wednesday my grandpa told her that he is concerned because the shortness of breath is how all of his heart issues started. So they made an apt and she got in to see a primary care doctor. They were able to pull up her scans and look over them. Well come to find out she has fluid around her heart, enlarged lymph nodes, and her lung cancer is spreading and growing. To say we are SHOCKED is an understatement. But another side of me believes that Cancer free is a crock and it was just a matter of time. I know this may upset some but I have seen way too many people be “cancer free” and it come back full. Even her doctor said that it just sometimes hides which is why they probably didn’t find it years ago when she had breast cancer. So today she has to go for an Echo-cardiogram to see what they need to do about the fluid around her heart and then on Monday we will be going to the Oncologist. She had an apt with him in two weeks but they want to see her as soon as possible. He is out of town this week so we are waiting until Monday. She really wants to see him because he knows all of her history and all of the every 3 month scans well and he can really give us insight as to how bad this is. We have a feeling she will need chemo and radiation because he made mention of this before if things progressed.

So that’s kinda in a nutshell how we got to this point. I am completely devastated. I know that God can heal and I am begging and praying him to. I want my mom to be around for her grandchildren when and however they come. I want her to be well enough to enjoy them. I know that Nils and I’s kids might be her only ones and we have tried so desperately over the last 3 1/2 years to have her be a grandma. I need her to be here! I don’t have a relationship with my dad and she is all the parent I have or need!

So please pray for my family that we will be prepared for whatever comes our way not only at the apt today but the Oncologist on monday. I am taking the day off monday to go with her and my grandparents. I hope I have more encouraging news then.