Oh Boy, It’s Been a Stressful Month
I’m sorry for the lack of blog posts during the past few weeks. I’ve been very occupied with things going on in my personal life. For once my work hasn’t been what is keeping me from posting on here, although I would rather it be work than what actually has been going on.
Around the end of June, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma or IDC. We are very blessed because she caught the condition early, and had her first surgery a little over two weeks ago and the surgeon successfully removed the tumor. However, additional pathology showed pre-cancerous cells along the edges of the tissue that was removed, so she had a second surgery this past Friday (Aug. 3, 2007) to remove additional tissue as a precaution. The invasiveness of the surgery was minor since the surgeon was able to go back in to a small area of one of the original incisions to remove the additional tissue.
During the first surgery, she had some of her lymph nodes removed and tested. Since there were no cancer cells present in the lymph nodes, all indications are that the cancer has not spread beyond the original site. If the pathology tests from her most recent surgery come back negative she will have finished with the surgeries. She will have to start radiation treatments soon, but we are very thankful to God that she will not have to undergo chemotherapy for this illness.
There is nothing scarier than having the word “cancer” associated with someone that you love very much. My Mom was fortunate to have discovered the cancer during a very early stage. If you or your loved ones are at the age where you are “supposed” to get regular screenings for breast, prostate, or colon cancer then please take the time to get the tests performed.
Is it glamorous to have these tests done? Um, no, of course not. They suck. However, if caught early these forms of cancer are very treatable and have a high survival rate. So cast off the embarrassment and stop the procrastinating for the sake of the ones you love and just do it.
So Mom, I love you very much and I am so proud of you for taking the bull by the horns and getting to the doctor early. I have no doubt you have totally kicked cancer’s butt!