Wondering where I've been? Well, grad school, thesis writing, freelancing and soccer season have kept me busy.
Three weeks ago, I added something heavier to the mix of stuff to do.
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 58.
She's always been fairly obsessive about getting her mammograms. She had a good friend die after a long fight against breast cancer in the '80s. So when something didn't look right, she went to get checked three weeks ago.
One mammogram, one ultrasound, one biopsy later, she was diagnosed with early stage one cancer on her left side.
The good news: It is stage one. It wasn't in her lymph nodes when she had a mastectomy last week. It's a highly treatable form that was caught early; there's a 95% survival rate.
The bad news: She's going to have chemo. We're waiting on the path report and the oncologists' plan for what mix will work best and how long she'll have to take it.
So, to my girlfriends and other Mommy-Tracked mom readers out there: Go get your baselines done. Now. Today. Before the new year. And be vigilant. My mom's type does not present as a lump. Usually there is no sign. Unless you get it checked out, you could be a lot further along the stages than you'd like.
Add a pink ribbon to your social networking sites for us, and prayers, love and support are welcome. But we aren't going to let this get us down. It's not all bad news; a lot of it is quite good. It will not be much fun for the next few months, but it will be over with and dealt with soon enough.
2 comments:
There's no elegant way to say it: Cancer sucks. Your mom and the rest of your family are in my thoughts.
Yup, it does suck. But at least it was caught early, and it is treatable.
Considering that her mom lost a leg, my mom is pretty content with just losing a boob. :)
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