Cancer Part 2

Yesterday it was confirmed that my mom has esophageal cancer. It's apparently a rare form but the doctor is confident that it's treatable. My mom seems to be handling this news with the same grace she did the first time she was diagnosed with cancer. It's ironic actually. Twelve years ago this month she had a bone marrow transplant to kill the leukemia she was diagnosed with four months earlier. It worked. Her doctor said that if she could beat the type of leukemia she had before then she can beat this cancer.

This news is really crappy to hear but even moreso during the holiday season. I'm just storming heaven with prayers that her PET scan on Friday shows no metastasis to other organs. If it does, we have a big problem. So for now I'm going to keep praying that it hasn't spread. I need my mom. My sister and brother need my mom. My dad needs my mom. My kids need their grandmother. She's a blessing to us all.

In honor of my mom, I have gathered some of my favorite photos of her.

Cancer

So I dropped my mom off at the hospital yesterday for an endoscopy. She has been have trouble eating and swallowing. We hoped it was just heartburn. Our hopes were dashed.

It's esophageal cancer. The prognosis is not good. We don't have all the specifics yet. An ultrasound of the esophagus is scheduled for Monday and a PET scan is scheduled for December 11. The PET scan will tell us if the cancer has spread to other organs.

This is her second battle with cancer. Twelve years ago this December she had a bone marrow transplant for leukemia. Her road has not been easy since then but she was cancer-free. Now here we are and this time she is facing an evil that will not be as kind. She's only 55. Please, if you are the praying type, we could use some prayers for her. Prayers for quick reports and quick treatment.

I ♥ Faces Challenge - Pink for Breast Cancer

My photo this week is very special to me. While my mom has not battled breast cancer, she has battled leukemia. When she was 43 (1997) she was diagnosed with AML. Three months later her youngest brother (she is one of five children) donated marrow for her to have a bone marrow transplant. While life has not been easy the past 11.5 years, she is here. She has seen my sister and I get married, she was in the room with my husband and I when my son was born and she kept my son when I went to the hospital to have my daughter.

Just a month ago she had her second hip replacement. The drugs she was on for her cancer and subsequent transplant rendered her hip bone useless. She is a trooper. She faces trials with a finesse that is enviable. She is amazing.

I can never explain in words how happy I am to have my mom still here with me. We are very close and my life would be so different had she not been in it these past 12 years. She is a wonderful mom, superfun nana and a great daughter. I love you mom, more than you know.

I captured this photo of her snuggling a newborn Isabelle. It's one of my favorites. I'm sure this week will feature many stories that will tug at your heart. Some good, some sad and many inspirational. Remember to check out the other entries at I Heart Faces.

"Mom"arazzi

I have to admit that my love of photography must come from my dad. Had it been up to my mom, I don't think we'd have the amount of pictures from our childhood that we do. But my mom had three kids and a household to run. Not to mention the fact that I think you have to really love taking pictures in order for it to happen.


Anyway, my point to all of this is that my mom is going in for her second hip replacement this morning. I know that sounds like an "old" person's problem but my mom is only 55. She was diagnosed with leukemia at the ripe old age of 43. Medication taken after her lifesaving bone-marrow-transplant rendered her hip brittle. Thus the hip-replacement surgery. However, the doctor somehow misjudged the correct size and my mom has been going the last eight years with her one leg an inch shorter than the other. We are hoping this new surgery and new surgeon will fix that problem and allow her to walk normally. As many people know, cancer sucks. The repercussions of cancer can live with the patient long after they are "cured".


This is for my mom. I love her more than words can say.
P.S. You'll notice the flowers all around. My son decided to "set the stage" so to speak. How cool is he?!?!