I haven't mentioned this on the blog up until now. Not because it isn't something extremely important and not because it doesn't affect us as a family...quite the opposite actually...BUT, I wanted to stay focused on the here and now rather than trying to update every detail on the blog when I didn't necessarily know all the facts at the exact time...
So now, I'll back track a little bit.
Just after the Christmas holidays, my mom (better known as Mama Light) was diagnosed with "High Grade Ductal Carcinoma", which is a form (and I believe the most common type) of breast cancer. I'd like to say I can't even imagine how my mom felt when she was faced unsuspectingly with that news...
...Unfortunately, I have a pretty good idea how it felt for her (on some levels) as the term or diagnosis of Cancer is nothing new for our family ( I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1995 and again in 1998...Note: I've been in remission for almost 10 years - so Don't panic). Anyway, I'm glad I could relate to her and how incredibly scary this must have been for her to hear this diagnosis.
Nobody ever walks into their doctors office thinking they'll come out finding out they have Cancer. Everyone know someone who has been affected by this crazy disease, but nobody ever thinks it could happen to them. Fair enough, because really...how sucky would life be if you walked around always wondering if today would be the day you'd be the one being diagnosed with that big scary "C" word.
Yes it is scary...some diagnosis more than others. But what makes it scary is when you only hear the word cancer and you haven't yet learned what your type of cancer entails since the range is SO broad. My point here is, I know HOW scary this diagnosis had to be for mama Light and how in a matter of seconds she likely had a billion (at least) things going through her head. ...And how scary it was for everyone around her...at least in the beginning.
Because in the beginning you only know it's cancer. You don't know how bad or good (if cancer can be good) it is until further investigation (which take several test, reports, doctors etc...)...you have know idea what the treatment is (so you imagine THE WORST), you wonder if there even is a treatment (it seems we often only hear the worse case stories), you think about the possible side effects (everyone has seen a movie or seen that person who because of the sometimes horrid side effects "looks like a cancer patient")...you wonder if you can or even want to go through what could possibly be hell. But before you (as the person receive the diagnosis) even think about all that, you know what crosses your mind first...?!?! What about my family, will THEY be ok through all this?!?!?
For me I worried constantly about how this was affecting my mom and dad,,,for Mama Light, I imagine she wondered how her husband, her daughter and now her grandchild who is on his/her way would be affected by all of this. And so because of that NO MATTER WHAT, you put on the bravest face you know how (even if you aren't feeling all that brave)...
Mama Light is truly one of the BRAVEST women I know. Not just for this, but for everything. I am so proud of her. She indeed put on her bravest face for my dad and I in particular, but of course all of our family and even though I know this whole experience has had to be very scary for her she never let us believe she was nervous or sad or mad or whatever...She was just BRAVE...and all the time...and took everything involved head on (which in my experience, is the BEST way to handle a cancer diagnosis....HEAD ON).
The key to making it through something like this is having an excellent medical team, educating yourself on every detail of the diagnoses and keeping the most positive attitude throughout.
Since this original diagnosis, which luckily was caught fairly early, Mama Light (and our family) has probably learned way more than we ever wanted to about Ductal Carcinoma. She has been though a number of tests (some not so bad and other quite painful)...She had surgery in which the were able to completely remove the cancerous area completely through a lumpectomy...and as of today she will have completed her prescribed radiation treatment which consisted of two radiation treatments a day for the last 7 days. And like I said, through it all she has been totally brave.
I'm not sure what happens now. I assume she is cured?!?!? I suspect her doctors will keep a close eye on her year to year which is great. There was talk of prescribing a preventive drug (Tomoxofine..sp?!?) for the next few years in the early diagnosis, but I'm unsure what the deal is on that currently.
Mama Light had two VERY evident things to focus on here...one was to get herself back into tip top shape and the other to get through this all so she could focus more on the arrival of her grandbaby O'Neil due to arrive in July!!!
My mom has always said that if you want something in life (whatever that "something" may be) that you have to make a plan and then make it happen and that a person can do anything with a good attitude. Once again she has lead by example and once again the lady I call mama Light has truly inspired me with life.
