First, my apologies to any of you who know mom and are finding this information out here for the first time. This last week has been an avalanche of phone calls, appointments, and arguments with insurance providers.
For the past few months, mom has been experiencing leg weakness and numbness, balance disturbances, and several other concerning neurological symptoms. Many of these symptoms were present in subtle forms after chemo and radiation for her breast cancer in 2009, so they were not immediately troublesome until they continued to worsen. Her oncologist ordered an MRI last Monday, and last Tuesday we were told that there were areas of enhancement or lesions on her brain and spine.
This week, it was confirmed that those enhancements are a metastasis of her original breast cancer, diagnosed in 2009. We were also told that breast cancer cells were found in her cerebro-spinal fluid. Neither of these complications are curable, but the doctors believe they are treatable with a reasonable quality of life. So welcome to Part II of Cancer Sucks, Sheree edition.
Mom has held up really well through all the doctor's visits, financial arrangements and phone calls. She's really been a trooper. She isto start radiation today at Texas Oncology with her original team of oncologists. Today we were also told that delaying radiation by even a few days could result in permanent paralysis or worse, based on how quickly her disease has progressed. So far, her only treatment is a 5 week course of daily radiation to her lumbar spine and head to relieve her neurological symptoms. If radiation goes well, she may then begin intrathecal and possibly systemic chemotherapy. Aside from neurosurgery to place an Ommaya reservoir, which will deliver chemo to her ventricles, we don't expect any other invasive surgery in the near future.
Thereare still a lot of unknowns at this time, and I will be using this site to update everyone as much as possible, along with phone calls, text and e-mail. There is no definite prognosis. Some patients have weeks, some have years. We won't know how much time we have until we see how she responds to treatment.
What do we need right now?
Meals:
Mom has not been eating well lately and I will need help getting her good greens and proteins. If you are able, I would appreciate any meal assistance we can get. A big pot of turkey chili here, or veggie based casserole there would save us time and energy. There is good evidence that improving her diet by eliminating sugar and processed carbs, and adding greens and vegetable proteins will support the clinical treatment efforts. If anyone has a juicer sitting around that they would like to donate, we would love to put it to good use.
Rides:
Thankfully, mom has a number of people around to help, including my sister Megan, Brother Ryan, close family, and Dianna from the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin. Due to her neurological changes, it's best that mom avoid driving as much as possible. Megan will be taking mom to radiation, and my best childhood friend Angela has graciously offered to take mom home from radiation every day around 1pm, however any volunteers wishing to run relief efforts would be greatly appreciated.
Other:
Despite the outpouring of support from our little circle, I'm sure we will need more help in the days and weeks to come. I may use this site to ask for some of those needs.
For the past few months, mom has been experiencing leg weakness and numbness, balance disturbances, and several other concerning neurological symptoms. Many of these symptoms were present in subtle forms after chemo and radiation for her breast cancer in 2009, so they were not immediately troublesome until they continued to worsen. Her oncologist ordered an MRI last Monday, and last Tuesday we were told that there were areas of enhancement or lesions on her brain and spine.
This week, it was confirmed that those enhancements are a metastasis of her original breast cancer, diagnosed in 2009. We were also told that breast cancer cells were found in her cerebro-spinal fluid. Neither of these complications are curable, but the doctors believe they are treatable with a reasonable quality of life. So welcome to Part II of Cancer Sucks, Sheree edition.
Mom has held up really well through all the doctor's visits, financial arrangements and phone calls. She's really been a trooper. She is
There
What do we need right now?
Meals:
Mom has not been eating well lately and I will need help getting her good greens and proteins. If you are able, I would appreciate any meal assistance we can get. A big pot of turkey chili here, or veggie based casserole there would save us time and energy. There is good evidence that improving her diet by eliminating sugar and processed carbs, and adding greens and vegetable proteins will support the clinical treatment efforts. If anyone has a juicer sitting around that they would like to donate, we would love to put it to good use.
Rides:
Thankfully, mom has a number of people around to help, including my sister Megan, Brother Ryan, close family, and Dianna from the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin. Due to her neurological changes, it's best that mom avoid driving as much as possible. Megan will be taking mom to radiation, and my best childhood friend Angela has graciously offered to take mom home from radiation every day around 1pm, however any volunteers wishing to run relief efforts would be greatly appreciated.
Other:
Despite the outpouring of support from our little circle, I'm sure we will need more help in the days and weeks to come. I may use this site to ask for some of those needs.
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