Unravel Cancer: Experiences with family battling cancer: Intro

19 July 2009

23:00 Intro

And so it begins...

Today I flew home after four weeks of caring for my mother while she wrapped up chemotherapy and radiation treatment for her grade 3 astrocytoma brain tumor. It's been a scary & difficult time for all of us, and so finally I worked up the courage to write about it.

But, there's more than just my mom, and just a tumor. The last 2 years have shown our family, and me, a succession of tragedies and challenges. Here is the summary chronological breakdown that I emailed to a friend recently:

Jan 08 - my grandma passed away (dad's mom)
Feb 08 - got into a new job at my company, where I still am
Jun 08 week 1 - my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and had
surgery a week later; the tumor was benign
Jun 08 week 3 - my other grandma (mom's mom) passed away
July 08 to Dec 08 - finished my Project Mgm't certificate.
Aug 08 - tried to date a boy, but it ended horribly
Dec 08 - tried to date a boy, but it ended horribly
Mar 09 week 2 - moved to Oakland & rented out my condo
Mar 09 week 4 - my mom has a seizure and gets an MRI
Apr 09 week 1 - my brother complains of a back pain & tingling in his
arms & gets an MRI
Apr 09 week 1 - brother diagnosed with grade 3 cancerous tumor in
spinal cord & scrambles to find a specialist to operate
Apr 09 week 2 - brother has surgery
Apr 09 week 3 - mom diagnosed with grade 3 cancerous brain tumor
Apr 09 week 4 - brother starts chemo & radiation; continuing pain &
loss of mobility in all 4 limbs
May week 4 - mom starts chemo & radiation
June week 2 - my company gets bought by Intel
July week 2 - mom finishes first round of treatment
July week 2 - I drive mom & her car to Chicago to stay with my oldest brother
July week 3 - I finally come home

Sure, it's life. But, jeez! This is an awful lot of "life" for one group of people or one single person (me, let's say) to handle.

There are many other aspects to the unfolding misery, too. I'll create separate posts with various topics as they come to mind, so things are easier to follow.

Things aren't all bad. There are some wonderful things to be grateful for in recent months as well. There are always lessons to be learned in every situation, even if the lesson comes much later. I just hope I can survive to learn it...

Meanwhile, it's been an extremely long day of travel and unpacking, so I shall retire. Hooray for my first post!

LV

Labels: astrocytoma, brain tumor, cancer, cancer treatment, caretake, central nervous system, chemotherapy, health, healthcare, radiation

Breathe.

I'm a 30-something professional woman who's mother & brother were both diagnosed with Grade 3 Astrocytoma tumors within about a week of each other. My mother's tumor is in her brain, and my brother's tumor is in his spinal cord, causing him to lose feeling in his arms & legs. These writings are about my experiences dealing with them, coping, loving them, loving myself, and living my life knowing that they are both dying. I hope you find inspiration and courage from my writings to help you get through whatever is going on in your life.