Going Under The Knife!

Tuesday, my mom, sister, dad, my two kids, two nephews and myself all squeezed into my blue minivan to make the long anticipated journey to the surgeons office. Since the diagnoses of moms cancer, we all knew that surgery was a must. Both her oncologist and surgeon agreed that the only way to get rid of stomach cancer is to cut it out. But because of my moms physical condition, due to chemo and the side effects of the cancer, that surgery was put on hold. Following the months after surgery mom has continued to loose weight (a total of 55lbs so far!) and has tried to be more mobile. We are all fairly certain that the tumor has stopped bleeding because her iron levels have sky rocketed. The only pain and fatigue that she feels now is most certainly related to her RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis). She has been taken off EVERY med for that disease in preparation for her cancer surgery (the RA meds can cause a patient not to heal well). However, yesterday, Dr. Billingsly was very happy with the overall health and condition of my mom both physically and mentally. He said that she was "A Champ!" and that he was ready to pick a date for the surgery. So, sometime around the 3rd week in March, my mom will be undergoing a gastric bypass surgery. We are all hopeful that once they get in there the tumor will have shrunk or even disappeared! (Doc has said this has happened before). In either case, we have been well informed that this is not an easy surgery and she will probably require weeks of recovery time.

Please remember mom in your daily prayers and keep those good thoughts coming her way!

The Update

First, THANK YOU to everyone who has sent my mom well wishes by calling, sending cards, e-mailing, or even just following this blog. All of the prayers are greatly appreciated and uplifting. Around Christmas, mom received a special gift from an old co-worker named Maggie Racadio. She sent her a digitally printed scrapbook, full of old photos from the years of working at the health department and dedicated it to my mom, which I thought was really sweet. Thanks Maggie!!

I am also sorry it has taken so long for me to update on my moms health. Truthfully, the last couple of months have not seen much improvement. In fact, my moms poor immune system is so shot that she keeps getting sick with various ailments. The worst of which, is the pneumonia that hospitalized her for 4 days. The side effects of the cancer, have also taken their toll. My mom has no appetite. In fact, she has, so far, lost 30 lbs due to not being able to eat much. Mainly, because she just isn't hungry. Unfortunately, she was taken off one of her meds for her RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) to try and combat the growth of the tumor. Which means, she suffers from more pain from her RA, which at times is so excruciating she can't move. Most of my moms days, are spent in her room, sleeping or resting. She is rarely up to doing much else.

WHAT WE ARE FACEING NOW

When my mom was sick with pneumonia, she got a CAT scan on her lungs. The scan showed a new lesion. At the time, it was the most probable that is was from the pneumonia, but now the Oncologist is not sure. So, a biopsy will be done soon to indicate if that lesion is cancerous or not. If the cancer has spread, she will NOT be a candidate for surgery on her stomach tumor. Although, at this point, her physical condition is not strong enough to endure the surgery anyway. So we wait. . .

Please continue to pray for healing for mom and for wisdom for the doctors caring for her. Thank You!