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!
