How many feet do I have anyway?
Few weeks ago: Mom has Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).
Yesterday: Deena has Interductal Breast Cancer.
If another f'ing shoe drops, I'm going to have to look for my missing foot. Honestly, whatamess. The only good thing is that somehow I am not freaking out. (usually in times of medical crises I do a bit of an emotional hurricane routine. It would be very entertaining if I could tap dance, but as I can't tap dance, it's really just very blubbery and whiny and not at all entertaining. And the weather channel says it doesn't "do" emotionally related weather. Stupid weather channel.)
So... Deena's got an MRI on tuesday and she's decided that she's going to have a bilateral mastectomy done. The tumor's not big, but she's not going to do chemo or radiation. She already had gone through that with her Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and she really has no desire to go that route again. (This just proves that if God exists (s)he has little to no sense of humor. 1) she already had cancer. 2) she *just* had a grandaughter born a few months ago. This = NOT FUNNY, stupid possibly non-existant God.) I do understand why she doesn't want chemo or radiation, but that choice could be a fatal one. She knows this though, and it's a quality of life decision. I respect that, but to quote my terribly eloquent Mother's reaction," Shit.... Shit." (Note: Mom swears.... Well, hardly ever. Um, I swear a bit more often than that. See third line of text.)
Mom's CLL... I know a good deal less about that, but have been doing some reading. her oncologist appears to think that it may have come from the years of Tamoxifen, but it's not at all conclusive. CLL, as with some other leukemias, has generally unknown origins. As for treatment, well the NCI (National Cancer Institute) seems to suggest that chemo is an option, but the treatment paths depend upon the patient. Mom's right at the five year mark (yet another reason this just seems cruelly ironic) and so I'm not sure if she's going to go on chemo. Right now she and her oncologist seem to be taking it more conservatively. This means being really careful to not get sick (leukemias = white cell growth problems = immune system problems = getting ill worse is than for the rest of us peoples) and so we're all a good bit more zealous with the cleaning products and considering where Mom might have to be more careful in going. She's still doing a lot of stuff, but it means more thought as to, "will the place be full of really germy kids?" So no more dive bars for mom, I guess! ;P
Yeah... And my Aunt is supposed to be coming into town. We'll see if her plans change (she was going to stay at deena's since they're two peas in a pod.). Thing is, if she does come to stay... ugh. Love her and all, but jeesh, I don't want to hear her nagging me at a time like this. Pick a reason, *any* reason, and it can become a possible lecture topic for my aunt. If I got my PhD in astrophysics and actually became a rocket scientist or ended up a neurosurgeon, she'd still go on at me about how I was wrong about something or other and, "here's what I needed to think and do to make things and my life right." No matter that um, I think that my thoughts are pretty damned fine and my life is as well, thank you very much. She goes on and on about how terrible Grandmommy was to her, and somehow she seems utterly oblivious to the fact that she's very much like her (her semi-conspicuous consumption, her bossiness, and denial that her children and I are actually fully formed adults with no need of being scolded for having our own thoughts.). Bleh. I know she means well, and for that reason I do love her. It's only that she makes me want to bash a wall in with my noggin. No big deal.
Sorry this became so long. I do apologize to anyone that's annoyed. Been a while since I had a good spewing.