Can't catch a break...

I may have written in an earlier post or two when I started this blog that my mother-in-law has had (NHL) Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma twice and has beaten it twice.

On the same day I had my kidney surgery (Tuesday 1/2/07) she was having a biopsy of a breast where one of her recent check ups revealed a lump.

She had previously had a biopsy done for the same reason that turned out to be a calcification, however this biopsy unfortunately has turned out to be Cancer.

This will be her third bout with cancer since her first Diagnosis (Dx) in 2001. First time it was NHL, the second time it was an aggressive form of NHL they found in her Stomach and this time it's stright up Breast Cancer. (per the biopsy)

She has an appointment with her Oncologist/my Oncologist (Dr. L) tomorrow and will discuss what happens next. Needless to say, Dawn was beside herself when she got the phone call this afternoon.

We suspect her mom will go thru surgery, have the lump removed and have a cycle or two of chemo (just in case) and while it will be inconvienent, she should hopefully get thru it pretty quickly. Apparently it is isolated to the one breast and not anywhere else. But Thursday's meeting with Dr. L will tell us more.

Meanwhile I'm still anticipating my 6 cycles to come. We can still ask "How much worse can this get?" and it can certainly get worse, but how much more can any one person take?


Regardless that I'm the one with the Cancer in this house Dawn is personally feeling the physical drag of what's to come already...

She's juggling the kids. Running morning school drop offs (which I usually managed) and afternoon pick ups for our daughter.

My recent hospital stay. ...and the kids out of sorts with me away for those two days.
(Our youngest is still a little out of wack about it)

Last Tuesday Dawn said was really bad night. Our 3 year old son woke up crying for me around 2 or 3 in the morning and as long a day as it was for Dawn (*her wait times for information in the hospital were excessive and stressful and she didn't get home with the kids until 1130 pm) she tells me she broke down and cried with him because she didn't know how else to deal with the stress.

Knowing full well this time the chemo patient (me) comes home with her and while she has been thru this with her Mom indirectly the last two times, the prospect of having her Mom and I go thru this at virtually the same time is getting to be a little bit too much to ask.

How much more can any one be expected to put up with and not go crazy?

Seriously!



Here is tonight's HISTORIC IRONY:

(The History)
Thomas Hodgkin was the pathologist who discovered a strange disease of the absorbant glands in 1832. Those absorbant glands are the lymph nodes and lucky for him someone decided to name the disease after him.
So the disease Mr. Hodgkin found is known as Hodgkin's Lymphoma (formerly called Hodgkin's Disease) and there are several versions of this disease that are NOT the Hodgkin's type. Hence; Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Lymphoma(s)

(The Irony)
Thomas Hodgkin died of NATURAL CAUSES!

Nice.