Moms Battle, My Battle…til she wins

4/1/2015

On March 5th 2015 I received a text from my mother that would change my life and the lives of all the people I love. My mom had been diagnosed with a rare invasive breast cancer. Time stopped. The next day after much persistence I was finally able to get the name of the cancer from my mother. Micropapillary Carcinoma. Agressive, rare, scary. My mom didn’t want me to research it, but I had to. I learned everything I could and made a list of questions for the surgeon she was having a consultation with the following week. (My mom asked me to make the list for her.)

March 12, 2015 my mom and step dad met with the surgeon. She would be having a modified radical mastectomy a week later. There was a swollen lymph node they wanted to biopsy before then to determine if they should take the auxiliary nodes or not.

March 16th, 2015 biopsy from lymph node came back positive for cancer.

March 19th, 2015 my mom had surgery, it was a long day and I sat there next to my grandmother the whole time. The doctor said the surgery went really well and when we saw mom in recovery she looked great. They were able to get her a private room so my grand mother could spend the night with her.

March 20th, 2015 we got to bring mom home. She was feeling good only some pain. We received lots of flowers at the house for her as well as well wishers visiting through the weekend. For those four days I barely left my moms side. I knew she was fine but I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. Eventually I had to though when Monday rolled around.

March 30, 2015 mom went to doctor follow-up. One drain was able to be removed but one needed to be left in. She has an infection at the incision site so will need to be on antibiotics for the next ten days. They removed 27 lymph nodes 5 had cancer in them. The tumor was 8.1 cm. She met with the oncologist and after she heals from infection and such chemo will begin. She will be having chemo then radiation for at least a year. She will lose her hair but we will be shopping for wigs, bandannas and such for her.

And now we wait for what comes next, it is a long road ahead but I will be there for my mother every step of the way. She calls me her rock, she wants me to be strong for my siblings, my step dad, grandma and her. I will be, I have been. I must admit there are times when I am alone or with my boyfriend that I crack, how can I not? This is my mommy, my whole world. I try to stay positive but there are moments when the possibilities overwhelm me and I sob. I won’t let her see me crack, I WILL be strong for her.

April 2, 2015 Turns out it wasn’t an infection at the surgical site but an allergic reaction to the tape they had on her. Luckily this will be an easy fix!

Drains have been removed. She has healed well. Accepted to a clinical trial for chemo!!! yay!!!!

April 24, 2015- Mom is having her port put in today and will be starting chemo on the 29th. I am determined to do everything I can to be there for her and help her with anything she needs.

March 8, 2016- I haven’t updated in a while. Mom is doing really well! She did radiation in October and is still doing chemo every 3 weeks. Her last day of chemo will be 6/22 which also happens to be her 25th wedding anniversary with my stepdad so it will be a day of celebrations. My only concern is after her last round of chemo the doctors consider it gone and will not do scans or follow ups to check for re-occurrence. This seems flippant to me, but hopefully they are right and it will be all gone…forever.

As of June 22, 2016 my mom has completed her cancer treatment. She is doing well. She has to be cancer free for 5 years to be considered in remission but every day is another step towards that status. My mom is my hero and she is the strongest, bravest and most wonderful person I know!

June 22, 2020 – My mom has now been cancer free for 5 Years!!!!!! We could not be happier. She still needs bone density tested due to medications she is on but she remains cancer free!