I’ve had “write blog post” on my to-do list for about 2 1/2 months now.
I’ve started it several times – but somehow I just couldn’t hit publish.
Now I can. Because for now at least, there’s a little good news to go with the bad. It doesn’t just grow. It shrinks.
For anyone not in the know, my mom is back in chemo. Since the last blog post, what feels like a really long time ago, but actually was just a year ago (April 8th to be exact) – a lot has happened. The short version, she had her follow up CT Scan in October, totally expecting everything to be fine, but it wasn’t. That F’ing C didn’t stay away for long and in fact decided to make a new home for itself in her liver. Shit.
It was small, so they radiated it. Doctors were very positive. Phrases like “we caught it early” and “it’s very small” and “this treatment is new and very effective” were used a lot.
It didn’t work.
She knew she was in trouble when her stool lost colour.
We knew she was in trouble when she turned yellow.
Another CT and more not very nice news, not only had the radiation not worked, it had really not worked – it had grown. A lot. Almost four times the size in two short months. Quadruple shit.
A stent was put into her liver to get the bile moving in the right direction, and get her skin a little less big-bird-esque. And she started chemo again. Three more rounds.
The last week has been rough. The stent was blocked, the dressing around her abdomen was being changed multiple times a day, her skin was not happy. Another CT and a small surgery to fix the stent were both booked for Thursday.
But alas, a little ray of hope. A little reward of sunshine for her determination and perseverance. It seems it has shrunk a little.
Full results are not in yet. We don’t know by how much and we don’t know the full analysis, but the preliminary report “looks good” – and it makes this waiting period a whole lot nicer. The chemo will continue but at least it seems to be doing something.
It’s a win for today. And that’s worth writing about.
The Ginger & The Giant 