Mom; Part Two

Here is part two (of three) of Mom's Cancer story.  This is the speech that I presented for Lung Force - a campaign started on May 12th by the American Lung Association to bring awareness, recognition, and support to Lung Disease.  I've made a few tweaks, but hope you'll appreciate the message. 

I hope this goes without saying, but please recognize how difficult it was for me to write and then publicize this.  Any harsh words or criticism will be removed to protect my family and I.  

You can find Part One here. 

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Inevitably, her hair started to fall out.  I think that was harder on me than it was on Mom.  Ever the planner, she had already chosen and ordered her wig – cute, red, and short just like her natural hair.  She scheduled an appointment with our hairdresser, had her head shaved and the wig styled to match her usual hair cut.  She left work on Friday with her natural hair and returned Monday with a wig – not that you’d know it by looking at her.  I will never forget how excited she was to call me Monday night – someone at work didn’t know it was a wig and commented to Mom how much they loved her highlights!! 

Through another round of chemo, she worked full-time, we spent our every other Fridays together, and things seemed mostly status quo:  Some tumors were shrinking, others stayed the same, but none were getting larger – and that was a victory for us!  However, in her June CAT scan, we saw that some tumors had actually grown, and that a new tumor was showing in her hip.  Over the next 12 weeks, this tumor would continue to grow, pressing on her sciatic nerve and compromising her quality of life.   

It was like a stranger had taken the place of the energetic, vivacious, personality filled woman we knew and loved.  August 24^th began a new round of chemo, what we were told were more potent drugs and that things would likely get worse before they got better.  I had no idea just how bad they were about to me.  This chemo took a great toll on Mom’s body, already compromised by the tumors, and now I truly felt like she was a cancer patient.  The months preceding this treatment were time consuming and stressful, but this was emotionally and physically exhausting for our entire family.   

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(Part 3 to come)