345Likeschrelsey, my thoughts and healing prayers are with you and your family. I know I wouldn't enjoy hearing something like that. I will be hoping that the next news is better news.
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First, let me say thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, good wishes, etc.
It has been an emotional week of waiting – but we just found out this evening that Mr. C's mom does have breast cancer.
It is in the left breast, and has most likely spread to the right breast, as there are tumors there as well. It has also spread to the lymph nodes to some extent.
The good news is that they think with surgery and at least one year of chemo, that it is not only treatable, it is curable. However, she has to go next week for more tests – specifically to test the liver and the bones to see if it has spread there. If it has, then the prognosis and treatment will then be dependent on that. The week after next – after they have done the further testing on the bones and the liver – they will meet with the oncologist to discuss the treatment (surgery and chemo), and if necessary, he can even begin the chemo that day if he feels it is necessary.
So, the good news is that to the best of our knowledge so far, it is most likely curable.
The bad news is that his mom and dad don’t have insurance.
The good news is that they are financially in a place where this is doable for them – even without insurance – at least for now. Also, his dad had just recently gone to part-time status with his company, as they were planning on going out cruising again on their boat for a few years, but his boss called him on Wednesday and asked him to come back on full-time status. That means that he is now immediately eligible to get insurance on January 1, instead of having to wait until the next open enrollment. Of course, this would now be a pre-existing condition, but medications would most likely be covered from that point forward.
So you see, at this point, the good news far outweighs the bad.
It has also been so amazing to see how things have fallen into place through all of this. It has been such a blessing that Mr. C's sisters’ husband (our brother-in-law) works at the Cancer Center here, and was able to facilitate getting her seen quicker than normal – that has been huge. Also, one of his mom’s closest friends works at that cancer center, and her friend’s next door neighbor is a nurse in the Breast Cancer Center there. I also found out today that this hospital was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #1 in Cancer Care nationwide for 2007. So she is at an incredible facility with people “on the inside” who can watch over her care and keep us updated more specifically.
Thank you for keeping Mr. C's mom in your prayers, as well as the rest of the family. This first hurdle of not knowing has now been cleared, and we will begin sprinting down the track with them towards the next.
chrelsey: My thoughts and prayers are with you during this strenuous time for your MIL and family. As you pointed out, the good appears to far outweigh the bad. And it sounds like a miracle that everyone was in the right place at the right time to look forward to a complete cure; from the positive prognosis by the dr., to your family and friends at the cancer centre, and the insurance coverage that will help with medications after January. You definitely have the ability to see the silver lining in what most see a very dark cloud! Good for you! Take care and keep us updated!
gabriel and myrosiedog: Thank you for your kind thoughts. I ended up in the crying gutter all yesterday about a combination of things that usually flare up this time of year. It didn't help that I had to see my psychiatrist and he thinks I've slipped a bit into my depression again and wants me to think about some therapy in the New Year. Not what I wanted to hear. He knows I'm still hanging on to getting better one day and having more of the life that I wanted for myself. He doesn't think that's a positive thing and that it sets me up for recurring disappointment. I dont' necessarily disagree with him, but without hope, what can I look forward to?
chrelsey, I'm glad that the outlook is so good for your MIL. And that with the connections, they got her in so quickly to be seen. I'm still sending good thoughts and prayers for your family.
Miss Kitty, there is ALWAYS hope. If we have nothing to look forward too, nothing to hope and dream about, then what do we have? Nothing. Phooey on your psychiatrist for trying to take away that hope. I've been in therapy off and on for years. I'd be in it now if I could find a good therapist as I just think it helps me generally. But even the doctor's don't know everything and they should know that taking way hope doesn't do any good.
You hang in there. My thoughts and prayers are with you too.
misskitty - as myrosiedog posted- there is ALWAYS hope. A positive outlook is what keeps me going when I am down. Without that hope I would probably be really downtrodden. Keep smiling, hug the kitties and be positive. I think you need a different Dr.
I agree with Gabriel. Different dr. Keep smiling, keep the hope going.Originally Posted by gabriel;2730624;
On my last visit, mine said something to me that I now forget, but it wasn't really positive and I called her on it and she was backtracking so fast, it was funny. She did say she didn't mean to "discount my feelings". Well I wanted to ask her why she said it then because that was exactly what it sounded like.
Apparantly it didn't affect me too badly as I can't even remember now what it was she said, just my reaction to it.
misskitty - I agree with gabriel and mrd that you need a different doctor - or at the very least, you need to have a serious talk with this one. It is a well known fact that having hope and a positive outlook is crucial to both physical and mental health, and to discourage someone from having hope is just not good advice, in my opinion. Here's to hope!
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