My mother ended up back in hospital about a week ago, with a partial vascular blockage in her leg. Probably due to inactivity.
While in hospital she complained about pains in her stomach so doctors ordered scans, which revealed that the cancer is bigger and worse than expected. Doctors are now in discussions about what to do next.
Showing posts with label Cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cancer. Show all posts
Friday, 4 February 2011
Monday, 17 January 2011
Shattered.
On Saturday I visited my mother and she dropped a bombshell on me.
She still has cancer.
It was such a shock for me because I believed that the cancer had been fully removed during her surgery. But the mass was much bigger than expected. And despite the fact that bladder cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer because it generally grows slowly and stays contained within the bladder, it seems her cancer has grown rapidly and spread outside of the bladder.
Right now we don't know the next steps. She will have a scan sometime in February to determine how much of the cancer is left. And then the next course of action will be determined - another operation? chemotherapy? or radiation?
Until Saturday I thought my mother's battle ahead was to recover from her series of operations. But it seems it's a bigger battle than I thought. And I am shattered.
She still has cancer.
It was such a shock for me because I believed that the cancer had been fully removed during her surgery. But the mass was much bigger than expected. And despite the fact that bladder cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer because it generally grows slowly and stays contained within the bladder, it seems her cancer has grown rapidly and spread outside of the bladder.
Right now we don't know the next steps. She will have a scan sometime in February to determine how much of the cancer is left. And then the next course of action will be determined - another operation? chemotherapy? or radiation?
Until Saturday I thought my mother's battle ahead was to recover from her series of operations. But it seems it's a bigger battle than I thought. And I am shattered.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The beginning of the cancer removal.
So my mother had exploratory surgery last week and during that time they operated to save one of her kidneys and remove the massive tumour. I didn't even realise the tumour was encroaching on her kidney or just how dire her situation was until after the operation. They did manage to save the kidney and declared the operation a success.
However, after more tests they have found that the cancerous cells are within her bladder lining and given the size of the tumour and the rate at which the cancer must be growing, their only solution is to remove the bladder entirely. They don't believe the cancer has spread outside of the bladder and so removing her bladder would essentially ensure that all of the cancer is removed.
On the one hand all of this sounds very reassuring and the prognosis is very good.
But they are removing her bladder.
I don't know about you but I kind of like having my bladder. I mean, yes it's not something I really think about on a regular basis or anything, but now that I am thinking about it, I really like having my bladder.
My mother will have to live the rest of her life with a catheter in place and a bag for storage.
Right now she is feeling very low about the outcome. And while we should all be happy that the prognosis is not worse, it is hard right now to imagine life without such an important organ.
However, after more tests they have found that the cancerous cells are within her bladder lining and given the size of the tumour and the rate at which the cancer must be growing, their only solution is to remove the bladder entirely. They don't believe the cancer has spread outside of the bladder and so removing her bladder would essentially ensure that all of the cancer is removed.
On the one hand all of this sounds very reassuring and the prognosis is very good.
But they are removing her bladder.
I don't know about you but I kind of like having my bladder. I mean, yes it's not something I really think about on a regular basis or anything, but now that I am thinking about it, I really like having my bladder.
My mother will have to live the rest of her life with a catheter in place and a bag for storage.
Right now she is feeling very low about the outcome. And while we should all be happy that the prognosis is not worse, it is hard right now to imagine life without such an important organ.
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