So my mom found out the day before I started college that she had breast cancer, bad. This was in August of 2008. They put her in emergency surgery the next morning and gave her a half mastectomy, getting rid of a huge percentage of the tumor they found.
She went into a rigorous chemotherapy routine consisting of Avastin and Abraxil (spelling may be off). She lost quite a bit of weight and started looking a little older. After two months of this, her hair began falling out, until she was eventually almost bald.
On October 22, 2008, Mom found out that the cancer had spread into her liver, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. She was in Stage IV, the most serious of terminal cancers. Here is a photo of her on the day she was given the news. The smile was faked, of course.
A week later, her hair started falling out at a faster pace, a result of the chemo. She had my dad give her a buzzcut:
And then she did the same for him.
Instead of giving up on life, she was determined to fight it. The chemo made her extremely weak, and very susceptible to germs and bacteria. Not a good sign when you are a fifth grade teacher.
Another worry of hers was losing her job. She is the highest paid teacher in our county at the moment, having a Master's and a National Board Ceritification (doctorate of teaching, basically). Yet she was only able to teach three days a week (Thursday for chemo and Friday for recovery). But the principal promised that she wouldn't lose her job. No job, no insurance, no chemo, no more Mom.
She kept on the chemo, and started her own organization locally to raise money for cancer research. In five months, Mom raised over $30,000 for cancer research, and donated every penny of it to the Susan Komen Foundation.
The school she taught at (very small school, under 200 kids grades K-
was extremely supportive, and every Tuesday was dedicated "Pink Day"
In October, she led the lap in Relay For Life for our area.
And in December of last year, after 16 months of some of the worst cancer and pain and surgeries imaginable, Mom found out that her tumors were gone. She entered remission.
She's been on maintenance chemo once every other week since then, and will probably be on it for a very long time to come, but the fact that she had beaten it was astounding.
This morning, Mom found out that she was completely cancer-free. She called me after my classes, and I haven't hear her or Dad so happy in a very, very long time. I haven't been this happy in a long time, either. Miracles can happen.
Human
She went into a rigorous chemotherapy routine consisting of Avastin and Abraxil (spelling may be off). She lost quite a bit of weight and started looking a little older. After two months of this, her hair began falling out, until she was eventually almost bald.
On October 22, 2008, Mom found out that the cancer had spread into her liver, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. She was in Stage IV, the most serious of terminal cancers. Here is a photo of her on the day she was given the news. The smile was faked, of course.
A week later, her hair started falling out at a faster pace, a result of the chemo. She had my dad give her a buzzcut:
And then she did the same for him.
Another worry of hers was losing her job. She is the highest paid teacher in our county at the moment, having a Master's and a National Board Ceritification (doctorate of teaching, basically). Yet she was only able to teach three days a week (Thursday for chemo and Friday for recovery). But the principal promised that she wouldn't lose her job. No job, no insurance, no chemo, no more Mom.
She kept on the chemo, and started her own organization locally to raise money for cancer research. In five months, Mom raised over $30,000 for cancer research, and donated every penny of it to the Susan Komen Foundation.
The school she taught at (very small school, under 200 kids grades K-
In October, she led the lap in Relay For Life for our area.
And in December of last year, after 16 months of some of the worst cancer and pain and surgeries imaginable, Mom found out that her tumors were gone. She entered remission.
She's been on maintenance chemo once every other week since then, and will probably be on it for a very long time to come, but the fact that she had beaten it was astounding.
This morning, Mom found out that she was completely cancer-free. She called me after my classes, and I haven't hear her or Dad so happy in a very, very long time. I haven't been this happy in a long time, either. Miracles can happen.
Human
