Mom first had cancer in her breasts, and had to get them removed.
She had surgery in the summer of 2017. We thought she would be done with cancer after this, and we were wrong. The cancer actually spread to her brain and spine. This is a rough timeline on how it happened. And I will also talk about hospice too.
February 26, 2020: My mom had an MRI done, and they found something in her brain. She was taken to the hospital for it on the 13th, and the surgery was last Tuesday. They found a tumor in her brain, and they consider it stage 4 cancer since it came back. She already had breast cancer, and two breasts were removed in 2017. 8 lymph nodes were removed two of which has cancer on the right. They automatically put it to that and we know the plan of treatment till Friday. All prayers are appreciated. And she will beat it again.
March 7th 2020 :So my mom has cancer for the third time in her brain again. This time it is on the lining that covers the brain. We are highly hoping that 10 rounds of radiation will finally cure it all. And that she will never get it again. Brain cancer sucks.
March 27th 2020: Mom update. She is having surgery next Wednesday for her portocaf and they will be drawing spinal fluid to make sure she doesn’t have cancer there. It is a lot to deal with and I hope it turns out negative.
April 3rd 2020:Mom had surgery Wednesday and she did really well. She is a little groggy still with a mild headache. And we are waiting for the results next week. Pray for a negative cancer diagnosis!
April 19th 2020: You know isolation is bad when it even drives me crazy. My life is much more peaceful without toxic people and I am not going to waste my time on them since I have better things to do like write. The tests for mom came back positive and she has cancer in her spine. She is going to chemo twice a week for it, and I pray it is over in a few months since that is how long she has chemo for. This is just hard all around….
May 14th 2020: Mom update they had to put her on a new chemo drug to make the cancer go away faster. And the day before Mothers day she fell and broke her arm so it has been a long road. She will heal with her arm, and our hope is the new chemo drug will finally get rid of the cancer for good.
May 29th 2020: Mom update: The new chemo drug didn’t work as well as well hoped and it made it worse. We had to call the ambulance again after mom had issues standing up to go to her chemo appointment. After she went to the hospital she got an mri done and it wasn’t good. The cancer in her spine is faster then they thought. They took her off chemo and put her in hospice care. They estimated she has only 2-4 weeks to live. It is hard watching a loved one suffering because of cancer. I will cherish the times I have with her now since she is in high spirits….
June 13th 2020: 2-4 weeks my ass..she is already beating the odds. Week 3 and she is still alert and drinking/eating some. Mom is anything but average and is trying the best she can to hang on. She is getting weaker but she is still herself. Me and the whole family are making sure she is comfortable and has the drugs she needs for pain. She is a trooper and I definitely take after her!
July 4th 2020: Happy 4th! I will be writing some and seeing mom some since she had to be moved to the hospital for wound care. This is rough, but she is still fighting it.
July 22nd 2020: Mom update: Mom lost her battle with cancer and passed away this morning….
It was a hard road, and one of the hardest things I have ever went through. And the day before mothers day she fell and broke her arm and that is when it all went downhill. The third time she got cancer and when it got in her spine they were trying to see if chemo using a portocaf would help and it didn’t. It actually made stuff worse. And once her spine cancer spread things took a turn for the worse. It made her unable to use her legs. At one point she had a walker sometime in April and was trying to walk places. But she needed help getting up off the toilet and had to have help pulling up herself. But as the cancer spread it made walking harder and harder till I had to call the ambulance since we were unable to pull her up. They placed her in hospice care after that since there was nothing they could do for her. And they gave her 2-4 weeks, but she made it at least 10. It was hard watching her confined to the bed. And at the start we had a porta potty till her legs couldn’t work anymore. Then she had adult diapers. I recommend the ones with tabs since the pull ups were hard. The place also gave us all the supplies we needed to care for her and all the drugs we needed. My neighbor even gave us some stuff to help us out. We even got sheets for her since they gave us a hospital bed too. And washcloths, and chucks were needed. I was even taught how to roll her with the drawstring sheets. I did the jobs no one else could do even wiped her down after she used the bathroom. It wasn’t easy. Thankfully there were gloves. And it was easier after they put a catheter in. I gave her drugs, and even my family helped her adjust the pillows. Also sitting in the bed for so long made her develop bed sores. Those were the worst since the pressure on her all the time made her body break down she was like a living zombie with that wound and the smell was awful. It was hard as the days went on seeing her deteriorate like that. We took her off the pump she was on since she was hardly eating and drinking very little. And once she was taken off we had to call someone that night since we had to check her and give her insulin every two hours. It all went down hill from there. She got worse and worse. The second to last day once I knew the end was getting close I called family and put them on speaker phone so she could hear them one last time. She even told my aunt that she was dying which is foreshadowing. She kept repeating herself that she was sorry, loved us and missed us. During the night there was an awful storm and moms breathing was so loud dad turned up the tv since she was making a death rattle. I couldn’t sleep and the next day she was breathing softly, softer, and then stopped. We called the hospice people who confirmed she was gone. Hospice was hard but we had a team of nurses, home aides, a social worker and there is even a grief counselor. It was hard to see her in pain and be on call 24/7. I was the one making sure she had all her drugs, gave her insulin even though I was afraid of needles. Checked her blood sugar and even helped the home people and even helped with her wound care. I also saw my grandpas ghost in daylight at one point he wore the same shirt and pants when he was alive. It was hard watching her suffer and in pain. Cancer is a bitch and what made it harder was her diabetes. At least it is over and she isn’t suffering. She will be missed!
I will be trying to finish AngelWitch book 5 and catch up on needed rest.
I tried to remember the important points. Her mind was warped and my Brother gave her a stick of butter since she said she was baking. It was hard to watch her go from this world. Things will never be the same but at least she is at peace.
See you in the next post!
Jessica
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