My Mother's Journey Through Breast Cancer: Another Surgery

Ok. Same shit, different day...bummer dude...
 
My mom is STILL not healing the way she should be. She should've already started radiation. She should've already been almost done with radiation. Instead, she has a surface infection and has to have another surgery today. They are opening her up, taking everything out, cutting out the infection, rinsing everything off and putting it all back in - minus the infection, of course. Once she has this surgery, she'll have two weeks to get mostly healed and start radiation. If she doesn't, what cancer cells they might have missed during the mastectomies will have already started to grow again. They won't repeat the chemo this close together, so she just has to chance relapsing.

It's just a simple two-hour, general surgery, today. It is supposed to be an outpatient surgery, but we've encountered "supposedly-s" all throughout this ordeal and are not getting our hopes up. Here's the kicker...I love Doctor Lee. He's definitely my favorite out of all mom's doctors. However, he failed to realize mom was on a steroid for most of her chemo and a little after. This whole time Doctor Lee and Doctor Mayer were trying to say it was her smoking that was causing the delayed healing, but in fact, it was the steroid. Did Doctor Lee actually admit this? Not in so many words, but he did inform us that steroids could cause delayed healing. He didn't catch this steroid fact until last week...pretty pissy, ay? Duh.

Good news is, she's quit smoking. Isn't always in a good mood, sometimes she won't shut up because she's used to smoking and talking so she talks longer and faster to keep er mind off it - LMAO - but she's quit...for now. If she can't get healed enough to do the radiation she'll start smoking again. I don't blame her. A body can only take so much and look at all the freaking crap she's been through! This is such bullshit...

Tracey and I have to start getting tested at 38. How did we come to this conclusion? My mom was 48 when she was diagnosed. You subtract 10 years from the age your family member was diagnosed. If that number is under 40, you get checked at that age. If not, you can wait until you're at least 40.

You know what else sucks for my mom? Scott and I are getting a divorce. She's asked if it was her fault. It's definitely NOT her fault. The fact she would ask, brings me to tears. If anything, her situation helped me grow, unfortunately at her expense. Scott and I just grew in different directions, I guess. Isn't life interesting?

Wish my mom luck...she's gonna need it...

***UPDATE 4/8/10***

My mom ended up having to stay in the hospital overnight. My mom was supposed to be Doctor Lee's second case of the day, but they needed to move his first case up and his third case back in scheduling. Apparently, which shouldn't have been a surprise to us, they didn't do either. So they take my mom back into pre-op and start doing their thing. We get to go see her before her surgery and they give her some valium. They told us they were moving her time up, so they were all rushing around to get her ready in time. They told us she was going back so we went to get some lunch (thanks to my Uncle Rick, by the way, because he bought us lunch). They come running up the stairs trying to catch us. They informed us that scheduling was screwed up so after my mom had just been through all that, they were going to make her wait 2 1/2 hours!

I was pissed. I had moved softball practice to 3:30 and made my girls wait for no reason at all. As a matter of fact, I found out after my practice that my mom didn't even get into surgery until 3:15. I think there is seriously something wrong with the people who take care of the clerical stuff like scheduling in that hospital. There is always something with St. Francis, scheduling, handwriting, lying, bitches...ALWAYS. Thank God for somewhat decent doctors.

Anyway, because she finished her surgery so late, Doctor Lee suggested she stay the night. They ended up only taking her right side completely out, washing it and replacing the cadaver expander. On the left side, they only cut out the surface infection. Mom got home around noon today. Since she didn't have to have all of her breast tissue scraped out this time, she isn't in as much pain. She's doing well and resting, but nothing is keeping her from going to my sister's games...she insists on going tomorrow. I don't blame her. It IS my sister's senior year.