December99
<font color=orange>WDW Antenna Topper Queen</font>
- Joined
- Aug 25, 1999
- Messages
- 3,384
I haven't been on since Wednesday because this past weekend was the garage sale trying to sell off my mom's stuff (alot of junk if you ask me!!!). In the midst of the sale on Friday morning I had a call from work telling me my mom's oncologist had called and when I got a chance to call him back. I had a feeling it was the results of my mom's autopsy which we have anxiously been waiting so I called him back immediately.
The results were totally not what I expected - both of her lungs, her esophogus, under her sternum and around her heart were full of cancer. When the biopsy was done last November to find out the conclusion from the PET scan, there was a spot near the aorta that was not removed. That was one of a few spots that were big enough to be seen. When we went to see another oncologist at the University of Madison hospital in Wisconsin in April, he explained to us the theory of these cells. Mom had a lumpectomy and when the lump is removed it is similar to a plant. They dig down hopefully deep enough to remove the "root". At the end of the root are "seedlings". These seedlings disperse as soon as they are cut into and when the skin is opened the air helps to spred them fast. These little seedlings go about your body and produce and grow for 3-5 years (thus the term after 5 years you are a survivor if no cells have been seen to treat). These cells are not seen on scans for this time period because they are so small, yet most are small enough to hide into places that radiation or even chemo can't get to. That's what happened with my mom - these cells were extremely minute and they were in the growing stages. They were not seen on scans (all her scans had shown clear and negative for cancer cells) yet her blood counts continuted to rise. As mom would often put it - she was a time bomb waiting to happen. Well the cells around her heart were conglomerating and grouping together so much that they were beginning to pinch closed her valves which was the reason the blood was not flowing through like it should. That also was the cause of the fluid buildup - because it had no room to flow through.
So this was in a sense good news. We wanted to know if the cancer was anywhere else, I just didn't imagine it would be all over like it was. She had been coughing an extreme amount the past couple of months prior to her passing. She thought it was a sinus infection, etc. She was a heavy smoker. It was not lung cancer but was the breast cancer that had spread.
I am still very thankful that she died as she did - her heart gave way and she was gone immediately and with no pain. Even up to a few days before she died she was in no pain and still felt pretty good. I would not have been able to stand to see her suffer as I saw my grandmother...that would have been very very hard on me and my family. She is at peace now and watching over us!!!
We did well on the garage sale and now the house is left. I went and picked out her stone today and was very proud of my accomplishment without tears!!! We also sprinkled her second dog's ashes on her yesterday so that they could be together along with the other dog that was buried with her (she had had him cremated when he passed away two years ago and we felt it fitting that they go together). The stone will match my grandparents (which she is buried with) and will be flush to the ground. On the top right corner there will be a monarch butterfly (which we think she has "come back as") and on the opposite corner a paw print signifying the pets she had that are now with her and were buried with her! A very touching tribute to such a wonderful and caring lady!!!!!
I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! (sorry this was so long - it's been a long weekend - thanks for listening)
The results were totally not what I expected - both of her lungs, her esophogus, under her sternum and around her heart were full of cancer. When the biopsy was done last November to find out the conclusion from the PET scan, there was a spot near the aorta that was not removed. That was one of a few spots that were big enough to be seen. When we went to see another oncologist at the University of Madison hospital in Wisconsin in April, he explained to us the theory of these cells. Mom had a lumpectomy and when the lump is removed it is similar to a plant. They dig down hopefully deep enough to remove the "root". At the end of the root are "seedlings". These seedlings disperse as soon as they are cut into and when the skin is opened the air helps to spred them fast. These little seedlings go about your body and produce and grow for 3-5 years (thus the term after 5 years you are a survivor if no cells have been seen to treat). These cells are not seen on scans for this time period because they are so small, yet most are small enough to hide into places that radiation or even chemo can't get to. That's what happened with my mom - these cells were extremely minute and they were in the growing stages. They were not seen on scans (all her scans had shown clear and negative for cancer cells) yet her blood counts continuted to rise. As mom would often put it - she was a time bomb waiting to happen. Well the cells around her heart were conglomerating and grouping together so much that they were beginning to pinch closed her valves which was the reason the blood was not flowing through like it should. That also was the cause of the fluid buildup - because it had no room to flow through.
So this was in a sense good news. We wanted to know if the cancer was anywhere else, I just didn't imagine it would be all over like it was. She had been coughing an extreme amount the past couple of months prior to her passing. She thought it was a sinus infection, etc. She was a heavy smoker. It was not lung cancer but was the breast cancer that had spread.
I am still very thankful that she died as she did - her heart gave way and she was gone immediately and with no pain. Even up to a few days before she died she was in no pain and still felt pretty good. I would not have been able to stand to see her suffer as I saw my grandmother...that would have been very very hard on me and my family. She is at peace now and watching over us!!!
We did well on the garage sale and now the house is left. I went and picked out her stone today and was very proud of my accomplishment without tears!!! We also sprinkled her second dog's ashes on her yesterday so that they could be together along with the other dog that was buried with her (she had had him cremated when he passed away two years ago and we felt it fitting that they go together). The stone will match my grandparents (which she is buried with) and will be flush to the ground. On the top right corner there will be a monarch butterfly (which we think she has "come back as") and on the opposite corner a paw print signifying the pets she had that are now with her and were buried with her! A very touching tribute to such a wonderful and caring lady!!!!!
I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! (sorry this was so long - it's been a long weekend - thanks for listening)
{{hugs}}
