The latest on Mom’s Cancer

I apologize for the delay on getting this out to everyone.

I sincerely appreciate all your thoughts and prayers in the last year and a half – can you believe Mom’s diagnosis was in late January 2007? She, and the rest of our family, are suffering greatly from this horrible disease. As always, check out my Web site under the link to the right and see the work I’m doing for the American Cancer Society so more people don’t have to deal with this dreaded disease. 

Mom’s latest adventure is one that she never wanted to have - A colostomy surgery. There have been additional tumors found in the colon and it was mostly blocked, so the doctors inform this surgery will happen on Thursday (May 8). We are hopeful that removing the colon will ease Mom’s pain, but it comes along with all the other fears of what a colostomy entails. We just keep praying that it won’t be too hard to handle and while a pain, it will allow to eat and have an appetite again, while eliminating part of the pain.

Mom has lost more than 60 pounds since January ‘07 and that is just no good. My family and I all share the love of good food and not being able to share in a meal has been tough on Mom.

Mom received two awards last week, one for her hard work and excellence while retiring from Cleveland State University (CSU) and the other from NEONI, a nursing organization in Cleveland. She was able to accept this Lifetime Achievement Award in person – and the award came on her 45th anniversary of graduating from nursing school! My Dad has been awesome in helping my Mom get to all her appointments, to all the award ceremonies and to just about anywhere else she would need to go – but it is tough for him too.

We are all so grateful to all of our friends and family who have been incredibly supportive throughout these last 15 months. My brother was able to come home and surprise Mom for a long weekend a while back and surprised she was… because he lives in Panama. It was wonderful to all be together!

Please pray that the surgery goes well on Thursday and, as always, pray for a miracle.

If you have a story to share about Cancer, I would love to hear from you. As a journalist by trade, writing is allowing me to cope and I would love to hear from you too!