I Found a Lump

To continue on with the crazy week I had...................

We all know I had an issue with skin cancer (which by the way has all been cleared up and I'm going to be fine). My close friends here are aware of it all. My friend Jason calls me up on Monday night. He says he woke up last week and did the 'man scratch' (you know when the scratch their balls in the morning?) and he felt a lump. I was like 'On your balls?!?!?' He said no, it was lower like on the taint (I have nooo idea how to spell that, and gross!!). He went to the doctor on Monday and they did blood work. His white blood cell count came back elevated (I don't know how elevated like if it's in the cancer range or I may have a cold, or infection, or nothing big range). They did an ultrasound on the lump and said it looks like a tumor or mass.

He called me up scared and nervous. I understand that. It's the not knowing that's the worst. It's scary not knowing what's going on or what's going to happen to you. When you know what's going on, you know ho to treat it, how to handle it. You can get over the initial shock of things, put on your brave face, and do what you need to do.

So on Tuesday night he goes to pee and can't. He starts to vomit and goes in to the ER. The inject some dye and do another ultrasound on his bladder. They find several more lumps around his bladder, that look like the lump under his junk.

In my heart I want to think that everything will be just fine, but in my head I understand that it may not be. Turns out he has an appointment with Oncology at the hospital on Monday. They don't send you to Oncology unless they think that you have cancer. :( He is all kinds of torn up about it and scared (and rightfully so). He doesn't have a lot of people that he's super close to up here because he's quiet and keeps to himself. He's a really great guy with a huge heart, so isn't this fitting? Doesn't that bad stuff always happen to the good guys? I know he'll be ok, but my heart goes out to him as he struggles with how to handle the news and all the up coming doctor appts.

Either way it goes, I get it. I've been there. I've had pre-cancer tissue removed from inside my head, I have a tumor in one of my sinuses (they can't remove it), and my mom has had lots of bouts with cancer (including lots of different treatments). I'll be here waiting for the news, good or bad.

He also doesn't want to tell anyone in the shop because he is supposed to deploy in February. If he ends up on a profile he wont be able to deploy, which he really wants to do. I'll wait until the news and then advice him to make a good choice from there.

It's breast cancer...... again.

Right before our wedding reception in 2005, I found out that my mom had breast cancer. It was aggressive and she would need chemo and radiation. I wasn't home for it, and was 'far' away in Georgia, but my heart hurt for her. She never did good under anesthesia and didn't respond well to medications in general. She's very sensitive to things like that. I worried every day about the chemo and if it would kill her.

When I saw my mom at our reception that August, she had no hair. My dad had shaved his head also and even the ugly mustache he'd had since before I was born. I was glad to see my dad's new hair do.... not so excited about my moms. The day of my reception, she looked gorgeous, even bald.

After the chemo and radiation things were going well and all was fine.

Kayla was born 6 months later. My mom came down to Georgia in March, when Kayla was 2 weeks old. Her hair had started to grow back and looked nice. My mom on the other hand, didn't. She seemed tired and just looked bad. I thought it was because of the chemo., but as time went on with her, I just knew something else was wrong.

I went to bed the third night of her being there and sat up talking with J. I told him she looked sick and that something was wrong. Some thing HAD to be wrong with my mom. My 'mom' was there, but she wasn't. Something wasn't right.

My mom went home and my MIL came down for a week. Since James was going to be leaving for Korea for a year just a month later, we decided we'd go to Michigan to see his family and then home to see mine. We spent a week in MI and then headed to WI.

While in WI I found out that my mom had breast cancer, again. It was a very aggressive strain, worse than the first one. I didn't under stand at all. She JUST went through chemo. and radiation. How did she have cancer again? Her hair hadn't even grown back all the way, how could this be going on?? What was the chemo for? Why did she suffer through all of that if it didn't even help her?? It was a different breast cancer, a worse one. She would need an immediate double mastectomy. The doctor told her to take one last vacation and then return for the surgery.

James and I decided then that I would return home with Kayla in April to help my mom and be with her. She'd need it.

I got to WI in April, James left for Korea a week later. In May, my mom took her 'last' vacation. She came home and had a double mastectomy and a reconstruction at the same time. Her recovery was slow and painful. I'd get up every morning with Kayla and go up stairs to the main floor. My mom would hear her cooing and would slowly make her way down to see her. I think that's the only reason she got out of bed most days.... to see Kayla.

She slowly recovered and is doing amazing to this day. They found out it was hormone receptive (or something like that) and had been 'triggered' by hormones. I can never go on BCPs or hormone contraceptives again.