I've heard all my life that bad things seem to happen in threes, and that was certainly true this fall.
In late summer, my mother, Liz, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Right around the same time, my dad began having unexplained pain in his right leg that was nearly debilitating for a few weeks. After many tests, it was finally diagnosed as a slipped disk in his lumbar spinal region. With some good pain meds, he started getting some relief and has been a constant caregiver for Mom during these last few months. They started at UAB to look into treatment options there and I even was able to meet with potential surgeons and a genetic counselor with Mom during this period. We all learned a lot, and Mom received much support from many people who could offer their experiences and advice. During this time, I also suffered from spinal pain with a herniated disk at the C5 (cervical/neck) location that was causing some crazy pains down my left arm and numbness in my hand, and left me unable to sleep for a couple of months except in an upright, reclined position (hello, couch!). Pain meds did little for me, but fortunately a course of steroid treatments in mid-October did the trick and I am much better now. Neither me nor my dad have plans for surgery at this time, praise the Lord.
After much consideration, Mom selected a MS surgeon to perform her double mastectomy on October 1 at MS Baptist Hospital. She came through the surgery very well, but we learned that some of the cancer had spread to a couple of key lymph nodes. Shortly after the surgery she began chemotherapy that will be over just before New Year's. Mom's been a real trooper and talks often of feeling blessed that she has not had the debilitating nausea reported by some - her fatigue and hair loss have been the main side effects and appear to be manageable. Once the chemo is over, she'll start on a hormone therapy regime that will consist of a daily pill for the next five years.
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