What Cancer Cannot Do...

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

All About Chemotherapy...

So yesterday me, my mom and Lina met with the nurses at Dr. Zafar's office to learn all about mom's chemotherapy. It was actually fun... we were laughing the whole time at how crazy this whole thing is, especially the side effects, they are very scary and my mom wished they hadn't told her, but it is good for her to be aware of them. The part that almost brought my mom to tears was that she can't get her nails done anymore! It is a big deal for someone who has never gone without. It is was so funny because my mom was like, "WHAT?!" I don't know if I'm gonna give THAT up. The nurse got a kick out of mom and told her that she was going to be her "problem patient." LOL :) When the nurse talked about hair loss, Lina asked if she was going to lose just the hair on her head, or all body hair, and the nurse said she may lose lashes and eyebrows... and my mom's eyes opened wide and said "Oh my gosh, what about my hair 'down there?'" It was too funny! The only positive thing that she told my mom about chemo is that it will stop her period!!! Yay! She was excited about that one! :)

It was so interesting to go into the treatment room. It is a room full of large recliners, with patients sitting in them, reading, watching tv, using their laptops, etc., while being hooked up to the IV and receiving chemo. The one thing that stood out to me was that all of the people were elderly and here comes my mom- young, beautiful, looking like a model. It just goes to show that it can happen to anyone! Scary!

Ok, the exciting part of what we learned was that her tumor was only a stage 1, which means it was in the first stage of devlopment and we caught it early.

There are many instructions she has to follow, such as taking an Aleve and a Claritin before treatment and the day of and also, the night before treatment and the day of, she will take Decadron (a steroid used to treat cancer).

Treatment day

First they will check her blood to make sure she is stable enough to receive treatment. Then they will insert her IV through the port a cath in her chest. At the appointment they showed us what the cathater looks like inside... I put a picture to show everyone because it is so amazing. The circle in the center feels like gel, which is where her IV will be injected and the connecting tube is what puts the chemo into her body.

Chemo drugs
1. Aloxi (anti-nausea medication administered through her IV first)
2. Taxotere (the most common breast cancer chemotherapy drug)
3. Cytoxan (2nd chemo drug)

The next day, she will return to the office to receive her growth factor injection to her arm, which will help her fight infection by restoring her white blood cells.

Schedule

**She will receive 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart.

1st: December 1st

2nd: December 22nd

3rd: January 12th

4th: February 2nd

Good luck Mommy!! We know you will do just fine.

Cut it off...

Lina and Auntie Geri decided to cut all their hair off to show mom support! They look so pretty!!

Out with family...

Aunt Celia, Uncle Joe and Cousin Benny came to town from El Paso, Texas. On November 15, we went to Zocolos to spend time with them.

Mom... so pretty

Amanda, Kass

Pam, Mom
Mom, Auntie Geri

Benny, Mom

Andrew, Uncle Freddie, Michael

Mom and Aunt Celia dancing

Andrew, Michael

Mom, Joe... cute

More dancing

Andrew, Auntie Geri

Joe playing the drums!

Mom, Lina, KassThe Ayalas

Fun night!

Oncologist...

On November 13, 2008, we met with Dr. Zafar, the oncologist. He said her wounds have healed perfectly. During the surgery, not only did they remove the tumor, but they also inserted a "port-a-cath" into the left side of her chest. It is a port for the chemotherapy to be given to her. Since she is fully healed, chemo is the next stage. He gave her the choice of waiting until after Thanksgiving to start, so she chose Monday, December 1 to receive her first dose. He also said she only needs to take 4 doses, once every three weeks. Each dose is injected into her at the doctor's office and the dosing takes 4 hours. The next day, she will go back to the office to receive a "growth factor" injection, which will restore her white blood cells to keep her healthy. He warned that she will lose her hair by the 18th day of treatment... which means around the 19th of December. He also advised that she takes the week of treatment off of work so that she can recooperate from the side effects. Lastly, a chemo teaching class was scheduled for November 19 to teach her all about the chemo drugs she will be receiving and how a normal chemo day will go.

Breast Cancer Walk...

On November 8, 2008 we walked 3 miles through Tempe, Arizona, to support breast cancer. It was a lot of fun and showed my mom that she is not alone... there were thousands of current patients and even more survivors!

The Haircut...

To prepare for losing hair during chemo, mom decided to cut her hair short. She was nervous and cried a little but it turned out gorgeous!

Before... During...

After...

The Day of Surgery...

We arrived to the hospital around 6:30AM to begin registration. I could tell my mom was very nervous... we were all nervous for her. By 7 o'clock they took her back to prepare her for a procedures they were going to do before the actual surgery. Lots of family and friends waited in the waiting room to show their support. We were able to sit in the back with her until they were ready. The procedure they did was inject her with radioactive dye so that they would be able to see the areas during surgery. Her surgery was scheduled for 11:30 AM but she was not taken back until 2:30 PM. It was a very long wait that made my mom nervous because all she could do was lie down and think. She slept a little, watched TV, and visited with the friends and family that went back to see her. Right before they took her back, the surgeon came in to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. My mom cried a little because she was nervous but she was also very strong. She just couldn't wait until it was over. The procedure finished about 5:00PM, which seemed like forever, and Dr.Gladding came out to explain that they took a slightly larger margin than they originally expected because there was another cancer cell near the original tumor, however it was in situ, which means it was not the spreading type, and was fully removed with the surgery. Also, as far as she could see, the lymph nodes were negative and the cancer had not spread any further! Good news! Me and Joe were called to the back to get her dressed and she looked so good... a little drowsy but very good. They said everything went as planned and we took her home. Thanks to God it went well.

Pictures from the hospital...

Cousin Michael, Cousin Monica

Molly, Naomi, Joe

Auntie Theresa, Uncle Dickie, Aunt Doreen, Grandma Christy

Cousin Michael

Molly, Albert

Auntie Geri, Julie, Michael

Mommy going home!

October 18, 2008

Weekend before surgery...Lina, Albert

Kass, Albert

Kass, Mom

Kassandra, Albert, Celina, Mom

Albert, Mom

Kassandra, Mom, Lina

Joe, Mom

The Surgeon...

Later that day, me, mom and Joe went to the surgeon's office to discuss how and why the tumor would be removed. Dr. Gladding gathered lots of information about mom then sat us down in the office to teach us more about what was happening. She did a really good job of explaining it and then she left the decision, of whether to receive a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, up to my mom. The doctor told her that if she thought a mastectomy was vital, she would tell her, but that in her case, she felt it was up to mom. My mom decided on a lumpectomy, as long as all of the tumor would be able to be removed. The doctor explained that she would remove the tumor, which was roughly 1.7 cm according to the biopsy, plus a margin of tissue around it, to ensure the effected surrounding tissue would be taken also. She warned that once she began the surgery and noticed a lumpectomy would not suffice, she would remove the entire breast, my mom agreed. The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, October 21, 2008, the day of Grandpo Raul's birthday. (my mom's dad)

Diagnosis...

The next morning, me, my mom, Lina and Auntie Geri met at my grandma's house before the appointment. My grandma decided to stay back because there were already 3 of us going. When we got to the office we tried to laugh and talk to keep our minds off of it. Auntie Geri kept asking if we were sure that we wanted to go in because we had to be strong for my mom. We insisted on all going in the office and we waited and waited. It seemed like forever before Dr. Park came in. The first thing he said when we walked in was, "Whoa, the whole family is here." We all laughed and my mom introduced us. He sat down and did not waste anytime to give the results. "The biopsy came back and it is definetely cancer." I immediately started crying. The doctor looked at me and told me to not cry yet but I couldn't hold it in. I went to sit by my mom, Lina just stayed quiet, Auntie Geri started asking questions and my mom just looked shocked. She asked what she had to do next and the doctor started explaining the basics. When he walked out of the office to grab some papers, my mom got off of the exam table and just started pacing the room, saying how much this sucked. None of us knew what to think or say. When Dr. Park came back, he gave my mom the pathology report, which stated she had invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 3. Ductal means the cancer is in the milk ducts of the breast, invasive means the cells have the ability to spread and Grade 3 means the cancer cells were reproducing at the fastest rate. The report also indicated that the cells had indeed spread to the surrounding tissue, which really broke us down. Did this mean it had spread anywhere else? The doctor said they would not know for sure the status of the spreading until after the surgery. The doctor explained that because of the grade, she would for sure be a candidate for chemotherapy and because it was invasive, the tumor would have to be removed as soon as possible. He scheduled her an appointment later that day to see a surgeon. After we left the office, grandma had breakfast ready for us and we all walked in crying. All of our family came over and we spent the rest of the day comforting my mom, crying, talking and just trying to stay positive.

The Beginning...

The first week of October, my mom and Lina were driving home from renting movies when she randomly felt a pinch near her right breast. She touched the area that felt tingly and noticed a large lump. She told lina to feel it and sure enough, there was a lump. The next day she contaced her primary care doctor, Dr. Park at G & K Medical, for an appointment. A few days later, she met with his office and they suggested she goes in for a biopsy. The biopsy was very painful and left her bruised and sore. The results were not supposed to arrive for a few days, but the very next day, Dr. Park's office called her and asked to see her as soon as possible. Being the hard-worker my mom is, she was too busy to leave work, so she finished her day and called the doctor after work. When she talked to Dr. Park, he told her he wanted to see her first thing the next morning. She knew it was not good news because the results came in so quickly and Dr. Park told her it was very important. We just had a feeling.

Beautiful**