My Mother is fighting her second battle with breast cancer.
The last time she had cancer I was in 5th grade, which was about 14 years ago. I was just a kid, and my Mom was lucky. It was her first mammogram every, and they found it very early then, so it was just a few scattered cells.
This time, it's not so small. There is a tumor about 8 millimeters in diameter. The problem is, upon examining the MRI, there is a second area that may or may not be cancerous as well, and unfortunately they won't know until they operate on it. The surgeon has recommended a course of treatment, and they will be doing a full mastectomy in order to prevent any further recurrence.
For those of you who don't know me very well, I am lucky enough to have a Dad who treats cancer patients for a living. Mom is lucky, too, because we have someone who is extremely well aware of what's going on with her treatments, etc. But, Dad's also working a consulting job in Kansas right now, and is a little far away to be as available as he'd like to be. It's rather inconvenient timing.
My brother is flipping out. My sister has yet to really react. Dad is trying to "be there" for her as much as he can be. Mom is generally, and understandably, mad at the world.
As for me? I'm doing what I can. I am the kid in the family that the parents and siblings like to call, and they end up putting me in the middle of everything. I'm like the U.N., just for my relatives. So, as you can imagine, I don't exactly have the luxury of flipping out.
So anyway. If anyone was wondering why I was stressed (besides starting another job, and Smitty having mono), that's why. I'm just doing my part to hold my potentially cracking family together.
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