Cancer has been a part of my family for a long time. I just didn't realize it. My Mom told us stories about how she sat at the side of her Mother, Grandma Smith, and then later her Father, Grandpa Smith as they both died at early ages from cancer. Grandpa was a long time smoker. I don't remember if Grandma was.
When my Mom married my Dad, they were both smokers. Years later my Dad , in his 60's, had a minor heart condition and he and my Mom both stopped smoking. Later my Dad started again, but Mom never did. At that point I think the damage was done. But we didn't know it.
Let me back up a step. I can remember when we were younger, my Dad always smoked the red and white packs of Winston. We always nagged him to stop. It was a time when smoking was cool. It was ok to smoke in the car with the windows up and your kids in the back seat. It was ok to smoke in resteraunts. It was not the exception but the rule that everyone at work smoked. Pregnant women smoked. Humphrey bogart, Elizebeth Taylor, Carey Grant, Ingrid Bergman, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and my Mom and Dad all smoked. It was just the thing that everyone did.
Anyway years went by and we got by without any major medical issues. My Dad had to have balloon surgery done on his heart in the 80's but everything was relatively good.
And then the dominoes started to fall. My cousin Cathy, on my Dad's side, died of breast cancer. And then my Uncle Loyal on my Mom's side died of bone cancer. He was followed shortly by my dear Aunt Jane.
In 2001 my Dad was diagnosed with Esophogeal Cancer. Until that time, our direct family had not so much as suffered a broken bone. I had just moved back with my family from Birmingham Alabama and had started a carreer as a portrait Photographer. My brother Richard was a massage therapist and my Sister Dena was working with Gucci. My Step Sister Julie and Nephew Brandon were living in Kansas City. We found out about Dad's cancer during the Thanksgiving holiday and Dad decided to wait until after Christmas to go in and have the cancerous part of his esophegus removed. They weren't able to get everything and he started on a treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. That lasted a few months and he decided that he didn't want to to keep up with the therapy. He said that he would rather live a few good quality years than to be sick all the time due to Chemotherapy.
At Christmas Mom told us that she had Breast Cancer and went into the hospital for a Mastectomy at the first of the year. She did great and started some chemotherapy to make sure that all was gone. That lasted until Thanksgiving again. My oldest Sister Julie was coming to New Orleans to see him. Dad started having some health issues and went into the hospital for dehydration. We found out at that time that his Cancer was back. While he was in the hospital, Mom was diagnosed with Colon Cancer and we spent the Thanksgiving holiday at East Jefferson hospital again. Mom had a colonoscopy done and all was successful.
We took care of Dad at home with the help of hospice until he passed away on June 9, 2003.
We learned during Dad's illness just how devistating this disease can be.
Mom was cancer free until 2004 when she went into the hospital to have fluid drained from around her lung and they found Cancer cells in the fluid. She had a procedure done to her lung to make sure that no more fluid could gather in the bag around the lung and her breathing was never the same. They found some small tumors in the bag around her lung at that time and decided that chemotherapy was all that was needed. She started the chemotherapy and stayed on it until the middle of this year. They took x=rays and found out the tumors were getting bigger. Mom was having alot of difficulty breathing so they started her on oxygen in late april or early May. They decide to start her on a more agressive form of Chemo and she went for treatment the Wednesday before Mothers Day.
We spent Mothers day with her and she seemed slow and sluggish. My wife later mentioned that it looked like a mild stroke. We all had a happy but guarded Mother's day with her and all was well. Until I got the call 6am on Monday that Mom had called 911 and was in the hospital.
She had suffered a panic attack and couldn't remember anyones phone number so she called 911. We found our from her Doctors that they think the Cancer may have spread inside her lung and even into her Brain. Her Oncologist told us that she thought Mom's condition would keep declining and that we were talking a matter of months and maybe weeks before Mom's condition would win.
We were released after a week in the hospital and have now had Mom home for 2 weeks. Her condition has declined to a point where I couldn't tell you how long we may be talking about.
I'll try to tell her story as best as I can.
