A Time To Fight

I am sitting in the waiting room here at UW Medical Center this morning and I have literally started and erased my first ten attempts to start this blog post, because flat out there is no easy way to share this news again with our friends and family. For the past 18 months my mom has been off of cancer treatment and has been enjoying and living her life to the fullest. She was still being followed closely by her oncologist and her brain MRI's every 4 months were consistently coming back with no tumor regrowth. Then 2 months ago there was "a change" detected in the area of her first tumor. After 4 different doctors reviewed the scan they could best describe the change as a "shadow" but with no detectable tumor. They recommended to repeat her next scan sooner. On September 5th they repeated her MRI and gave us the grim news that the cancer was back and a glioblastoma brain tumor had regrown in the same area as her first tumor. We all knew that this could and probably would occur again sometime in the future but we were still not prepared to hear this news and go through the same fear, worry and concern all over again. My mom has been feeling very healthy and objectively we have not noticed any symptoms of the a tumor returning (confusion, headaches, difficulty with speech). 

"I'm ready to fight" was the first thing my mom told the doctors after hearing the news that her cancer had returned. After the initial shock wore off we agreed as a family that we would go to Seattle to meet with Dr Chamberlain the head of neuro-oncology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. My mom had seen him in consultation 3 years ago when she was originally diagnosed and he helped formulate her plan of treatment up in Bellingham. Dr Chamberlain explained that my mom was a perfect candidate for another surgery to resect and remove the tumor. Unfortunately this type of brain cancer is the most aggressive form of tumor and removing it soon was the first place to start. Neurosurgeon Dr. Silbergeld at the University of Washington was immediately the surgeon recommended due to the fact that he only operates on brain tumors and does over 200 surgeries per year. He met with my parents and scheduled surgery for today, September 18th. Because my mom is in such great health and the location of the tumor site is so close to the surface of her brain it is easily operable. Her doctors also recommended a procedure to implant a type of chemotherapy called a Glio Wafer into the area where they remove the tumor. This is an excellent form of treatment because the chemotherapy will be localized to only her brain and is unable to cross the blood brain barrier to effect her body systemically. 

I can't help but feel like wow, is this really happening again to my mom? And the answer is yes is it but in a brighter perspective this time around we have a lot more positives on our side. In 2009 when she had a seizure which lead to the MRI that found her tumor, we were unaware of her diagnosis going into surgery. On her surgery day today we are blessed to have been given the option to remove her tumor and start her chemotherapy all of in one procedure. This is a way for her to start kicking this cancer's butt right full force right out of the gate! 

Today I feel our family is empowered by the knowledge and tools we've gained over the past three years. We know what she is facing, know what treatments worked for her in the past and we have discussed options for new treatments that are available down the road if she needs them. I hope we are even more prepared this time with the VERY BEST doctors/surgeons, medications and therapies to ease her discomfort from treatments and have our family and friends behind us prepared to offer all the support we may need down the road of treatment and recovery. 

My mom and our family is a true believer in the power of God's hand in all things. We know that only He knows the plan for my mom and it is our job to stay strong and put our faith and trust in Him. I am grateful for my education and training in nursing to be here today as an advocate for my mom and family. I will do my best to post updates as often as possible. Please continue to pray for strength and healing for my mom and all of those lending a hand to support our family through this journey. We are so blessed!