While we still don't know the extent of the problem, the one thing we do know is that my mother has Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). Since I know very, very little about breast cancer (and cancer in general), I've been reading everything I can on the subject.
IDC is the most commonly diagnosed breast cancer, in the range of 70% to 80%.
You can remove the area where the cancer is (a lumpectomy) or remove the entire breast (mastectomy). I'm not sure where my mom stands on that yet, it's not a subject I'm broaching at this time, but generally the doctor will allow the patient to make that decision. A lymph node is also removed at this time to see if any cancer cells have spread.
Afterwards, there's radiation treatment, and depending on the patient's age, health, and stage of cancer, quite possibly chemotherapy.
The thought of my mother going through any of this is heartbreaking. The thought that she's 500 miles away, alone, is making me sick to my stomach.
I need to keep learning all I can, so I'm going to read as much as possible and cross reference everything so that I can get an idea of what's correct. Not all the information is good information, none of it points to an easy time for my mother, even in the best case scenario but that's part of life -Reading and learning things you might not like to know is true, but accepting them as reality and then learning how to deal with it.
rolled out on
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 9:18 AM