But after this, I'm not buying anything more this month that I don't "need".

Unbelievable news!!!

My mom doesn't need to have chemo! She met with her oncologist today, due to the size of the tumor, the cancer free lymph nodes, and the fact the she had both breasts removed, they do not think she needs chemo. They are going to put her on a hormone therapy treatment and recommend removing her ovaries. Her cancer was estrogen feed, so its best they remove them. She already had a hysterectomy a couple of years ago so its not too big of a deal.

The Dr. said that in cases such as hers, if cancer is to reappear somewhere down the road, it generally reappears in the bone. So they are going to start building up her calcium to combat that now.

I am so delighted for her. She was very nervous about chemo and losing her hair. My grandma had chemo and radiation, and when she lost her hair it was devastating to her. I didn't want my mom to go through that.

What a wonderful Christmas present. Thank you God for hearing and answering all our prayers.

Secondly, thank you to all of you for your support those these trying times. Its meant so much.

My mom went to the Dr today for her follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon. While she was there she found out the pathology reports from the lymph nodes that they had removed. They removed 8 from one side and 10 from the other. I'll be honest, I didn't even know you had that many lymph nodes.

Well GREAT news! They all came back negative. The cancer had not spread and it looks like we have caught it early. She won't have to do any radiation and the chemo should not be too bad.

YEAH!!! This is me doing the happy dance....

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it all means so much more. This year we have something to be truly thankful for.

Well first things first, you can see I have gotten a face lift this afternoon.... More to come on that later. Thanks Krystyn!!

My mom is out of surgery and everything looks good. The surgeon said that there were no surprises and she's in recovery. My step-dad and brother should get to see her in about 45 minutes. She'll be released late tomorrow. I'll keep you all updated.

Thank you again for the outpouring of love and support, I GREATLY appreciate it.

xoxo - Mrs. Jetplane (that's my new name!!, love it)

My mom's surgery is scheduled for November 19th. I'm scared and nervous, but so ready to have her get the surgery over and done with. We're trying to figure out if I can meet them in STL or wait till Thanksgiving because I was planning on taking time off to head home...

Its times like these, I just wish the Mr. was around to lean on, physically that is. I miss him.

My mom had her appointment at the Siteman Center yesterday. It was an all day affair but well worth it. She got to meet with her surgeon, her plastic surgeon, got all of her blood work, etc. taken care of.

Her surgeon said that there is a good chance that this cancer is still at a Stage 1 phase, however we won't know for sure until the surgery. Based upon the type of cancer she has the likelihood of it coming back and appearing in the other breast is high, so he was very happy that my mom had already decided she would be having a double mascetomy. The only issue that concerns him is that there are some very small clusters of cancerous cells in that same breast, but since she is having mascetomy it shouldn't cause too much of an issue.

She felt that the staff was excellent. They talked with her at length about her cancer, the surgery, what they can offer her, etc. etc. She feels so much better about the situation now. It looks like they have her scheduled for surgery in 2 to 3 weeks, since they have to schedule the surgeons together. After the surgery she'll have spacers implanted in her breasts and regularly go and they will inject them with saline solution to inflate them.

FYI- My mother does have breast implants, but that in no way was the cause of her cancer. Ironically enough, having never been happy with her breasts and getting implants over 10 years ago, has allowed her to deal with the mascetomy much better.

I want to say thank you to everyone for their kinds words. And thank you to Kayte whomever you are and wherever you are, I appreciated your kinds words and thoughts on the Siteman Center. I pray for your mother as well.

Ok. I haven't written about my mom in a while. As you may recall, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer several weeks ago. My frustration level with service that she has been receiving from a Dr close to home is at an all time high.

My mom was referred to this female doctor from a cousin whom had recently been treated with her, so my mom took that referral very highly. Well needless to say, that Dr, in my own humble opinion, is a POS. She has totally dropped the ball, and my mom has suffered from it.

#1 this is cancer people, you shouldn't have to explain that to a doctor. This process of her getting a mastectomy should have already been completed, she shouldn't have to repeatedly call to get results, find out referrals, etc. If she went into the DR with a broken arm, it would be treated right away, why can't this be... Ok, let me explain a little.

1. Up until a complete of weeks ago, she didn't even know what stage the cancer was. They had never cared to tell her.
2. They referred her to a hospital in the central part of the state that didn't accept her health insurance.
3. They didn't even figure that out, my mom called and spoke to several people at the hospital. They finally said we'll take you but you have to process your own claims to the insurance company... WTF are you kidding me... do I want to go bankrupt.
4. They had never given her a copy of any of her records.
5. My mom asked to go to St Louis, and the Dr said that wouldn't be possible.
6. Finally, my mom called to get all her records to take them to a new Dr she found in STL, at a top notch cancer institute, that takes her insurance, and you know what the Dr's cancer nurse said to her.... "Well we're gonna need you to come in and do another biopsy...
"Excuse me, she's getting a freaking mastectomy. I know its cancer, we've determined that weeks ago. She wants it the hell out of her why do we need to take another look...

So today, my mom has her appointment at the Sitman Cancer Center, a great cancer center associated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Wash U Medical School. Her appointment is with the Dept Head. I very excited for her, I mean as excited as you can be in this situation.

Its a wonderful, teaching hospital and there she will be able to participate the new procedures, clinical trials, and see some of the Midwest finest Doctors. I have a close friend that is an oncology rep for a drug manufacturer and she says that outside of Mayo, Sitman is the best cancer institute in the Midwest.

She should leave today with a plan of action, an idea of next steps, and hopefully a date for the surgery. Which is more than her other Dr ever did for her.

I'm so proud of her for taking control of the situation, and not settling for the BS that the Dr was giving her.

FYI - her original DR referred her to a State University Hospital located at the capital city of our state. My step-father is an elected official and has state health insurance. The Medical School which is funded by the state would not accept my mother's health insurance. What kind of crap is that.

For now, I'm letting the bad thoughts exit my body and only letting good energy in....