Tomorrow is Mom's surgery. It is scheduled for 10:15 and will last about 1-1/2 hours. She will be in the recovery room for 1-2 hours. Then, she will be taken to either her room or the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. I am confident that we will by bypassing the SIC, but I am mentioning it because it is stated in our instructions. Her hospital stay will be between 1-3 days. Visiting hours are 11:00 am to 8:00 pm. I will post her room information Wednesday evening and, of course, her health status.

I stopped at the library to pick up some books to read during the long waits tomorrow. My favorite title is, "A Survivor's Guide to KICKING CANCER'S ASS". After all, that is the plan.

Good news! The results of Mom’s MRI are in and do not show cancer in the head region. The doc said that if all goes well with the surgery on Wednesday, we will discuss her treatment plan on Monday and possibly start treatment as soon as Tuesday. We need to keep up the positive thinking because we need some more good news after they remove the lung spot on Wednesday. Let it be cancer free!

Mom is doing an amazing job keeping up with her self-imposed diet! Being thin by nature and not a big eater, she is packing in the calories by eating every two hours. And, we are all trying hard to keep her stuffed to the brim. Charlie made her favorite chicken dish with lots of leftovers for her to graze on. I picked up a couple of nutrition drinks that she can sip. And Dad is happy to take her for a shake whenever her heart desires -- which seems to be daily. I am going to find out if we can bring some of her favorite foods to her during her hospital stay. Creamy, cheesy, bacony, potato soup anyone?

Things have been pretty uneventful on the cancer front these past two days. Mom had an MRI done yesterday. Dad didn't get lost driving.


Ann called me this morning with news that she hired a woman to come in and clean her house a couple times a month. She was singing this woman's praises. So I am definitely going to give her a call. I am not sure that Mom really wants that kind of help. But, I know that I do! And, I just might be able to talk Mom into it. Less cleaning, more Barnes and Noble? Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Today my parents are headed back up to Freodert for a MRI. For those of you who are not aware of the hospital’s proximity, it is in Wauwatosa. Which in my mind is “Milwaukee”. Wauwatosans may feel otherwise.


The drive is about an hour north of my parent’s home in Kenosha. As I said, the business of today is to run an MRI on my mom. The reason for the MRI is to ensure that we are not dealing with any cancer in the head region. When talking with the doctors this seemed to be more of a precaution or routine procedure. They want a full picture of what we are dealing with so that they can formulate the best possible treatment plan.


While every day seems to bring on a new piece of worry, I am trying hard to think positive and live in the moment. The worst that will happen today is that my dad will get lost. Now that he is retired, he seems to take great pleasure in finding new and improved ways of getting somewhere. Mom is going to tell him that he can drive anywhere he wants — after the appointment!

I have never been more proud of my mom than on our first visit to Freodert together. She is the most courageous and beautiful person I know. She said that she is ready to accept any treatment. She also gave one of the resident doctors one hell of a kick. (He asked for it.) Ask her about it sometime. I know she would love to tell you!

We have decided that we need to take on this challenge one day at a time. The quote that has given us the most inspiration to do so was by Mark Twain. He said, “My life had been a series of tragedies; most of them never happened.” In these last two weeks, my mother has endured painful suffering and has died about 1,000 times in my head. Maybe more. But, the truth is she is alive, pain-free, and smiling. And, unless she has an unfortunate run-in with a bread truck tonight, she will doing about the same tomorrow.

This doesn’t mean that we aren’t looking to the future. We are. But, it is a positive one. You can help us by hoping, praying, visualizing, or throwing pennies in a well that the spot in her lungs is negative. When I was a little girl, my mom granted me special wishing powers. Anytime anything would pose a threat to our family — no matter how great or small — my mom would instruct me to wish very hard. She truly believed in my powers. And, I truly believe in hers.

On January 25, 2012 my mom was diagnosed by the team at Freodert with small cell cancer of the esophagus. 90% of small cell cancers occur in the lungs. However, they can occur anywhere. I read somewhere that only 1-2.7% of esophageal cancers are small cell. Small cell cancer tend to spread early. However, it also tends to respond well to radiation and chemotherapy.

At this point we still don’t know if the cancer has spread beyond the esophageal area. We do know that there aren’t any large tumors elsewhere from the neck down. (An MRI will be performed soon so we can hopefully rule out the head area.) The PET and CAT scans indicate that there is a 5-7mm spot of concern in her right lung. This spot could contain cancerous cells, or it may be something unrelated. On Wednesday, February 1st,  the surgeon will be removing that area and a biopsy will be performed to determine if it is cancerous. At the same time, the surgeon will be installing a port-a-cath under the skin on her chest. The port-a-cath will facilitate intravenous chemotherapy treatments and blood withdrawals.

The PET and CAT scans also show a small “hot spot” in the area between her neck and shoulder. This area is not of much concern because there isn’t anything in that area. The doctor said that it is “the space between Earth and Mars. There is nothing there!”