It's been a long couple of days with one more day tomorrow at Roswell for the upper GI endoscopy. There's a lot of waiting around, filling out forms, blood tests etc. Everyone is so friendly though that the time passes quickly.Around lunchtime in the lobby , Roswell has musicians perform from the community. Today we had a singer and a guitar player. Often, the musicians are excellent and it adds a lovely atmosphere to the whole hospital .
The waiting rooms were sad today ....a young mother with pancreatic cancer and several younger black breast cancer patients (37% of Buffalo's population is African American). Breast cancer in African-American women is a far less common disease than in white women but when it occurs, it is more aggressive and harder to treat.To see young women in their twenties and thirties coping with cancer is particularly sobering.
The results of the CT scan and bone scans were good.In particular the bone scan was very encouraging as it shows "no progression of disease within the bone".Dr O'Conner ordered some extra X-rays of mums hips and both femurs(thigh bone.This is the "problem" area and the one that causes most pain aside from her back.Dr O'Conner suggested we get a more precise X-ray of this specific area as a baseline so that mum can be monitored more closely.
Her spine is looking relatively stable.The bone scan shows most activity in her lower thoracic spine (upper back ) and sacrum (tailbone).At the moment there's no talk of any further radiation and apart from her regular monthly check ups,mum will not have any major appointments for the next three months which is a big relief and means any plans for travel can go ahead.
Mum is really enjoying this time.The trip to Mexico and the sunshine seems to have helped tremendously.Apart from the nausea,she is feeling very well.Her hair is starting to grow back and she is more active.She's got a trip planned to the theatre in Toronto later this month with Doug and quite a few dates with friends.It feels more normal and settled and even the trips to the hospital feel almost routine.
