Melbourne!

This morning, Mum had an appointment with her oncologist, (a doctor who looks after patients with cancer). She is also due to have Chemotherapy today.

Chemotherapy is a drug used to fight cancer cells, but also in the process of doing this, kills good cells too. And because Mum, has had so much chemo, due to when she had breast cancer in 2007, her veins in her arms have collapsed.

This means that no medicine can be given to her through a drip (IV LINE). Due to this, Mum has had to have a surgical port put in the left side of her chest.
It is placed underneath the skin, so that when Mum does need to have drugs given to her, she can have it through the port. This is also how the chemo is delivered.

When Mum was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she had to undergo a double mastectomy, (this means surgically removing the breast(s)) and a double breast reconstruction. A reconstruction, occurs when the surgeon, has already removed the breasts and then brings the muscle from the patients back, and attaches it to the muscles at the front of the chest, and adds implants to make the breasts look more natural. This is usually about a 7 hour operation.

Tomorrow Mum leaves for Melbourne, with my Aunty. The flight isn’t until 1 am tomorrow morning, but that’s okay because she's pretty nocturnal anyway. :)

She has a bit of a 'bucket list' happening, and because she has never seen snow, this part of the list, is to make snow angels with her sister :)

She will update me, from Melbourne and is due back Sunday.

Talk Soon!Chels.

Day One...

This blog is about my Mum, who is 36 years old, and is currently battling secondary cancer, in the top two Vertebrae’s of her neck. throughout these blogs I will update readers on Mum's condition and help them understand cancer terminology.

For the past 5 days, Mum has been in Murdoch Hospice. Which is located at the back of Murdoch Hospital. A hospice is a place that specialises in looking after people who are terminally ill, (their illness is incurable) also known as palliative care. At this particular hospice, there are nurses that specialise in pain management control. Which is what Mum needs. Murdoch Hospice, is such a nice place, and can properly care for her, in ways I cant.

They have heaps of programs, like making a mosaic, sewing, knitting, making little butterflies, and other nice relaxing therapeutic stuff.Mum can also have this treatment, called Reiki. A little Chinese man, comes in and uses his hands to heal her cancer, or whatever. I’ve never really understood it.

Anyway today, Mum is being discharged (meaning she can go home!). I cant wait to see her after school! The day always seems to go so much slower when you have something to look forward to after school.Mum coming home can be really exciting and all, but it also means there will be a bit more pressure on me, to make sure she is okay, and making sure she takes all the medications she needs, (which comes to a grand total of 18 tablets a day!).

Because she is in a lot of pain most of the time, she needs to take medication to help that. These include; Methadone, Ketamine, Ordine, and heaps of others.When all of these medications, are mixed together, they make you extremely exhausted. At night sometimes, because she smokes cigarettes, i find her sitting on the couch in the freezing cold, asleep! And various other places too.

But when she's having a good day, sometimes, it might even feel like it used to be. But when she's having a bad day, she might sit and cry for hours, or even sleep all day. But also because she has chemotherapy once a week, she mostly feels sore, swollen, and sick most of the time.Mum reacts to the chemo, by swelling. Her feet look like balloons, and her legs are twice the size of mine, and her stomach, looks like she's 8 months pregnant.

Anyway, time to go. so I hope, just maybe you might get something out of this.

Keep checking and reading. I'm sure it will get interesting at some point!