What a week. First Elizabeth Edwards and now Tony Snow announce recurrances of cancer that they hoped they had beaten. And as the daughter of a cancer survivor, I know exactly what they’re families are likely to be going through.
My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was about my age (I keep thinking it was about 20 years ago — but it was actually just about exactly 30 years ago.) I can’t remember the exact ’stage’, but it was pretty advanced.
Back then, most people in the Kansas City area stayed in town for cancer treatment. But my dad went down to the KU Medical Center Library to research the current treatment for colon cancer. He discovered that the most up-to-date stuff was going on at MD Anderson, in Houston Texas. And he just assumed mom’s doctor would send her there if they asked. (Read more)
Nope.
What are the odds that the best doctor for your cancer lives in your town?
They went to 6 doctors before they found one that would do the referral — can you imagine? You’ve got this tumor and all you can think about is getting rid of it and getting the best treatment possible. But doctor after doctor tells you that they can take care of it just fine. What are the odds that would be true?
So she went to Texas and survived that first bout.
Then it came back. And like Tony Snow, it came to her liver. At the time it was considered fatal. My memory is that her doctors (even in Texas) didn’t have any experience of survivors.
She was one of the first to get the treatment where they run a tube right into the tumor (in the liver) and flood it with high doses of chemo. And for her, the treatment worked. This was back in the early 80s and she’s still around (and has, in fact, survived other equally impossible odds since.)
Her survival took prayer, determination, the best medical treatment and a special sort of luck (who knows why it comes together for some people and not for others?)
My thoughts and prayers are with Elizabeth Edwards, Tony Snow and their families.
And please — if you’re reading this — make sure you’re getting 30 grams of fiber everyday.
2 Comments
Katiebird, two things. One: I really like the layout of your blog. Two: My mother had colon cancer at about the same time as yours. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive. You’ve got a great post. I’m sure it will give hope to those who need it. I’m glad to see your mom’s still around. What a blessing! Oh, and thanks for the mybloglog link to my post! Absolutelee.
{{Absolutelee}} I’m so sorry about your mother’s death.
My mother’s survival is an amazing blessing and I hesitated to mention it because it was so rare. But I think all of us who have been through some aspect of the cancer experience are thinking about time in our past. And I felt like I had to say something.
xxoo
katiebird