not much about anything

[joebanks]

Almost through with the drops for my eye. One more follow up appointment on Nov. 3rd? The drops i'm taking are steroids and an antinflammatory.

No bugs have surfaced yet.

Mom is healing well, barely thinks of the surgery. The question is do we go with radiation treatments. Everyone seems on the fence about this. Her surgeon wants us to see a radiologist but kind of waves her hand in a yes/no gesture about weather we should do it. My brother leans toward no, my aunt (mom's sister) and i are on the fence.

Summer and the drought, ended when the rains from "Nate" soaked us over the weekend. It's still on the warm side for October; I'm listening to crickets at 4AM on October 13, but it's fall now.

Comments

[rafqa]

I am so glad your mom took the surgery so well; that's amazing. It's so hard to decide about these other treatments, that don't cure anything and often have atrocious side effects.

I had to put eyedrops in my mom's eye for FOUR MONTHS after she had shingles. Each month we got to decrease one drop. It was horrible.

We have to learn how to even out weather, somehow-- not so everything's the same, but so everyone at least gets the minimum of what they need.

May the bugs burn in hell for all eternity.

[joebanks]

I agree but if she doesn't have the treatment she'll probably be fighting terminal cancer in two years at the age of 88. If she gets the radiation she'll be sick for a month and half and may not get cancer back. Or f she's lucky she won't survive to go through this, what's the answer?

[rafqa]

I know. She stood the surgery so well, maybe she'll do fine with the radiation. It's so difficult. We went through it last year-- I thought I wrote about it, but I don't see it, so we must have discussed it in the comments. Did we make the right choice? How will I ever know.

[joebanks]

In the end, how was the radiation? Mom doesn't handle pain well. Who does, but she doubles down on it, dwells in it.
We live too long, for most people anything after 75 or 80 becomes an ordeal.

[joebanks]

How is the air?

[rafqa]

For the first time today, we seem to have a clear blue sky-- I think we've had some real west winds. We've had very lousy air for ten days or more, but we were really lucky compared to the areas just west of us.

[rafqa]

Well, we didn't do any radiation, at least not this time. Is radiation usually pretty painful? I didn't realize that. I know my mother did it before; it didn't seem pleasant, but it didn't seem agonizing. I can ask (someone else, not her-- she doesn't remember at all, of course).

We went through this a year ago, when her doctor supposedly found huge lumps, then the specialist found NOTHING, and we still ended up with mammograms and ultrasound, where they found something really small on the side. We should never have gone through any of it in the first place. In the end, we decided not to proceed with a biopsy, as the option we were offered was a hormone-inhibiting drug, and we decided the risk of side effects was just too much. But was it right? I don't know. My mother is several years older than yours, of course.

My mom's done incredibly well with things that have happened to her in the last several years; it is an ordeal, but she's surprisingly vigorous. And not remembering anything sometimes has advantages as well (though usually not).

[joebanks]

From what I've read, to start with radiation has no effects but it builds up over the course of the treatments - something like everyday for seven weeks. Nausea and that general ill and run down feeling along with possible burns on the treatment spot. Still much less worse than chemo is supposed to be. The surgeon said that mom's cancer is an aggressive type and not treatable with hormones. Yeah, it's good they forget but when my mom gets a headache, she thinks she's always had a headache because she down't remember being well. six or seven weeks of a sick stomach is an eternity even if you remember otherwise.