What have they learned about your mother in the last couple weeks?
You hanging in there?
Thanks for asking. Its stage 4 and has spread quite aggressively. She has a large tumor on her shoulder--probably the size of a large orange. They had told her it was a cyst and drained it twice telling her it was benign but it returned in a larger form. I'm very angry about that. She had told me she had a cyst but I didn't know the size as I haven't seen her due to covid. Since the doctors told her it was a cyst, I assumed it was.
She starts chemo on Thursday. She is 80 and it is advanced so we must be realistic but I'm not there yet. I have paperwork for power of attorney and I've been calling around about funeral costs. Her life insurance is enough for burial but no funeral home services. I haven't told her this because she doesn't need the extra worry.
My brother doesn't want to help financially and I am the one with the lowest income and alone.
Her biggest fear is she will never see my other brother again as he is incarcerated 4 hours away and not scheduled for release until December. I am having guilt because I was sick last Christmas and stayed home. I don't want her to suffer but I feel I need another Christmas.
We have it set up so a social worker will go to her house to look for safety issues. The chemo will make her bones weaker and I don't want her to fall.
I have a very hard time being at her house because she is a very heavy smoker. It hangs in the air and I can't breathe. It's over 115 degrees here so sitting outside isn't an option now. She takes an antidepressant and it's one of those where you can't cry ( hate those). She wants to cry and can't. Its overwhelming.