Posted by seldomseen on December 31, 2008, at 18:17:12
In reply to cancer., posted by llurpsienoodle on December 31, 2008, at 17:44:29
I'm sorry that your mom is ill llurpsie.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you that, if your gonna get a cancer, thyroid cancer is one of the better ones to get.
But the word cancer is out there, and there's no getting it back.
Distilling my experience with cancer, people (including those with the diagnosis) handle that word and its reprocussions in one of two ways.
There are those who take it all in at once. The enormity of it hits them and they just shut down. They may go through the motions, or they may leave entirely. It's a lot to digest and some people can't, don't or won't.
There are also those who take it day by day and don't look at the big picture. They approach treatment stepwise, from doctor visit to doctor visit almost. Their eye is only on the next step.
Neither is better, it just seems to partition out that way in my experience.
Most likely when your mom has her treatment, she will be admitted, receive her iodine 131, be radioactive for a couple of days, and come home. She will be slightly radioactive for up to 3 months. The response rate is very very high, the side effects are surprisingly minimal.
Cancer is a big deal, mom cancer is a really big deal.
We'll be here.
Seldom.
poster:seldomseen
thread:871594
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081219/msgs/871678.html