The last email update I sent (on October 9th), we found out that the cancer had spread to the brain. The spot was small and she went in for cyberknife radiation on October 15th to try to reduce the size. She then had chemo on October 16th and 22nd. On the 21st she had an MRI of the cervical spine to try to figure out what has been causing the extreme pain she’s been feeling down the left side of her body since August.

Well we found out on Wednesday that the pain is being caused by two lesions located in the bone in the C3 and the T1 vertebra. We don’t know how big the C3 lesion is, but the T1 is 7mm. She saw the radiation oncologist again last Friday (10/24) and will undergo the equivalent of 10 radiation treatments in 5 days. The goal is to try to stop the growth of the tumor in the bone and to help reduce the pain. She will continue with chemotherapy, 2 weeks on/2 weeks off. I’m not sure how many rounds of chemo she will have. Today she just finished another CT scan/simulation to set up for radiation, which she starts tomorrow. I know she will have another PET scan at some point to see how the Cyberknife to the brain worked, but I’m not sure when that is.

We are working through this together and I think this blog and hopefully the community it brings will provide even more support and love for everyone. (And some smiles amidst the craziness.)

Oh! And one more big piece of news on the technology front. After almost a decade of holding onto her antique sliding phone, my mother has finally moved into the 21st century and got a smart phone! So emails and text messages and games and overall communication will be a bazillion times easier! You can sense my excitement, I am sure. (Love you Mom… 😉 )

Love to all!