Soaps.com - MESSAGE BOARDS

Betsy - Thank you so very, very much for your kindness and your prayers. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Laura did have surgery on Thursday and the surgeon wouldn't tell her beforehand what he would be doing, exactly, until he got in there and looked. When it came down to it, he just removed the lump, which he said was encapsulated and I think that's good, and some lymph nodes. He sent the tumor and nodes for testing and doesn't want to see her for two weeks. He said at that time, he will be able to tell her whether she will have radiation, chemotherapy or both and will be able to tell her whether she has to have a masectomy or not. He could tell as soon as he looked at the tumor that it was malignant but wouldn't say anything else. She was hopeing, as we all were, that she could get the surgery over with and be done with at least that much but that wasn't the case. She continues to feel that if she does have to have a masectomy, that she wants a double masectomy, given the family history of b/c. She stayed overnight at the hospital because every time they tried to get her up, she passed out. The boys and their dad, her almost-ex-husband, stayed at the hospital the whole time and they seemed to be better there where they could see her after many hours. I will keep everybody posted as events with her develop. It would be great if, when they do the initial needle biopsy on these tumors, they could (or maybe "would") tell you the extent of these things and then go from there and get it done right away and get ready for the nightmare of chemo. Wonder if they ever do that.

Thanks again for your prayers and concern - it truely means the world to me.

Nonnie7, I came to this site specifically to see if you had posted about your daughter's operation.. and you had. I'm sorry you have to wait for two weeks to find out more. Waiting like that is so hard. Please know that you & your family are in my thoughts and prayers. 10:12a.m. edt NC

Blue 501 & kaycountrygal - Thanks again for your kindness. Yes, it would have been great if Laura could have got the surgery part, at least, done and over with but she has decided to go to Florida with her sons this coming weekend to visit with her brother and his family. Maybe the results will be in by the time she gets back. Guess she's just trying to get her mind off of it.

Speaking of her brother - did you ever have so many bad things happen at the same time or one after the other and you start to feel kind of hysterical and it all gets very funny because that's all that's left to do? Her brother, who is a couple years younger than Laura, has been quite overweight for years and decided to have the procedure where they put a band around your stomach and then as you lose weight over time, they can go in and loosen the belt. We knew he was planning on the surgery but the hospital hadn't called him until the day before, three weeks ago. So he went in and had the surgery which consisted of five incisions in his ample tummy but because he gets sleep apnea, he spent three days in the hospital. Then he went home and got hiccups which I hear tell can be quite serious after this type of surgery so back in again he went for another three days. I decided that Laura needed me more here because of her having b/c rather than my son who had elective surgery. He's doing well now but still can't drive and can only drink liquids. Na, na, na-na, na. He says he's lost 21 pounds. Gosh!!

While we were all at the hospital with Laura, except for the chubby hiccuping son, another daughter who lives in the next state over, managed to tell us that she, too, has lumps in both her breasts but right now her doctor isn't all that concerned. Not all that concerned??? She said he wants to do a mammogram each month. Each month?? The poor kid's gonna turn green with radioactivity! I take it that he hasn't yet had to deal with anybody's mother but he's about to.

Please don't think I'm having a "pity party" and you have all been so kind. Nobody in the family, as far as my kids are concerned, has ever been really sick before and now there are three of them. You'd think they could have started off a little less drastic - like maybe get a head cold or something? The fourth one is wandering around saying "Well, now" She's better not pull the same thing.

Love to you all,

Dora

Again, thanks to everybody for your kindness and your prayers and I will let you know about Laura.

Nonnie ... Dora... UNREAL! You must be afraid to get up each day for fear of hearing more bad news. NO, I do NOT think you are having a pity party. My Goodness, you've got enough going on to scream very loud and long.

Yes, humor will help you get through bad times; I know it will. I couldnt help but laugh when you said "the chubby hiccuping son" LOL. I'm overweight myself so please know I am not laughing at him. Humor, frends, faith, prayers--all will help but still I know this is not easy for you.

There's a saying "God won't give you any more than you can handle". I've had rough times in my life with sick people at the same time & I guess that saying is true but sometimes you wonder. You hang in there & take it one day at a time. Kay 6:13edt NC

Heyyyy Ladies, :
Let me offer uplifting prayers to all of you. Blue I didn't readabout your surgery but glad all is coming along and you're are upbeat. Nonnie, we're at the age where not only are we concerned about ourselves but parents and children as well. It can get taxing. Your daughter receiving the monthly mammogram, ask her about a second opinion and ultrasound. We have a center for women susceptible to B/C or who have it.

Hi Nonnie- I will also say prayers for you & Your family.

:D
Hey Nana3 and grangran did you find this?

Anyway grangran, i am 53 born in November, live in Massachusetts, have 2 sons 26 & 21, stepdaughter 26 who has a 4 year girl and another girl on the way, and a stepson 29 who has a 4 year old son. MY kids live in Mass, stepdaughter Colorado, stepson in Oregon.

Peggy-You do not look your age! And I definitely wouldn't have pegged you for being a nana too!

Nanas-how many granbabies do you have?

I have a 14 yr old son- soon to be 15. He is the only one I have--I want to have another baby but things haven't gone well in the dept & now on top of all that_ I am beginning to lose hope cause my thryoid is screwing up. I go in to get more testing this Thurs.

hmmmm, ok I've taken the hints and decided to jump over real fast to see what's going on. Love all the pictures. This is going to take some getting used to - I want a pic too. I'll do a little investigating later since I'm still at work