It also means that she has never has significant care from an oncologist and that she won't allow any xrays or scans to see where the cancer has progressed. Pretty much, we are guessing as to the extend of her cancer, though the outward signs are fairly good indicators of what's going on.
Several years ago, the cancer had progressed to the point where she agreed to go to an alternative clinic in Arizona for IPT therapy. Unfortunately, this past December, my mom was admitted to the hospital for a case of cellulitis and our family found out that the IPT therapy had not cured her but that her cancer was quite advanced. Mom had tried to spare our feelings by not telling us.
After the time in the hospital in December, she again came down with cellulitis and a blood infection three weeks ago. The doctors weren't sure that she would survive the cellulitis so they advised us to have our family all gather to spend time with mom. We had a great weekend with a big dinner that Saturday night for our whole family. I'll try to post pictures later. Mom loved having everyone here though she was still taking lots of pain meds and slept a lot.
Since then, the antibiotics have beaten back the infection and the pain in her arm has lessened significantly. She's also able to make do with a different pain med that doesn't make her drowsy or loopy. So now our family is just trying to make mom comfortable and to listen to her wishes. We don't have any timelines or answers.
You should know that we all appreciate your thoughts and prayers. It's been a difficult time for all of us, especially my Dad.
What a beautiful picture! Twenty years is fantastic and I think she probably made the right choice for HER. Our love and prayers are with you.
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