Not sure what to think

I had a conversation with my sister the other day.. We worry about mom. But mom acts like there is nothing to worry about. We are a family that internalizes everything. Not big talkers on real subjects. Dad called worried as he went off to work for the night shift, Her BP was high. Shouldn't somebody with high BP always take it to monitor it? She acts like I'm crazy when I ask her.  She battles this no matter what the bp med is. She is not taking her chemo pills for leukemia. She brushes it off. Who knows.. It was nice spending the day with her this past Tuesday. Drove her to Dr. She has been having Vertigo so wasn't safe to drive. She bought Maddi some dresses and ate at Pf Changs. I miss my feisty mom who enjoys being a smart ass. lol. Wheres the Fight? Makes me wanna cry. It was just too quiet. 

Today she has second round of Chemo. Last one really did her in and that was just the beginning. There is nothing worst than the waiting game with cancer. Where is it leading to? Is it working or is it not (chemo). Mom is stage four and it just makes the waiting game worst. To my extended family Melissa Geene and Aunt Margaret Thank you for your prayers.. 

Why?

My sister called me yesterday very upset. My mom is not taking her medicine Cipril for her CML (Chronic myelogenous (or myeloid) leukemia). When she asked her serious questions my mom would just laugh it off and mention she'll call the doctor later. She should be taking the Cipril along with her Chemotherapy for her PPC. There is no question that she may just not want to. She may be tired of all this already and may just not care. Who knows.. I would never question how she feels or ever think her feelings aren't valid. We are the ones on the other side of the battle watching. We have no idea what she is feeling wearing the armor and holding the shield in the battle. But we do care and want whats best for her health. Not giving the attention the CML needs will only weaken her immune system. And she still needs it to beat her PPC. Yesterday it hit me after creating this blog how serious this all could be. Its in a lymph node.. Its stage four or five.. Its in her kidney if not Renal carcinoma. We don't yet about those tumors still. And here i will end.. Still don't like to go there.

Moms history on cancer

In 1998 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I dont remember much. I knew she did chemo (not very strong) she never got sick. It never returned. In 2008 she was told she had PPC stage IV. She did her six rounds of chemo and did get sick. Lost her hair and I remember we didnt hear from her for at least two or three days after chemo. She stayed in bed not feeling well. Eventually the cancer got small enough they did surgery to remove the rest of tumor. And tada, she was cured.. Well, Last year 2010 I started noticing mom out of breath easily. This was around Sept.. Then by Christmas she was told she had CML. A slow progressing Leukemia. Hey "Slow" thats good news huh. But she kept getting Pneumonia alot.. Coughing really bad. Fluid around her heart and lungs. In hospital twice for it. And two added ER visits. With really high BP, diabetes and beginning stages of congestive heart failure thats scarey stuff. So, fast forward to beginning of this year (as if all that wasnt enough) her test showed levels high at her every six months test. Great.. But numbers werent that high. Below 100. Ok, so then the cat scans.. Well they showed a tumor on a lymph node near the aorta and liver. Two spots on the kidney. So biopsy was next. The week before Easter we were up at MD Anderson on Tuesday. By Friday sitting at the beach with my sister she informs me that mom had already gotten the results on her lymph node. It was the PPC. Came back. And it comes back as how it was last time. Stage IV. The tumors on her kidney, we still dont know. Sounds fishy though. Mom may be hiding something. So, mom spent her Easter (she was hoping they wouldnt call until that following Monday) with this bad news. That following Tues they already scheduled her for Chemo.. The tumor on the node is 4cm. Size of a walnut. Its really scarey with all these other issues she is facing now as compared to 2008 she wasnt. They added a new medicine called Doxil but it isnt treating her very well.. I wont go into detail for respect of my mother but it is almost a month now and she is still feeling very sick to her stomach and that was only her first round... =(  And this is only the beginning. I pray for my mother every day after I drop my husband off at work. I was the sun rise over the bay and know... Its all in Gods hands. I pray for strength and recovery for my momma.

PPC

Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma (please excuse me I spelled it wrong in title). Through you I hope to learn more. I created this blog so people who have or love somebody with PPC can come here and learn. Either through my experience with my  mother or whatever information I have learned and share with you. PPC is a cancer that is very similar to Ovarian Cancer and can be mistaken for it. My mother was told for months she had Ovarian cancer and kept arguing with them she had a hysterectomy when I was around six years old. She is now 64. After traveling three hours away to go to MD Anderson she was told it was PPC. Your lining of your stomach and your ovaries are made up of same cells. Easily to confuse the two.You can visit Primary Peritoneal Cancer Foundation website for more information as well. This is what I found.

The peritoneum (from the Greek peri-around + tonos-stretching) is a thin membrane that forms the lining of the abdomen. It covers all of the organs within the abdomen and also acts a conduit for blood, lymphatic vessels and nerves. It rhymes with merit-oh-knee-um.

This lining produces a lubricating fluid so the abdominal organs can slide around easily and prevent them from sticking together. If there is cancer in the peritoneum, there can also be ascites, which is an abnormal buildup of this fluid that causes bloating.

Primary Peritoneal Cancer is a rare cancer that typically affects women. The cause is unknown. Since the cells of the peritoneum are very similar to the cells found on the surface (epithelium) of the ovary, it is often treated like ovarian cancer.

At that website you can also find treatments and symptoms.