Living with the "Big C"

I want to say that it has been 6 weeks, now, but somehow it might be shorter or longer. It all depends on one's perspective. It was back in October when the lovely Miss Carol had her mammogram, back in November when she had her biopsy. We're living with the "Big C" these days, and getting ready to get it the heck out of our house. As I'm writing this, Carol is having some pre-op work done in anticipation of a procedure next Tuesday. Hopefully this business can be wrapped up before the end of the month so that we can spend 2010 just paying down the bills instead of running up and paying down the bills.

I have several perspectives on my wife's illness, the overriding one being that all I want is for her to be healthy and on this side of the grass for some time to come.

For way too long, I have experienced Cancer in the family (and among people I've known) as being a death sentence. My father expired as a result of a melanoma. Mom's sister was well on her way to the grave due to (I believe) pancreatic Cancer, which also struck down the daughter of Lucretia who lived across the street from us in Chillicothe (although Lucretia was even more heartbroken when one of her grandsons came out of the closet...). Rob announced at a Christmas party about 13-14 years ago that he was terminal with an internal Cancer - made it to the day before his birthday. And as I hear it, a friend from College who had been suffering from a back pain for most of a summer was told just after Labor Day that his back pain was due to a fast-acting lung cancer and he would be lucky to survive the month. He didn't.

Then there was Warren's dad, Carol's first husband. He went into the VA to have a cancerous kidney removed last Fall. Didn't make it. Needless to say, Warren is more than a bit concerned about his mother's prognosis. We've been open and honest with him (although we did delay letting him know what was going on) and have shared what we know to this point.

To this point, we know that one breast is going to be removed and that there may be a question on the other side. We are relatively certain that the disease is localized. Thank goodness for early detection. There will be some reconstruction, too, at the same time that the offending matter is excised. Carol was concerned that she would be "mutilated", but the plastic surgeon's craft should take care of any concern that she has. Besides, she has an understanding husband who cares more for her than any of her physical attributes. Not to say that any augmentation wouldn't be appreciated, mind you. Besides, there are already bumps and bruises evident due to the biopsies.

My only concern at this point has to do with timing. Apparently, if the surgeon(s) who will be performing their craft on my dear spouse were taken with a sudden urge to go to Jamaica until the first of next year, the deductable/co-payment clock is returned to zero.

But everything else seems to be in working order. Carol has a lot of praying being done on her behalf. Our Church, our Cursillo communities, our families and people we work with (Both at Golden Pond and at Lowe's) are all pitching in. Sure, we get down every once in a while, but for the most part, we are finding ourselves uplifted by the people in our extended families. We are very optimistic that there will be a positive outcome.

Yup, the "Big C" is living at our house, but it won't be living there long!

Be Seeing You!