As part of her post-chemo monitoring plan, Mom has had to have CT scans done every year to check to see if anything new has developed.
They've been done once a year since 2023, each July.
That time is upon us.
We have felt incredibly blessed with a great medical team, including her primary care physician, her gastroenterologist, her oncology doctors, and their respective nursing staffs. It goes without saying that a colon cancer diagnosis (and any cancer diagnosis, for that matter) is very scary, and the information you have to learn and digest in the immediate aftermath can be overwhelming. But they've been patient with us every step of the way, answering questions we've had and putting us at ease at times when my Googling has caused my anxiety to kick up a notch.
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Every year, the closer it gets to appointment time, the more anxious and fidgety I get. I know it's on Mom's mind, too, although she's usually the calmer and more collected one between the two of us when it comes to her health.
We were, of course, relieved when we got encouraging reports regarding her CT scans in 2023 and 2024, and the bloodwork appointments she's had several times a year have also been blessings so far, with her medical oncologist telling us each time that her CEA number supports his belief that she is in remission.
But it's hard for me to rest in the moment, as I am always looking ahead to the next doctor appointment and round of CT scans, wondering about what we'll find out. I look out for any potentially new symptoms, probably overanalyzing everything, but not wanting to miss anything that maybe could get caught before treatment options would be more complicated and limited.
We have an additional concern this year, with this one relating to a spot I saw on my mom's leg over the weekend that I want her dermatologist to check out. She sees him every six months or so, but she doesn't do full-body scans anymore, which is why this one was missed. About 25 years or so ago, the same doctor found basal cell skin cancer on her face and removed it, so naturally, we're praying that whatever this is is benign when we go to see him later this week.
Adding to the anxiousness I feel are some things I need to get checked out at some point, related to back and shoulder twinges I've been having. Probably comes in part from years of heavy lifting and contorting in order to make things happen around the house, but it is what it is.
Is it just me, or is it without fail that these things all seem to happen close to each other, making dealing with them more challenging? It was like this for us in 2024, with mom dealing with a leg issue in early July, then came her scans, and then two weeks later, my sister and I came down with COVID. And as this was all happening, we were still in the middle of trying to get some unresolved permitting issues taken care of with respect to the crawlspace work we had done in late spring/early summer of that same year.
Fun times, for sure, but thankfully, we persevered on all fronts. Needless to say, we're praying that we can clear the medical hurdles we face in July with flying colors, with no issues and nothing of concern. And we're also asking for thoughts and prayers. I will keep everyone posted.
RELATED: To read my previous Caregiver's Diary entries, please click here.
