The Best Possible News

As most of you know, my strong and courageous mother, Michelle Fawson, has been fighting breast cancer since June of last year. I've been wanting to post about this for quite some time, since her fight against cancer would definitely top the list of "blogworthy" events. So, I might as well start from the beginning ...

After going in for her annual mammogram at the beginning of June, she was told she had a cancerous lump. She underwent a lumpectomy on June 26th, 2007, and I felt lucky that I was there in Salt Lake to offer my support.

My sisters, my dad and I went with her to the hospital that morning and waited there for her to come out of surgery. This picture was taken after surgery as the anethesia was wearing off. Camille was about 29 weeks pregnant with Samantha and I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Avery. The surgery went well, but they found cancerous cells in her lymph nodes.

Thanks to a horrible, insensitive oncologist, my mother spent the next 2 months (July & August) worrying endlessly about the next gruesome step in her fight against cancer: CHEMO. This oncologist painted a miserable picture of what she was to expect, leaving her wondering if it was even worth going through. Luckily, she sought out a second opinion and found a doctor who had a much better bedside manner than the first. After meeting with him in the middle of August, she began her first of eight chemotherapy treatments on Thursday, August 16th, 2007. She went every other Thursday which gave her the opportunity to take it easy and rest over the weekend. I'm pretty sure she would say that the worst part of the first few treatments was the dreaded side effect of hair loss.

Halfway through her treatments, she and my dad came to visit me as well as attend my cousin Sara's wedding in Brooklyn. My older sister Benee joined them and we had a wonderful weekend together! This was the first time I saw her without any hair, and although I thought I had prepared myself, it was still difficult to see her completely bald. But on the flipside, I thought her wig looked wonderful and it was difficult for anyone to notice she was wearing one. Here's a picture of her with her wig:

Doesn't she look beautiful? This picture was taken at Sara's wedding, October 5th, 2007. My mother's sisters Collette and Daryl also came from Salt Lake for the wedding, as well as the mother of the bride Nancy (who came from Seattle). Here is a picture of the 4 sisters together at the wedding:

Michelle, Daryl, Collette, and Nancy (Sara's mother)

After the trip to NY/NJ, my mom had to go back and continue the chemo treatments. She said the last 4 treatments, which used a different drug from the first 4 treatments, were brutual. I can't pretend to know what she went through, or how awful her chemo experience was, but I can say that I'm happy she went through it. I know she was reluctant to undergo what she called a "barbaric" kind of therapy, but those of us who love her and appreciate having her in our lives are thankful that she endured it. We are thankful that she fought back.

A month after her visit, I gave birth to her 6th grandchild, Avery Olivia Mendez (11-02-08). Exactly two weeks later (11-16-08), she and my dad were able to meet Avery when they came here again. We got to spend Thanksgiving together and they also helped us celebrate Reagan's 2nd birthday!

Her last chemo treatment was on November 29th. She took some time off of work in December and tried to recuperate before Christmas. In January, she had to start radiation. Her radiation therapy was every day (5 days per week) for 6 weeks: a total of 30 treatments. Although each treatment was relatively fast, it became uncomfortable and a bit painful. She was so relieved when the last treatment was finished!

My sisters, Benee and Camille, and I wanted to do something to celebrate the completion of our mother's treatments. We also wanted an opportunity to thank the many people who were instrumental in helping her get through it all. There were so many thoughtful, caring, considerate, and supportive people and we wanted to show our appreciation. Benee, Camille, and my dad planned a beautiful party to honor my mom. I felt bad that I couldn't be there to help them with all the details, so I at least contributed a small amount by making the invitations and mailing them out. In comparison to what they did, my contribution was hardly noticable. They did an excellent job in preparing for the party and from the pictures, it looks like it turned out beautifully!

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Benee, Michelle, and Camille

Believe it or not, Camille had never decorated a cake before this one! She did an amazing job!

The table of desserts!

They even had a chocolate fountain!

I wish I could have been there for the party, but we were needed here in NJ at the time.

So ... there's the background necessary to bring us up to date. After all her treatments were completed, we all wondered, "what's next?" How do we know when and if the cancer is gone? My mom went into the doctor about 2 weeks ago and they were a little nervous about something they saw in her lung ~ was it more cancer? She also complained of some pain in her hip, so they were also concerned about that ... was it cancer in the bone? The doctor finally ordered a PET scan (Positron emission tomography). I had never heard of this type of test, but it sounds pretty interesting. My mother had to drink a type of radioactive glucose which is called a tracer. Because cancerous cells feed on glucose, the scan shows whether or not there are cancerous cells in her body and where they are. If you'd like to read more about the PET scan, you can click on this link.

My mother's PET scan was this morning (Monday, April 28th). When I talked to her this afternoon, she had just heard from the doctor with the preliminary results. Everything looked GREAT! It didn't look like the cancer had spread to anywhere else in her body!! My mom was elated, ecstatic, and truly relieved. Could there possibly be anything better than a clean bill of health? I don't think so, which is why I titled this post, "The Best Possible News." Because when it comes to the health and well-being of your loved ones, you'd give anything to hear that they are cancer-free :)

So, this post is a tribute to my mom. It's almost been a year now since her diagnosis. I'm willing to bet that it's been the most difficult, longest year of her life. She has been through so much and I want her to know that I admire her courage and I'm thankful that she endured the agony of it. I wish I could have been there for her throughout it ... I would have been, but my pregnancy and the birth of Avery made it impossible to travel last year. Anyway, I'm proud of her for fighting back and I'm so thankful that the treatments worked. I'm truly blessed to have my mother in my daily life, even if it's only through phone calls and emails. I'm happy that she can now move forward with her life and return to doing the things that bring her joy. Here's to my mom, Michelle Fawson, a breast cancer survivor!

Doesn't her hair look great?? I stole this picture from my sister's blog!