At the end of May, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. My mother is elderly, age 86. So a cancer diagnosis is not especially hugely surprising. The fact that it was lung cancer came as a bit of a surprise however to her and me as well. Did she smoke? Oh, yes. She smoked heavily for probably 40 years or more, but she quit about 20 years ago. You think so long after, it wouldn't still have an effect but her pulmonologist said that, while a person's risk dramatically fall after the cessation of smoking, a person's risks never return to being comparable with those of a non-smoker. My appeal~~ if you are a smoker, please quit! If you aren't, please never start. Despite the known hazards, my regular physician was remarking the other day that it is still, in his eyes, still unfortunately a popular habit. Yes, I know that even nonsmokers can get lung cancer. Dana Reeves, for example. However, it is uncommon compared to the risk if you smoke. I also know that we all will pass from this earth some way (assuming Jesus doesn't return first,) but it doesn't usually have to be from lung cancer. Ok, off soapbox now, but had to throw that in because I feel it even more passionately than I ever did now.
Today I took my mother to have a PET scan. (No, it doesn't check to see if you've been eating the neighborhood chihuahuas!) PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography. My layman's explanation is that they inject some type of sugar solution which is also radioactive and this stuff goes to places of cancer activity in the body. This reveals with some astounding accuracy if cancer has spread anywhere.
We should know her results when I meet with her oncologist, Dr. Thuy Le. People assume Dr. Le is male, but actually, SHE is a small,relatively young Asian woman with a personable demeanor. Dr. Le has said that for a woman my mom's age, there is no viable treatment for lung cancer except a chemo-like pill called Tarceva. (Surgery is the main treatment for this type of cancer, but considered too rough for someone her age. Her pulmonologist said even for someone 10 years younger, it could still be a feasible option, but not at 86. IV chemo and radiation were ruled out for same reason.) This can slow the cancer down in some people. They can tell by a marker in someone's blood whether it is likely to be effective or not. The results of that will be available when I meet with Dr. Le on Friday as well.
Till then...we just take it one day at a time.
