Chemo commences!

The next nine weeks are a bit of a blur as chemo becomes part of our lives.  It's all we think about and talk about, although Mum doesn't want to talk about it.  She commences the battle very positively and is adamant that she is going to beat this thing.  She just wants to get on with it.

The first three rounds of chemo are done as an inpatient on Adelaide ward at the Royal Berks.  It's a place that brings back sad memories as her best friend Janet died of cancer on this ward two years earlier.  Mum can't believe that she now finds herself in the same place!  She is very brave and although she feels terrible she copes incredibly well.  She takes comfort from her Bible and the many encouraging verses that her friends are sending her to help get her through this.  She has hundreds of cards from people which show her how much she is loved!

We visit her in hospital and at home as often as we can and Dylan is such a good boy and brings a smile to her face.  I sit and talk about everyday life or read magazines while she's sleeping.  I feel guilty for going out with my friends when she is suffering, but she is never far from my thoughts.

It's so hard to see my lovely Mum having to go through this terrible ordeal, but her pain is completely managed and although we are weeks away from the scan and finding out if this is working we know that she improving.  The bleeding stopped almost immediately following the first round of chemo, she now has normal bowel movements which were impossible before because of the size of the tumour.  I am positive that she is responding to the treatment and we will have her for a bit longer.