The C Word
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Cancer is rare in my family -- even in my extended one. But my mother was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive uterine cancer last year. It was an early stage, so she had a hysterectomy, followed by radiotherapy. Then we found out it had spread to other organs early this year, just a few months post-radiotherapy. So my mother's currently undergoing chemo -- the fourth out of six was last Thursday. I think the night she had her first chemo while hospitalized for ascites was one of the scariest moments I've ever experienced in my life. Since her first diagnosis, we've learned a lot of things about cancer for the first time -- there are types and grades, whether they are aggressive or not; there are specific caregiving needs after chemo, which are all news to me; and there are traumas, exhaustion and a whole lot of emotional roller coaster as well. I'm embarrassed for making this about me. I'm sorry. I'm not the patient in ...