My Mum

booly,

I am sorry to hear about your mum, and hugs to you! Do you know anything else about her diagnosis? Type of breast cancer, stage at diagnosis, hormonal status, how many nodes are involved? Has she had any any further scans yet (like PET?)

My own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 8 years ago now. She had a double mastectomy (one side being prophylactic) and 19 or the 20 nodes removed were positive. Her dx was Stage III ILC (6+ cm), ER+/PR+/HER-. It was a VERY scary time for her, and of course I was scared too as was everyone else who loved her. She also had chemo, rads, and followed up with Tamoxifen. She is doing very well today, and there has been no further recurrences or evidence of disease anywhere else. This does not mean a cure, of course, and the future is uncertain, but I can tell you that back then we did not even hope to imagine that 7 years later she could be doing so well. She does have lymphedema and some other issues, but we just feel so fortunate that she is here and at that point where she does plan and think toward the future.

I can't tell you what your mom's own future holds, but I can tell you that there IS potential for her to be treated and not show any further evidence of disease anytime soon or even possibly ever. Take each day as it comes, one at a time. You may want to ask her oncologist if she knows of any support groups for family members and so on, or of a counselor for family members...I took advantage of the latter at the time and it was very helpful!