Cancer: A Family Affair

Hearing that you have cancer can be quite shocking to your sensibilities. You can imagine then, that within 2 years of a cancer diagnosis, hearing that another family member has cancer is very upsetting. And, really, hearing that a third family member has a rare blood disorder that could possibly be (or turn into) cancer is just infuriating! But friends, THAT is what I am writing to tell you about today.

About a month ago, my step-dad went for his routine check-up with the internist. There were some abnormalities in his blood work, that apparently had been increasing over time, so his internist referred him to an oncologist/hematologist. Turns out, he has Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, otherwise known as CLL. Luckily, the particular chromosomal defect he has means he has the most common type of CLL, and THANKFULLY, the one least likely to have the nasty symptoms or convert to a worse type of leukemia. Thank God for the little reliefs! Still, cancer is there. His body will continue to "make cancer" and he must live everyday wondering and waiting. I'm glad to report that, for now, he doesn't have to endure any crappy treatments and the prognosis is very good. 

Then, while this diagnosis was still ongoing, my mom went to the same internist for her exam (she missed hers last year because she was so busy caring for me during my treatment). Hmmm.... your platelets are REALLY high. Maybe a lab error, or maybe.....   Yep! You guessed it! Maybe it's cancer. She had to wait-and-see, which I'm sure was maddening for her. It was for me. Her blood work was recently redone, and her platelets are even higher. For now, she is diagnosed with a rare (about 1 in 1 million) blood disorder called Essential Thrombocythemia. This is an ongoing diagnosis, and one of exclusion, which means that they have to do lots more testing to make sure that the ET isn't secondary to something else. We are all anxious to find out more about her specific situation, but right now, we just know that more testing has to be done before we have answers.

And, while all this was going on, another loved one (also in the family) was facing a possible breast cancer diagnosis. Thankfully, that ended up ALL CLEAR, which is exactly what needed to happen. I think our family chant should be "No More Cancer!" Really! Isn't this enough already?! You can imagine that this is a stressful and scary time in our lives. Your prayers, warm wishes, positive vibes and good thoughts are all very much appreciated. Please wrap my silly, wonderful family in your love!