News You Never Want to Get

Last May, Bel found a lump in her left breast. She had it checked out. The dr. said they'd do a biopsy and an MRI. Her biopsy came back negative so the dr. cancelled the MRI and said they'd just need to keep an eye on the lump. Fast forward to the end of September. Bel and Chris went on a trip to Italy. While she was there her breast got swollen and sore. After she came home it just kept getting worse. She'd have to ice it and take Ibuprofen for the pain. In October she was able to get it checked again and another biopsy was done. She got the news on Tuesday, November 3rd that she does indeed have cancer. This hit us all like a ton of bricks. Marty and Diana were out of town in Texas for their anniversary. Bel, being the sweetheart she is, didn't want to tell her parents the sad news and ruin their trip. Bel asked Jaime to tell them for her when he picked them up when they got home. They flew in the next evening. Jaime picked them up from the airport and right away Diana asked him about Bel. He didn't quite know how to say it. He just said, It's cancer. He sat and cried with them both in the car. Last week ultrasounds showed that the tumor was 4.3cm and in one lymph node. We were hoping that was good news. However, after seeing a specialist this week and getting more information she learned that her tumor is fast growing, has spread to the nipple and another tumor was found under the armpit. The cancer is at stage 2. She will undergo chemo, have surgery which will be a mastectomy of the left breast, and then more chemo. The specialist thinks that the previous dr. should have done another biopsy, perhaps from another direction, since it came back negative and they could feel the lump. And the MRI shouldn't have been cancelled. As fast as it has grown, the specialist says it was probably cancer back in May when it first tested benign. 

Bel will be taking a leave of absence from work for at least 12 weeks, possibly more. We've been told that when she's going through treatments if we go see her we will be wearing a face mask, kids can't go see her very often, and she will be needing a lot of help from family. We've all offered our time and help when she needs it. Having all of my kids in school all day will be a blessing for me to be able to serve her. She won't be able to drive to appointments so I will do that when her mom or Chris can't. Chris will take time off work when she has her surgery so he can be around to help her when she will be recovering. We all remain optimistic for her. Marty beat his cancer, we know Bel has it in her too. We all get teary eyed as we talk about it. She's definitely had some good cries over it but I know she's strong. It'll be a scary and hard time for her and the family. I'm grateful for the tight bonds this family has. Everyone is willing to help with anything. They are all so close. Constant phone calls and text messages to let each other know they are loved and to see how everyone is doing. Marty has just gotten his first iPhone and has joined in on the group text message conversations. This will help us all stay in the loop with Bel's treatments I think. 

I've put Bel's name on the prayer roll at the temple. She's constantly in my thoughts and prayers. No matter what I do my thoughts turn to her and how this is all going to play out. This holiday season will be tough. It's kinda weird that Jaime's dad was battling cancer this same time of year 13 years ago, undergoing treatments and such. 

Ironically in August Jaime and I attended a breast cancer benefit. We donated money to the cause even. I was given a free breast cancer awareness head scarf. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but still hung on to it. Now Bel is actually going to need it.