runlindsayrun

Getting Smart (and one small blonde moment)

I had another brave day today. I started my morning at the Breast Cancer Centre of Hope, where I had a 9 am meeting with an oncology nurse.

She spent almost an hour with me, and answered all of my questions. She went through my mom's pathology report notes and translated and explained what all of the big fancy words meant. She walked me through the chemotherapy and radiation processes - how the appointments work, what the treatments are, and how people can expect to feel before, during, and after. And she also touched on risk factors - things I need to know because my mom has breast cancer. She approached it so well, because it wasn't about worrying at all... It was about being aware and being responsible and making healthy choices - which actually released the little bit of worry I had been feeling about it.

I'm really glad I went. It was just nice to have someone explain it all, and she didn't make me feel like any of my questions were stupid at all (though I'm sure at least a few of them were). She was really encouraging. And she gave me her card so I can call, email, request information and resources, or book more appointments if I have more questions in the future.

The very best part of the appointment is that I walked in, and just about literally ran into an old friend who used to work at The Arthritis Society and moved over to CancerCare a few years ago. She shrieked and ran around the desk to give me a *big* hug and we chatted for almost 10 minutes before I met with the nurse. It made the Centre feel just that much more comfortable and safe for me.

I just feel so much better now that I understand more of how this will all work, which helps me to see what I might be able to do to help and support my mom and my family during the next couple of months. I hate that our family is learning all of this. But I'm so happy that there are so many resources available to us.

The funniest part of my morning? I don't know if it was the stress I felt leading up to the appointment, being stupid and pregnant, being not-quite-awake-yet, or what - but I seriously lost my ability to parallel park this morning. It was SO embarrassing, especially because I'm usually an awesome parallel parker (ask anyone)... A lady actually pointed and laughed at me. Ugh.

Labels: Family, Feeling Blonde, The C Word

posted by Lindsay @ 10:23 AM