About a month ago my family found out that my stepmother has lung cancer. It came as a shock to all of us because she went to the doctor for pneumonia. They wanted to do an x-ray and when the the results came back there was a spot on her lungs. She moved very quickly in order to verify just what this lump was. The more details the doctors discovered, the more it looked like it was going to be bad. Finally the doctors concluded that it was indeed cancer…small cell carcinoma to be exact. It is caused from smoking which my stepmother has done for years and years. It really sucks because she finally kicked the habit, but the damage was already done. Just finding out if it was cancer was a dangerous journey. When the doctor tried to take a biopsy of the mass, her lung collapsed. Thankfully, I didn’t know this even happened until she was stable and okay. Talk about scary! They found out that the mass is inoperable because it is located on an big artery. Every time there is new news, it just seems to get worse. The doctors have given her 2 years, but my father says this is not acceptable. And I also hope that this isn’t the case because I’m not ready to say good-bye that quickly. And neither is my little brother who is only 13 years old. He’ll almost be grown by then, but he will be entering a part of his life that I found to be some of my most difficult years. He’ll need his mother. But he’ll never be alone; he’ll always have the support of me and lots of family. However, we’ll never be able to replace his mother.

My stepmother has done so much to me since she entered into my life and became a part of our family. In some ways she has done more for me than my own mother. She is everything to my little brother and my father; I just can’t imagine how they’ll survive without her. She has another son also. I don’t talk to him much but we were very close when we were growing up. I know that while he tries to put on an extremely hard exterior and act like not much matters to him, he loves his mother! I think he’d do just about anything for her. I know that it will be very hard on him when she goes.

She has already started chemo treatments. And in doing so she has started on a better diet to help her feel better while undergoing these treatments. I have suggested Paleo to her and even sent her a book that we had for her to read. I definitely hope she is strict with her diet because she will really need her strength as she continues with chemo. I know that the chemo treatments will most likely not be kind to her body, but I hope they help where it counts. And I hope that she is well enough to attend our wedding; I know that it would make her sad to miss it. We have contemplated changing the date of the wedding because of this, but at this point in time it’s kind of hard to guess when a good date would be because of her chemo so we have kept it the same. We are open to changing, but hopefully everything will work out.

You may remember my Father’s Day posting regarding my own father who was at the time not in good shape. I am happy (ecstatic actually) to report that he got the help he needed and is back to the dad that I know and love! The help was against his will, but I think he’d agree with me when I say that it was mandatory for him. I won’t go into all the details, but he entered rehab and finished it coming out a much better man. And he couldn’t have done it at a better time because more now than ever, my family needs him to be there. And I need to know for my peace of mind that he’s capable of taking care of my stepmother through this difficult time and my brother if she doesn’t make it.

I’ll keep you updated on major news regarding this subject. I hope that you will all keep us in your prayers. It’s really sad, and it’s also out of my control. So, I just have to have faith in the belief that this is the way it has to be, and that it will work out and everyone will be okay even if she doesn’t pull through. I do believe that will has a lot to do with how long you can survive and fight something like this, so I hope that she has major will!