My side of the story...
My name is Alyssa, and when I was 13 my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even though I was young, I knew that word meant serious business. I was the older sister, and that meant I had to be strong for my younger sister Stephanie. Stephanie is 3 years younger than I am, so that made her only 10. I could tell she was as scared on the outside as I was on the inside. And so began this journey. This very scary, difficult journey.
My mom started out by getting an oncologist. His name was Dr. Gregory Yang. I remember my mom asking him if she was going to die? Of course he said no. I'm not sure if I believed him. I mean cancer is a big word after all. The next step my mom had to endure was a double mastectomy. She had barely healed from that and needed to start chemotherapy. I had heard about chemo before, but never this way. My mom started the chemotherapy on a Monday morning. She was going to have to do 6 sessions. At first she seemed ok, but it didn't take long to change. She was sick to her stomach almost right away. She was very weak, and couldn't eat. And this was just her first treatment. After that, my sister and I were too much for my mother to take care of. The family decided to fly me and my sister to Washington. My aunt Julie lives there. I remember not wanting to go. I wanted to stay and take care of my mom. She said no, I was only 13. I called her every day to see how she was.
The day she started her 2nd treatment she had lost chunks of hair. The fact that it started to fall out that quick just told me how strong the medicine was. Later that night my mom sent me a picture. Wow! 3/4 of her hair was totally gone. This was getting worse and worse. I really wanted to come home. I just knew that my mom needed me. As the weeks went by, my mom looked forward to finishing her chemo. She had been told that there was no need for radiation or any other treatment. I could hear the excitement in her voice. 2 days after her last chemo, her oncologist decided that yes, she did need 33 straight days of radiation. It was very disappointing for everyone, especially my mom. After what seemed like an eternity, (even though it was only a little after a month) she was finally done. Yeay, another hurdle accomplished!
This whole experience has taught me to never take family for granted, and to live everyday like it could be your last. I now know that because of my mom's cancer I'lI have to be carefully monitored and checked on an annual basis.
My mom started out by getting an oncologist. His name was Dr. Gregory Yang. I remember my mom asking him if she was going to die? Of course he said no. I'm not sure if I believed him. I mean cancer is a big word after all. The next step my mom had to endure was a double mastectomy. She had barely healed from that and needed to start chemotherapy. I had heard about chemo before, but never this way. My mom started the chemotherapy on a Monday morning. She was going to have to do 6 sessions. At first she seemed ok, but it didn't take long to change. She was sick to her stomach almost right away. She was very weak, and couldn't eat. And this was just her first treatment. After that, my sister and I were too much for my mother to take care of. The family decided to fly me and my sister to Washington. My aunt Julie lives there. I remember not wanting to go. I wanted to stay and take care of my mom. She said no, I was only 13. I called her every day to see how she was.
The day she started her 2nd treatment she had lost chunks of hair. The fact that it started to fall out that quick just told me how strong the medicine was. Later that night my mom sent me a picture. Wow! 3/4 of her hair was totally gone. This was getting worse and worse. I really wanted to come home. I just knew that my mom needed me. As the weeks went by, my mom looked forward to finishing her chemo. She had been told that there was no need for radiation or any other treatment. I could hear the excitement in her voice. 2 days after her last chemo, her oncologist decided that yes, she did need 33 straight days of radiation. It was very disappointing for everyone, especially my mom. After what seemed like an eternity, (even though it was only a little after a month) she was finally done. Yeay, another hurdle accomplished!
This whole experience has taught me to never take family for granted, and to live everyday like it could be your last. I now know that because of my mom's cancer I'lI have to be carefully monitored and checked on an annual basis.