More on the same topic

What I talked about in my last post, about my mother in law's Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis, is still weighing heavily on my mind.

This is my mother in law's second cancer diagnosis in six years. She was just given the all clear for her folicular thyroid cancer a bit ago and is down to yearly blood tests and ultrasounds for that. Two years ago she had open heart surgery and a valve repair. Her health has not been great and this is just too much.

She is a sweet lady. She works hard. She has 10 children and still has a 15 and 18 year old at home.

I lost my father when I was 16 to colon cancer.

I hate cancer.

I just can't make sense out of this.

I don't know what to do to support her from here.

She had the biopsy right before she left to come here and first was told by her ENT that it was fine. It turns out that that was a preliminary result she should never have heard about. We let out our breath and two days later the oncologist called with the Hodgkin's diagnosis. So not only is she starting chemo and possibly radiation, her month long visit to Israel to see her children and grandchildren ended up being a two week visit, with six kids, dozens of grandchildren, and several siblings to see and catch up with. It just wasn't enough time to see anyone much with a list so long.

This is just all so hard. I wish I could be there to hold her hand, sit with her and support her physically. She will be almost seven thousand miles away though. I wish I could convince myself that cancer ends well, but in my head even if you survive, in my experience it it is horrific.

I hate cancer. I hate cancer. I hate cancer. I hate cancer. I hate cancer.