The Interior of Alaska is just coming out of a extreme cold spell… I know… I know… your thinking… So! Alaska is always too cold.  Which is true but this time we had a two week long -50′F to - 60′F temperatures.  Which actually wasn’t too bad, we managed not to have any broken water pipes from the cold, and also kept nice and toasty warm inside the house.

I went for a walk to take a few pictures of how beautiful it was outside during these extreme temps. Everything was covered with frost and sparkling from the full moon we have had this past couple weeks. 

I have discovered that the best way to get rid of a bout of cabin fever, is to wonder around outside for a few minutes (that is all you can handle at -50′F temps) and the beauty, cold fresh air, and calm quiet eases restless moodiness.

Later…

K

The second appointment that my mother has had this week was with a different kind of oncologist called a Radiation Oncologist. This doctor deals with the radiation services used as cancer treatments.

He told us, that mom will have to have radiation treatments starting in a couple of weeks.  We asked him about targeted radiation treatments (which directs the radiation only on the cavity where the tumor was removed) that someone else informed us of. He told us that targeted radiation is still a relatively new way of doing things and may in a few more years become the standard way, but for now he will be sticking with what is considered the standard way.  Which is to radiate the whole breast that the cancerous tumor has been removed from.  He said that it will be for six weeks - 5 days a week, with weekends off, and then one more week, which he will do the targeted radiation treatments.

We also found out that if she needs to have chemotherapy then the radiation treatments are put off until the chemo treatments are finished.

Other then that she is healing from the surgery itself, and is doing very well. Praise God!
Later…

K

It has been a while since I have been able to post. I have been busy with my business and traveling back and forth to medical appointments with my mom.

We had two appointments with two different

Oncologists taken from an online Dictionary:

The first appointment was with what is called a medical oncologist, who deals with chemotherapy etc. He said that her tumor was 1.3 centimeters in size and that if it was 1 centimeter or less he would be completely comfortable with her just having the radiation treatments.  But since it was bigger then he expected, even tho all the other signs are positively pointed, he wants to do another test on the tumor having something to do with the DNA.

It is my understanding that this test will tell if the cancer is likely to come back without chemotherapy treatments.  If the test is negative she can go ahead with the radiation treatments. They will have to send the tumor sample to California to be tested, and we should know in 10 - 14 days. 

So we are… of course… hoping that it will test negative and she won’t need chemotherapy. 

Later…

K

An Update on my mom’s battle with cancer.  She has had her surgery and is now home resting up and healing. Her surgery was on the 30th of December, so now she is starting off the New Year Cancer Free! Praise God! The surgeon has said that he is satistified that he has gotten all the mass out!  And that the initial tests done on the Lymph nodes are negative of cancer.  He said he has more tests that are being done, but the initial results rarely change.  We will know for sure in about 2 weeks.

She will be going back in for her post-op visit and from there they will be setting up a schedule of radiation treatments for her.  It will be 5 days a week for 5 weeks.  It will be a bit tough because we live 100 miles from the radiation treatment center, so it will be a 200 mile trip everyday for 5 weeks.  Yikes, I wish gas prices would drop some more, we are at about $2.65 to $2.85 a gallon still.  I have heard some places in the other states where it has gone below the two dollar range.  That would be awesome…

I am hoping our extreme -45′F to -60′F degree temperatures will have ended by then too…
Photo of inside door knob and bolt lock

 Later…

K Fields