A Frank Discussion

Mom, Dad, and I spent a good deal of time this morning speaking with Dr. Aurora (Mom's oncologist) about her concentration and memory loss issues. Mom wanted to make sure that he knew how upsetting this was for her and how much of an issue it has turned into.

Dr. Aurora listened closely and then made some points. He said that the confusion and short-term memory loss were caused by three things:

1. The brain metastases that Mom has
2. The radiation treatment that Mom received to combat the above
3. The chemotherapy that she is receiving know. This is commonly referred to as "chemo brain". It's a foggy condition that most people have when undergoing chemotherapy.

He then went on to reassure Mom that she was getting everything that she was supposed to get and getting it on time. He made a very clear point that the treatment that Mom is receiving is designed to do two things (in order):

1. Keep Mom alive
2. Hopefully help her feel better

Now, when Mom heard point one about keeping her alive, she jumped to the conclusion that she had been very near death at the beginning of this whole ordeal. That is not the case, but Mom thought it was, and therefore spent most of her time in chemo today very tense and upset.

Dr. Aurora also said that we would do a CAT scan and an MRI after this third treatment to gauge the treatment's effectiveness.

He did say to Mom, "I am very optimistic that the treatment you have received has made a difference with the cancer. Now, we need some pictures so I can show you that."

So we will get those scheduled.

That said, the chemo treatment itself was uneventful and went as it should have. After getting Mom back home, she began to calm down and understand just what was going on with what Dr. Aurora said.

As many of you know, Mom's desire when it comes to speaking with the doctor is, "I want to know, but I don't really want to know."

Today was the most frank discussion that she has ever had with Dr. Aurora and it affected her quite a bit. She mentioned that hearing those things caused her to really think about her situation more and come to some realizations about her condition.

It was, however, a good discussion with the doctor and one that I know Mom would have wanted to have had she been completely together mentally. So, I don't regret at all that it was discussed.

Tomorrow, we go back to the office for a white blood cell booster. Maybe by then the appointments for the scans will have been made.