Update

Here's just some quick information regarding my mom's appointments yesterday:

The thyroid ultrasound showed there was no growth in the lump, so that's good news. She'll just be monitored yearly for any changes.

During the cancer class we attended at the oncologist's office we learned some good things: First, I didn't realize this, but we get to call my mom a Breast Cancer Survivor! They consider her to be in remission and the chemo is a precautionary just to make sure there are no stray cancer cells in her body. I thought that was a nice new way of looking at her status instead of thinking she's battling breast cancer. I guess the mastectomy was the biggest battle, which she already completed! You can tell I am new to the whole world of cancer - sometimes I think it should all be common sense, but to me it isn't. Anyways, next piece of excellent news: My mom is only planned to have two months of chemotherapy; not three months, like we were originally told. She will go once every two weeks for treatment. They consider a treatment a "cycle" so, she gets four cycles. Doesn't that sound so much more bearable? Four cycles of chemo sounds much better than three months of chemo.

We talked a lot about hair loss during the class and a lot about her risks of infections after chemo begins. She will have to be extremely cautious by staying away from crowded places and children and practice a lot of hand washing. Anyone with signs of a cold will have to refrain from visiting her. They say her hair will probably begin to fall out around 14 days after her first cycle and will begin to grow back in a few weeks after her last cycle. They usually find the new hair growth will be soft and curly, which my mom is excited about.

So here is a link to a video about a woman who documented her mastectomy and reconstruction process when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. My mom viewed this and thought that her book should be made available to all women going through this process. For my mom, one of the most difficult things for her was no one preparing her for what she'd find when she took off bandages after the mastectomy. It was something she faced alone and was scared about. At the time, she wished she had more information and support, so this woman's story was inspiring to her.

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&tab=s7&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:1d681406-fd77-4a68-ab5d-53099d9b0037&showPlaylist=true&from=IV2_en-us_health_health-topic_breast-cancer&fg=gtlv2