An interesting thing happened today.  A person in the lab next to me came up to me and told me he had heard that my mom was sick.  I explained that she was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer last year, underwent almost a year of chemo therapy and will start a PARP-inhibitor in September.  He smiled and said she made it through a whole year. His smile was encouraging.  He can speak from experience because he has underwent his own ongoing battle and offered an ear if I ever wanted to vent.

This interaction sent me into reflection mode.  Lately when people ask about my mom it takes me a second to respond.  We don’t really talk about cancer like we used to.  We talk about how fast Julian is growing up and the weather and housewives.  So when someone asks how she is I have to remind myself oh right, she has cancer that’s why they’re asking.  That is such a gift and one I will never forget.  In January I never thought we would get to this point.  A point where we are not constantly in fear.  We have been given a true break, she has been given a break.  It has been about a month since she had her last chemo.  She still has to go in for blood draws just to make sure her healthy cells are still recovering but other than that she has been hospital free.  In September she will begin a new treatment and we will learn as we go but for now we are just soaking in a beautiful summer.