Very unexpectedly this week I found out my mom has lung cancer. When the pulmonary guy, I'll call him Dr. Lipshits says, "Oh so nice to meet you, sorry for the circumstances, you know it's bad - as quoted from one of my favorite musicals, "There's a moment you know - - you're fucked."
Next I remember hearing these words in the following order: mass, significant, bronchoscopy, surgery, chemo, radiation. The next day Lipshits visits what I later come to find out was our room in a critical care unit facing beams of pure jagged hate from my sweet Mum (see Bronchoscopy). When I asked him to show us "on him" exactly where the significant mass is located, I'm thinking he would use his forefinger and thumb to show us, OK 
here are the size and location of the mass - I'm thinking it is the size of a quarter. Then he takes his two hands and opens them up to reveal an oval mass encompassing almost the entire lung - think Nerf football. Lipshits looks up to see three mouths that could catch Summer flies.
here are the size and location of the mass - I'm thinking it is the size of a quarter. Then he takes his two hands and opens them up to reveal an oval mass encompassing almost the entire lung - think Nerf football. Lipshits looks up to see three mouths that could catch Summer flies. We now have an ENT, Dr. Mucusson, who determines the tumor is crushing one of her vocal chords. Exit, Dr. Mucusson.
Two critical days later, we learn the cancer is small cell (good news) and limited scope (it has not spread to her brain, stomach or lymph nodes).
Dr. Wilson (name protected for the sake of a good House, MD reference), our new Oncologist says either go home and spend your last days dying or do chemo, and radiation and have 1 good year before it comes back pissed and drug resistant.
3 votes for 1 good year, 0 votes for dying in 6 months or less.
So on day two of chemo, I will list for whom I am thankful: The critical care nursing staff at Paoli hospital for saving mom's life the first time, Wilson for convincing mom to treat, my partner for filling every ridiculous request, my best friends who are continentally divided in both personality and geography, and the dogs (mine+mom's = 4) for adding comical distraction. 
ATTENTION SMOKERS!!!!!!!! Not around me...seriously...I will yell at you. You don't have to stay away forever, soon I will come to love you all again. But for right now, I'm not in the mood. 
