Cancer 0, Chateâu Powellhurst 1!

I know I said that I would post the continuing journal of my Eastern Oregon trip in installments and I will. Today, however, I feel the need to interrupt regular programming to say what a totally awesome (in the true sense of the word), wonderful, beautiful day it is. Sure, it's cloudy out, but my mom does not have breast cancer.

We have been really worried her in P'hurst for the past few days. You see, my mom had a routine mammogram a couple weeks ago, and they found something. At first we thought that it was just a bad picture, because the tech had been futzing around and didn't seem to know what she was doing. As a result, my mom ended up being called back for a second one. This happens sometimes - folded skin looks like a dark mark, pictures don't come out, etc. As it turns out, there really was a small dark spot.

So, my mom went to have a biopsy last Wednesday. In her usual fashion, she pretty much took it all in stride. She's quite pragmatic about these things and looks at them with the realistic attitude of "statistically, most of these things turn out to be nothing. I'm doing what I have to do and everything will be okay." I, on the other hand, have been silently (don't want to worry her) freaking out and having thoughts like "I am about to be orphaned and will shortly have no family left in the world, thereby leaving my to die a lonely, motherless woman-child. Plus, I want my mommy!" But this isn't about me, what it is about is that someone I love might have had some really horrible news today. Between the freak infection and surgery she had to have last month and this, it's been a tough past few weeks.

I knew that the doctor was supposed to be calling today, and was prepared to spend a work day of nervous waiting interspersed with calls to see if she was okay. But that turned out to be completely unnecessary. The doctor - God bless him - called at 8:04 this morning to tell her that everything is okay!!! The growth was benign and was removed when he did the needle biopsy. All she has to do is go back for another mammogram in 6 months (as a precaution) and then it's back to the normal once a year.

So, July 11, 2005, you are a wonderful day. Don't let anyone tell you any different, because you ROCK!