The last month of my life has literally been one of the worst that I have experienced. There's a little bit of back story that needs to go with this story.
In June 11, 2008, my Aunt Brenda was diagnosed with terminal cancer called adenocarcinoma. When they found it, the cancer had spread but they were unable to find the source of the cancer. The doctors gave her four to six months without palliative treatment and eight to ten months with palliative chemo. She decided to proceed with the chemo until she felt that her quality of life deteriorated.
On April 1, 2009, the Doctors said that she was cancer free. For those who are not familiar with cancer, being cancer free is different then remission. Remission means that there is an absence of active cancer and there is the possibility of it to return. Being cancer free means that there are no cancer cells and it is not expected to return. As you can imagine, we were over the moon excited about this. We believed it to be truly a miracle and thought that our worries were over.
The Winter of 2009, my Aunt fell ill again and went into the hospital. In February 2010, my mom told me that the cancer was back but was treatable. My aunt then went on chemo again and responded to it well.
InSeptember 2010, my Aunt got a blockage in her stomach. Upon going into the hospital, she was told that the cancer had spread to her abdomen. The cancer cells were creating a blockage that was not allowing food or drink to get to her stomach. The doctors said that they could put a stint in that would allow her to eat and drink again but the cancer would only create a further blockage. They also said that the cancer is untreatable. This was on September 14, 2010. For a week, she was getting nourishment from something called Saline Solution through an IV. They have since taken her off the IV and now gets her nourishment off of needles. As you can imagine, she cannot survive off of this for much longer. She is now in a Hospice where she will spend the reminder of her days.
To say that the last two and a half years have been a roller coaster for her and our family is an understatement. My Aunt has been so strong through all of this. While she is significantly weaker and sick beyond words, she continues to be strong for our family.
Seeing someone that I love in this kind of pain and suffering leaves me to question so many things in my life. One thing that I have not questioned is the bond of a family. Through all of this, I have seen my family come together and truly be there for each other. We are already a very close extended family and without each other to lean on, I don't think any of us would be able to get through this.
