Anything Up There

I will be the first one to tell you, that when my mom was diagnosed with cancer this time, I think I became a little more vigilant. As a family, chemo was new to us and when they started rambling off all the things associated with chemo therapy, it’s certainly not something you take lightly.

As a cancer supporter, you have to be on your toes and not be afraid to ask questions.

Case in point, when she got that little bump on her head, she not only developed a little lumpy spot but a significant bruise. Now, considering she didn’t break any skin, or have any signs of headache or blurred vision – a lot of emphasis (or second thought) was placed on that bump, other than it looked liked she went two rounds with Tyson!

But here is where the vigilance comes into play. I found that while I was in the presence of my mom, I was like a jungle cat laying in wait amongst the tall grassy leaves – silently waiting for any signs of difficulty. It’s a double-edged sword. You have to allow a cancer patient to do things for themselves – that’s what gives them hope and power to know that they are improving and kicking cancer’s ass. But you also have to be anticipatory in your thinking – always being a few steps ahead so you can spot the potential for trouble before it gets to you.

Soon after that bump on her head, I was having a conversation with my mom and I looked at her head and something in my mind, went wait a minute! For whatever reason, at that particular moment my brain decided to retrieve some information I learned in school. (You know that information that you question when you will ever use it again in your lifetime!) I recalled that a bruise is nothing more than damaged capillaries bleeding into surrounding tissue.

So why would my brain focus on that when we had more important things to consider? Because my subconscious was looking out for my mom – bleeding capillaries combined with blood thinners can not be a good thing!

I asked my mom if she had called her oncologist and informed him about the fall. She replied with a “No.” I didn’t want to scare her, but I told her we should probably make them aware of the situation, so I called.

Good thing! Because she was on blood thinners for that pesky DVT, there was a chance that those bleeding capillaries were not clotting and if they were left to bleed we could not proceed with the chemo in a few days. Her oncologist told us to take her for a CT scan ASAP.

Thankfully, everything was declared okay and my mom was told to rest for the next few days before we started chemo.

Helpful Hint:
Don't be afraid to call your health care team with any questions. You might think that you are pestering them, but they will quikcly reassure you that it is okay. There are no stupid questions and that is what they are there for. Rely on their knowledge as a vital resource.