Hi everyone!

My story starts back on December 13, 2008. I had gone to Jamaica for an 8-month contract as a destination rep. in a hotel. In December, I received a phone call from one of my siblings telling me that my Mom had lung cancer which had spread to the left and right side of the brain (more so the left). Well, I was in shock. I went to the company's supervisor in Jamaica to inform them that I would have to terminate my contract after 4 1/2 months (8 month contract, and the company could have charged me 2000.00 dollars to break it), and return to Montreal asap. It took 3 weeks for them to get me on the plane. I was so stressed, because my sibling made it sound like my Mom did not have long. They said for the brain, it would be 4 to 6 months, and the lung (because Mom was otherwise healthy), it could be 6 months to 2 years. So finally I made it home on Jan. 9/09. On December 24, she commenced the first of 5 radiation treatments which was all they could do for that part. On January 29, she started her first series of treatments (Vinoralbine) for 3 months, we then had x-rays done. In that time, my Dad was receiving Johns' Hopkins newsletters, and they mentioned a new cancer targeted drug that could be taken at home, so on March 31, 2009, Mom started the new drug Tarceva. The possible side affects were tiredness, and diarrhea. We have had numerous conversations about the different affects from the treatments that Mom had done, and was doing. I said to Mom, 'If the drug makes you tired all the time, would you be ok with that?' She responded, 'What else could I take?' At the beginning, Mom did not want to go on. You see, last March 2008, my 17 year old nephew passed away in his sleep. They called it 'athletes heart', where boys between 14-18, die suddenly in their sleep. They say that traumatic events can trigger cancer. Then my Mom's diagnosis (stage 4), and then, I found out the day after I returned from Jamaica, my oldest brother was diagnosed with colon cancer (stage 3). He will be starting his chemo/radiation at the end of April (5 days a week for a few months). With all this information, my Mom withdrew into a dark hole for at least 2 months. When she came out (with medication), she was feeling all the emotions that she should have felt at that time. Sorry to have been so long-winded, but now I'm feeling way more than just overwhelmed! Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating, and that my life is no longer my own. You see, my Dad offered to pay my bills, because I didn't think that unemployment would pay me, but because of the circumstances, they are. My sister who lost her son, keeps using this as a reason not to put in her share of the responsibilities, as with the others. She even said brought up the fact that because my Dad was paying me, I should only get weekends off. I told my family that I am not an employee, but a daughter trying to do as much as she can to help them. No one else has quit their jobs to be there. Had I been working here in Montreal, I would not have left my job, but would help out after work, and weekends if I had to. My Mom has developed a fear of staying alone with my Dad. He is more than capable of being there, but for Mom, it's not enough! Is there someone out there that has experienced or is experiencing this type of cancer? What will be the first part of the body to go? She has lost a lot of weight, and worries that she doesn't have an appetite? Is there something out there to help with appetite? What will be the next stages of this rotten disease? Thanks for reading my long-winded story!!!!! I hope someone can bring me an inner peace. I keep thinking that I could be doing more, but what and how? Thanks for listening. Good luck to all of you who are going through these hard times. Please let me know!

By: Jamaica