Tuesday, April 5, 2011

DOT 59 : OLIGO

Daniel (7+ years old) 
One month after surgery ...

Malignant …
Mom's heart made a dive down down down to uncharted waters.
Oligodendroglioma & astrocytoma … 
The names of the two strains of naughty cells that were extracted from the surgery. 
What fancy names for such deadly cells. 
Follow-up treatments were recommended, of which Mom was familiar from Grandad and Aunty Tracy’s experiences.
Radiation on the brain presented obvious risks. Besides, there was no guarantee that You would have normal functions after that. 
Chemotherapy was out of the question. 
It really did not make sense to hurt the whole body when the problem was only in the head, and "everything" had been removed after all. 
Had it not? 
That question was never discussed somehow, but the answer came to light when You had a recurrence one and half years later. 
It had not.

At home, Dad made some searches on the internet to learn more of this naughty cell. Really, there was nothing good about it. 
Not one thing. 
Survival rate was dismal. 
If Mom remembers correctly, Dad had said something like, only 20% of survivors would live past 2 years ... 
 
 Your first Holy Communion ...