Really ready for Sloan

So I talked to the Mama today (okay yeah - I've called her 4 times since she left work at 11:30) and she now has a wheeze - new this week. It's like I can hear the cancer. She feels worse every day, and that part just kills me. I would do anything to take away her suffering.

I guess we're all enduring the worst part right now, which is the waiting. Side effects from treatment would be welcomed at this point. Pain from the disease itself is a whole other animal.

Mom's good friend (and mine) Carla Nemec is coming to NY today, staying here for about a week, then two days later her friend Katrin will be here, then soon after that, Clancy. So yay for all that!

Carla will go with us tomorrow to Sloan, so there'll be 3 sets of ears listening to that oncologist. I'm actually thinking of recording it. Am I nuts? Probably.

Thanks everyone for the overwhelming love and support. Til soon.

You want the good news, or the bad news?

Well, hi. We've decided to start this thing up so that folks can stay updated on the state of the mama. And the actor, and the poet, and the dreamy dreamer, and the person-so-full-of-life-that-we-can't-fucking-believe-this-is-happening. Ahem.

The official latest: She has had a chest x-ray, 2 CT scans, a bronchoscopy, a PET scan, and an MRI of her brain. She has seen one oncologist and is scheduled to see another at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, arguably the best cancer clinic on earth, this coming Friday, February 15. She's already been notified of the results of the last two scans, though.

The good: there is no cancer in her brain. Hooray!

The bad: it's in her skeletal and lymph systems, her liver, and both lungs. It's stage IV lung cancer, non-small cell, "incurable," a terrible word, but all it means is that it isn't likely she'll ever be cancer-free. Treatment aims to prolong life and preserve quality of life, as much as possible. We're for that.

The so-so: It's in her cervical spine, which is kind of good news because it gives a concrete reason for the horrifying pain she's been in, and hope for alleviation of said pain with radiation. Radiation is also a possibility for her bronchial whatnot, as she can breathe out of, but not into, her left lung. Chemotherapy will also likely be recommended. The disease is too spread out to have surgery make any sense.

And...this is all from the first diagnosis. She'll have a second diagnosis on Friday and, we're hoping, treatment soon, soon after that.

Send prayers, visualizations, silly postcards, and love. We'll keep you updated here.