The words

Around my house words like tumor, lesion, liver, oncologist, biopsy, MRI, surgery, tests, operation and hospital are spoken in calm, serious tones. Words like cancer, malignant, and benign are just thought, rarely spoken. And those words are never spoken to Papá Chepe and Mamá Toni.

About six weeks ago, my mother told me that her doctors had discovered a tumor in her lower abdomen. She said it was about the size of a golf ball.

Since then, my dad has accompanied her to numerous appointments. While the doctors give my mom the news of her most recent test, my dad takes meticulous notes.

And when they call and tell me the news, my head spins with the words I hear on Grey’s Anatomy. On a 44-minute show, there’s a problem and it’s fixed quickly.

No one tells you how long you have to wait to hear the words you really want to hear like, “your mom is going to be okay.”

[Note: if you know me or my family personally and want to know how my mom is doing, it's best to call my dad (and only my dad) on his cell phone. Email me for more info.]

12 thoughts on “The words

  1. Big hugs Cindylu. You’re right … sitcoms like Grey’s Anatomy make these things seem like a 45 minute affairs. It will obviously take a little longer than that, but I hope your mother has the speediest of recoveries.

  2. Pingback: Lotería Chicana » It’s all going to be okay, right?

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