A whole bunch

MONDAY, JULY 18, 2011 6:44 PM, EDT

A Whole Bunch

Logan, at 2 1/2, is about the most observant little guy I know. It's amazing to me that a two year old can look at the world around them, only to look past it and see more. For close to a year now, I have been telling Logan at night that Mommy loves him better than the whole world. I will never forget asking him, "Do you know how much Mommy loves you?" and hearing his high-pitched little voice say, "Better than thewhole world!" It was successful brain-washing at its best, and one of my proudest moments to date. I have continued to add to this little evening ritual over time. I can go so far as to ask Logan if "better than the whole world" is equivalent to a "half bunch," to which he replies, "No, Mommy! That's aWHOLE bunch!"

It never struck me that two year old wouldn't grasp the concept of what a "whole world" might be. And Logan's concept is pretty interesting. The other day, while on the way to fabulous Kayfield Academy, Logan and Parker were snug in their car seats in the back of the Jeep. We were stopped at a routine stop light when Lo proclaimed, "Mommy, that's a better than the whole world right there in that car!" I looked over, admittedly a little confused (or at least curious), only to find that my two year old thinks I love him better than the Garmin in the car next to us! Now that's a whole bunch! Never mind the brilliance that is my two year old equating the map on a Garmin in the car next to us to the whole world! This concept has evolved into a map, a globe, a Garmin...it's awfully hard to explain to a two year old that the whole world encompasses more than a handful of city blocks.

Today I had an appointment at MD Anderson in Houston for a second opinion. Aside from the normal fears associated with a diagnosis of "the big C," I had some concerns that I felt needed to be addressed a little further. First, I have had 3 (and now 4) separate pathology reports from a single biopsy. Each one has been a little bit different, particularly in regards to the hormone receptor status of my tumor. Hormone status refers to what feeds the tumor. If you know the status, you can prevent recurrence or another tumor. If you don't know what feeds the tumor, it's a little more of a crap shoot. It has been determined that my tumor is fed by estrogen. This is a very important part of my treatment plan, and a part that does not change after today's appointment. Another concern was that one pathology report included an "associated singular focus of intraductal carcinoma." To me, this meant that I had a precancerous second tumor that hadn't been brought to my attention. Today, however, it was explained that a tumor is kind of like a garden. You have seeds that sprout into invasive cancer, and you have seeds that may or may not sprout at all.  Now this was imagery that I could work with! So my little garden of a tumor is versatile. Hownice?! At least there aren't two of them!  It was comforting to hear that my MDACC Oncologist concurred with the treatment plan of the Louisville Oncologist, and that I would not need to be separated from family during treatment. But what impressed me most is that my Louisville Oncologist is just as current with the treatment regimen as this world renowned, state of the art cancer center. Short of being told that someone made a huge mistake and that I didn't have cancer after all, we heard the best new we could have heard - my breast cancer is looking pretty standard, and we are treating it aggressively. There should be no other visits to MD Anderson.

Worth noting, MDACC as an operation is just as impressive as I expected it to be - a well oiled machine with Southern hospitality tied in.  The buildings are expansive. MD Anderson is one of many medical facilities that makes up the Texas Medical Center in downtown Houston...a conglomerate of organizations that together employ over 90,000 people! TMC actually has its own power plant. That's like Houston having its own little medical city inside the actual city!

Mama and I are going back to little old Louisville tomorrow. I cannot wait to hug the boys and Nathan, and celebrate that we have a plan, a positive outlook, and a bunch to look forward to...a whole bunch! And that's better than the whole world right there!