Singapore Sister Kathy Visits Suvanna and Sees the Light

I don't think my sister's cancer has seemed real until now.  Every time I've interacted with her, even through the side effects of radiation and chemo, she seemed herself – funny, calm, grounded.  She looks great, isn't in pain nor is she sick.  How can she have such a serious, stage 4 cancer when she isn't even sick?  I hadn't really understood my sister's situation until I spent time with her in the doctor's office.  I get it now.

Our visit with Dr. Tavakoli Tuesday was full on. We torpedoed him with questions for 45 minutes and I must say, Doc was never impatient or annoyed or hurried.  I don't know about you, but my doc appt's all seem accompanied with a symbolic tapping of the foot from the doctor suggesting something pressing is happening next so hurry up!  Dr. T was patient, informative and completely available.  That's it: he was totally available, to both of us.  Suvanna says all her docs are like that.  I'm liking that a lot.

Suvanna's CT Scan told us that things have pretty much stayed the same in terms of bone damage and lung nodules which is good news.  Another scan two days later, and we're waiting for some radioactive liquid to travel through her body as I type so she can have a bone scan in an hour or so.  This scan will reveal more about the cancer in her pelvis. The doc said it takes longer for the treatment to reach inside the bone so more will be known about the condition of her bones from the PET scan May 30.  He also said that the common pattern of stage 4 cancer is it is dormant until it is active and they treat it until it is dormant until it is active and they treat it until...

So here we are doing our best to be normal - have fun, laugh, see the city, eat outrageously good food, keep picking crap rented movies, visit second hand stores looking for long lost treasures. . .

I get it now.  I get that Suvanna's ability to handle this journey isn't a measure of the severity of her illness.  It's a measure of her incredible grace and emotional maturity and Buddhist community of love that keep her herself through this surreal time in our lives...