My twin sister has been diagnosed with cancer. Back in Oct. she had pneumonia, cardiac arrest, was dead for 9 minutes, revived and eventually went home. She had terrible respiratory arrest issues, but it was more or less resolved and we brought her home. Part of the diagnosis was h1n1, but turned out not to be.

She wasn't recovering. She had been in a come for 20 days in the hospital, and did not seem to be getting over it all. We almost lost her.

She began having some issues wtih diarrhea and she thought it was lactiose intolerance ... but after developing gut pain, we took ger toi vthe ER and she was hospitalized and told she had the flu, was treated for 4 days and sent home.

She wasn't recovering, so we took her to a different ER and in 2 hours got told point blank, "you have cancer". Boom!

One day she was a not so healthy chronic diabetic, with manyh problems and in just a few minutes, she had cancer. Mesothilioma. Not the lung cancer kind, either. This apparently is more rare, and is all over in her gut, colon, etc.

She feels like sje won;t make it.  She is ill from the treatment and scared. So am I!                     

Chemo ... poison? Isn't it? It certainly feels like it! You injest chemicals to cure the cancer, but it kills other stuff. Because of it, she is on IV food TPN, they call it. INher IV ...She may Never be able to return to regular food in her life ...so the doc said ...

We live together. We are twins an d we share expenses. We're both on Social security, which is limited and both on Medicaid.  But if they put her in extended care and I lose her as a roomie, on my money I can't survive.  The cancer is hitting us at a level that isn't just going to make her sick, it is going to affect us in so many other ways. I am finding out that it is said there is a lot of help out there for the families as well, only to find out there is a phenominal red tape hassle and some things may not really be avaqilable.  I feel like I need a secretary, or an  advocate just to get thru it all.

Me? I am partly disabled, facing heart  surgery, which was put off because of hewr illness. I am not resentful at all. I contiinue to workc at home, making jewelry taht I sell, and maqking trips to where my 86yr old mom lives at the nusrsing home, and to the hospital to see her. Sometimes I work for 12 hours at a stretch! Designing jewelry is therapeutic! Physically making it, like meditation, and relaxing.

I continue to be supportive, and to do what I can, but I feel my life turning into B.C. ..."before cancer" ....

Rainbow

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