This round is kicking my mom's butt. She's in a lot of pain. Not sure if the chemo is wearing down her immune system. But for her to complain of pain, it must be bad. She's comparing it to the time when she had shingles. We're keeping an eye on her to make sure there aren't any blisters forming.

We decided to increase her klonopin. The problem with that is it slows her down. She moves and speaks slower, almost like a zombie. But I guess it's worth it if it decreases her pain.

We had dinner with my dad's younger brother Rob and his wife Mona because they wanted to see my mom. It was nice to see the two brothers together. Man, just thinking about what these two couples have gone through - it boggles the mind and its a miracle they're still together. I won't go into details - think soap opera! No secrets in the Chin family cos you can get the sordid details if you ever meet them!  I give my mom and aunt props and lots of credit for putting up my dad and uncle. Lord knows, I wouldn't have! And we know it's so much easier to walk away than to deal...

A preview of the conversation:
Rob: Wow, Chuck...you look really good. Your face looks younger.
Becky: That's because he's fatter so his face is fuller!

Basically, that's what you can expect from the Chin family - straight from the hip, no filter.

So my parents and I are at MGH to see my mom's neuropsych dr. She goes in with the interpreter leaving me and Dad in the waiting room. Dad scoots over to the chair next to me all serious-like and told me he saw his PCP (also my mom's PCP) Monday. And basically, Dr. Lam told him my mom's cancer is really serious. He gets all of the reports from Dana Farber and it doesn't look good. He said my mom would have had a better chance if the cancer was caught earlier. Well, all I can say is "No shit!" Seriously, is this news something we don't already know??? My dad gets all teary-eyed and can't even speak. Ok, I know Dr. Lam is trying to be helpful but this is not helping.

The doctors at Dana-Farber are very forthright about what to expect. Their focus is to treat the cancer as much as it can be treated. No BS, but I guess we forget this cancer is fatal because my mom has responded so well to the chemo. Anyways, not sure how I can reassure him. So if anyone has any word of advice, please share! For myself, I just enjoy the time I have with her/him....For example, after dinner and walking to the car, he grabs her purse and holds her hand. I need to capture those moments. Disclaimer: I never saw my parents holding hands growing up!

One of my parents greatest joy is hanging out with their nephew and wife - Brandon and Nancy. They live in Germantown, MD. So we went to visit them this weekend since mom was doing relatively well during her treatment. Basically, Brandon and Nancy caters to my mom. And my dad cooks for everyone. So a win-win situation for all. We had our usual dinner of clams casino and prime rib. And afterwards, we showed my mom her website. She was so happy going through the photo gallery and watching the videos! She and dad told us stories regarding the pictures. But she got too excited and her nerves started to act up. But she's ok....

So the best news we've gotten since my mom was diagnosed. She had a CT scan this am and then was suppose to start the 3rd round of chemo. Before the infusion, we met with the doctor and he said the tumor shrank over 50%!! So he was pleased with the results and my mom's progress. He also said about a 1/3 of people with this disease do not respond well so their prognosis is not good. I am so happy mom is not part of that group.

I am so relieved...this means we'll have her for a little bit longer. I did tell the dr she was still smoking. He basically said it's good that she cut down but 2 reasons why she should stop: she needs a healthy lung in case the cancer comes back or to fight off any complications and also chemo is not as effective for folks still smoking. She told him she will stop...I also put in my 2 cents (in chinese, of course) that she needs to think about the time and effort everyone is wasting on her if she continues to smoke. Never mind the fact that she is the one going through the treatment!!! Chemo, IVs, CT scans, side effects and the changes in her body. So why would she jeopardize all that she's doing for a couple of puffs?? I know, I know, I can hear you smokers out there tell me to give her a break.....I'll never understand why people smoke and I'm not going to make any excuses for being judgmental. But it's now affecting me cos I'm going to lose my mom to it.

Anyways, good news overall. Let's hope her body responds well to the drugs. I also think her mental being is helping her in fighting this!

So I've been dying to try the new (opened last year) Pizzeria Regina in Allston. I mentioned it to my mom and to my surprise she agreed to go! Mom and pizza just doesn't go together. You know, chinese people and cheese??? Anyway, off we went and mom ordered a plain pizza with EXTRA cheese! WTF? She said she wasn't too hungry but managed to eat 2 slices and also pasta from my dad's veal parmigiana. It's so good to see her with a hearty appetite.