Bad Day...

Newest EDITS are at the bottom of the Journal.  And just so everyone knows, the reason you see me being silly or otherwise not bringing this situation up anywhere else on DA is three fold:

1. I feel there is no need to post about this all over DA outside of this journal, not even on my other journals or deviations.

2. Those who care or want to know about what is going on can come here for all the updates in one place.

3. I am trying desperately to distract myself in an effort to keep my sanity intact during all of this continuous very high stress. 

Original Post: June 13, 2013 - 1:57PM
It's very rare when I talk about things going on in my real life, but something like this is just... it's that serious...  We got bad news today from mom's doctor. Not going into detail but a routine procedure (checkup type) revealed a serious health issue. Hopefully it can be cleared up quickly and easily though. Prayers on mom's behalf are appreciated.  _{(it will be Mom who will be mostly the replying directly to comments, anything I say will be in the journal itself added as Edits below unless she is in the hospital, I will try to keep it clear which of us is commenting.)}

EDIT 1: June 24, 2013 - 2:44PM
News is worse than we hoped, medically.  Don't expect to be hearing from me much for a while, I'm going to be too busy with real life kicking me in the head like a pissed off mule, and every plan I had over the next few months to a year, no matter how minor, getting shoved out the window or put on indefinite hold.

Sorry guys...  >.<

EDIT 2: June 25, 2013 - 3:58PM
Well, after talking to my mother, she has granted me clearance to let everyone know that she has in fact been diagnosed with a very serious form of Cancer (the exact nature and spread is personal, thus I will not discuss this publicly) and will have to undergo Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy for at least 6 weeks, then surgery.  We are looking into alternatives as well to minimize the impact to her already fragile system as she is Diabetic, has heart disease, and other health issues.  THIS is why I am her live-in-aide and why I no longer live at my old apartment I had been in since September 1st, 2001.  She has problems with her balance and had to have a partial left hip replacement in 2006 which left her requiring a walker to get around with, and standing for 10 to 15 minutes leaves her having to sit/lay down for an hour or more, and forget walking much beyond going to the grocery store across the street.  I was not kidding when I said my mother's health and mobility was failing her and thus required a live-in-aide to help her with every day things like cooking, dishes, taking out the trash and recycling, etc.

I do sincerely appreciate all the well wishes and prayers on her behalf, thank you all for that.  It really means a lot to both of us, especially her and especially after such horrible news.  Cancer is nothing to take lightly, people die from Cancer.  I lost a very dear close friend to Cancer and another friend here on DA lost her mother to Cancer, while mom has also lost friends to Cancer, including one I knew personally.  So thank you all very much for your wonderful comments and well wishes.

EDIT 3: June 25, 2013 - 11:20PM
Oh my god, you guys are so sweet and so very awesome.  Thank you so so very much for all the kindness and understanding from all of you.  **hugs all around**  My mother has read all your comments and she was very moved by your kindness towards a complete stranger you've never met, and the love you all show towards her through your knowing and commenting to me gives her hope.  You have no idea how much this means to both of us, so thank you all so very much.

EDIT 4: June 26, 2013 - 5:50AM
Update From Marce
Katt has convinced me that this private struggle might help someone else going through the same thing or with a loved one experiencing cancer.  From my research into colon cancer, I have stage 2 or 3, which will be determined this week when I have the ultrasound.  That and the location of the tumor means that I have a 75% to a 50% chance of surviving this and a 20% chance of re-occurence without radiation therapy, which I am getting.  So the odds sound pretty good to me, and besides, I have already lived a long and full life without many regrets.  I am ready to move on if that is what my Maker has decided.  Thank you all for your kind words and well wishes.  They have touched me deeply.  I will know more next week on the 4th after my "team"  meets to decide status and course of treatment.  So I will update you all then, or Katt will.  Until then, Christ's blessings on you all.

EDIT 5: June 26, 2013 - 6:30AM
For those who might be interested, I have a folder in my gallery of my mother's art and crafts she has done over the years. There aren't many that she still has (a lot were sold or given away over the years) but I will add more as we go through some stuff and she decides she wants to share more things she has made or drawn.

EDIT 6: June 27, 2013 - 4:18PM
As some of you have already noticed, mom's been the one responding directly to comments below while anything from me is posted in the journal itself as Edits.  I think that reading and responding to my friends and watchers here has helped her on an emotional level and she seems to be feeling better in that sense, so thank you hugely, all of you.  State of mind is a big part of living, and when it comes to fighting illness, a positive mindset is crucial towards recovery.  As some of you already know, I'm a big advocate for natural healing, from the energy work I do to herbal tinctures and their ability to boost our body's ability to heal itself or help it along when its struggling.  To that end, I am going to be picking up some Essiac tea today (hopefully) so mom can start on that.  It's something we've known about since the early 1990's and I'm very glad we did.  I'm hopeful this will be helpful in reducing the problems and hopefully make the more dangerous options less necessary, if not eliminate them altogether.  For those wondering what that is, here's a bit of info for you:

BURDOCK ROOT (Arctium Lappa)
Burdock contains high amounts of inulin and mucilage. Herbalists have used burdock as a liver tonic, diaphoretic and diuretic, blood purifier, laxative, antipyretic, and antimicrobial and for a variety of dermatologic conditions.
Note: This normally comes from Turkey.  Make sure it is NOT irradiated!

SLIPPERY ELM BARK (Ulmus Fulva)
Slippery elm contains large amounts of tannins and mucilages. Due to its high mucilage content, slippery elm bark has been traditionally used to treat irritations of the skin and mucus membranes.

SHEEP SORREL LEAVES (Rumex Acetosella)
Sheep sorrel contains large amounts of tannins which are known to act as astringents. Herbalists have used sheep sorrel as a diuretic, as an antibacterial and to soothe irritated nasal passages.
Note: Make very sure it's actually Sheep Sorrel, not another type of sorrel.

INDIAN RHUBARB ROOT (Rheum Officinale)
Rhubarb root has been traditionally used to help cleanse the liver, stomach and blood. The root contains anthraquinones that act as stimulant laxatives and tannins that act as astringents.

Be sure to get them ORGANIC, it'll work better for you than ones that have been exposed to pesticides and such.  If you're interested in learning more about this herbal treatment, visit this site for its origins and contents, or pick up this book and/or this book for further information.

EDIT 7: July 1, 2013
From Mom --> comments.deviantart.com/1/3777…

EDIT 8: July 4, 2013
FROM MARCE,
Good news, bad news and a funny.
Well, the "tumor board' met today and the plan remains the same.  Monday, the 8th they will do a "planning CT scan" where they will then tattoo "dots" on me to use for targeting the radiation treatments.  I swore I would never have a tattoo because the Bible is against cutting or other forms of marking the body.  But I guess a couple more dots here and there won't be noticeable among all my freckles and moles.  Told Katt about it and she rolled her eyes.  She was never allowed to have tats, though she did have a few temps.  (She laughed when I told her I had to explain to the Dr what a temporary tattoo was!)  I guess it will be alright unless someone decides to play connect the dots when I am out later during surgery.  While he was examining me, he thumped on my stomach and I said it sounded like a watermelon.  He said it was supposed to, and I replied that I would remember that!  Katt thought that was funny too.  But then she seems easily amused today.

Anyway, beginning the 15th, Monday, I start chemo (pills, 2 a day) and radiation 5 days a week for 28 treatments.  Then nothing for 6 weeks, then the surgery.  I will still have to have the dreaded "bag" (the bad news).  The good news is that the spots on my spine were determined to be benign, but they will still keep a watch on them during this whole process.

So, hope everyone has a safe and happy fourth of July!  See ya  on the back side.
God bless all, Marce.

EDIT 9: July 10, 2013
Today is my son's 12th birthday and things just could not be worse...  Saturday (July 6th) my mother woke up and started shaking so bad she was having severe muscle spasms, teeth chattering, headache, lower abdominal pain, and all kinds of issues.  We got the shaking to subside and by Monday (July 8th) around 9pm she was doing a lot better so we thought the episode had passed, believing she was having a bad reaction to being bloated from eating cabbage - a problem she had never had before, but would explain the bloating since cabbage and broccoli give you gas.  Then yesterday morning (July 9th) it started all over again!  We got the symptoms under control and I downright insisted she go to the hospital.  She was so weak she had to sit on her walker while I pushed her like she was in a wheelchair to the bus and into the hospital.  We got there at 1pm and they gave her a bag of fluids, did an x-ray and CT scan, tested her vitals, tested her urine, and kept a watch on her while I sat there with her.  Come to find out, the tumor had grown so large that it had shifted down into her pelvis and torn her bowels open.  Thankfully the infection was contained and localized and had not spread through her abdominal cavity and gone septic on her.  She went into emergency surgery at around 9pm and I got a call from the doctor at just before 1am.  The tumor is too large to remove, but they did give her a "bag" and are dealing with the perforation and the infection.  If I had not insisted on her going to the hospital, it would have spread quickly, gone septic, and killed her within a week or two at most.  So they are keeping her at the hospital for 5 to 10 days, and with her poor health and diabetes, I'm fully expecting them to keep her the full 10 days.  This of course has delayed the start of Radiation and Chemo until she recovers from the infection and surgery...  I want her on Essiac but the doctors of course say "No, don't do that, it doesn't work." and right now I can't afford it...  >.<

The only good thing out of this was that she n I got to talk to my son on the phone yesterday and wish him a happy birthday.  But then my ex's mother hates us and refuses to allow my son to have anything to do with us after they lied in court to get him from me in the first place, and the gods only know what lies they told him about us (which I'm sure he knows are lies).  I know he wants to be with us, he's stated as such repeatedly, but they refuse to permit him to even visit us.  Well, I will tell you this, my son is extremely intelligent and has been very aware his whole life, he knows damned well what's up.  They won't let him come over because he's old enough now to remember how to get here and he will take it upon himself to get away from them and come over on his own.  They can not stop him from coming over of his own accord and at age 12, children in this state can choose with whom they want to live.  I will see my son again and he will make his own choices on where he wants to be.

EDIT 10: July 26, 2013
Well, on July 18th she was taken to a care facility closer to where we live to tend to her still somewhat open incision (they couldn't close it completely because of the infection), then on the 24th her incision started bleeding and discharging green fluid.  They took a sample for analysis and after seeing her surgeon today, come to find out, the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes, making it stage three and dropping her chances of survival to 50%.  We haven't been able to afford the Essiac yet, though a friend did get us some Bloodroot extract (thanks Steamstrike).  She's going in for another surgery today at around 5:30pm, and she may be staying at the hospital over night.  Pain has increased, so she is not doing as well as we had hoped.  >.<

EDIT 11: August 1, 2013
As if the news about mom's cancer that perforated her bowel that resulted in an infection and emergency surgery wasn't bad enough, now come to find out, she has a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection on top of it.  MRSA is very contagious, spreads easily, and if it gets into the blood stream it can be fatal.  >.<  This crap keeps up, I'll end up losing my mother before the year is out...

EDIT 12: August 7, 2013
FROM MARCE,
Went to a new Dr yesterday, and he is referring me to the UW (University of Washington Medical Center) who will hopefully take me on.  The MRSA spot has doubled in size and is right next to my stoma, which means that it is in my system.  They are continuing antibiotics until Sunday, and then doing a reculture.  So, I will be staying here another week.  I also thank you Steamstrike, and now we also have the Essiac, which I will start on Monday.

We ask for your continued prayers and well wishes and thank you all.
Marce.

EDIT 13: August 17, 2013
Well, they finally started getting the MRSA to shrink, which is good news, though mom does have a secondary infection now as well, so they're treating that too.  Unfortunately, she has been dealing with dehydration for a couple days and high blood pressure.  Today we found out she has low blood oxygen and suffered a TIA this morning.  The nursing staff sure came running to take care of her though.  I like the people at Manorcare, they are taking good care of her, though a couple of them have kind of dropped the ball on things, which she has expressed her displeasure over.  They are dealing with it though, which is good.

My mother did get the shock of her life, Tuesday I think it was, when a new patient there decided to come quietly wandering (sneaking, more like) into her room with his walker and wearing just a t-shirt.  He claimed he was looking for a way out, but being half naked and going into lady's rooms with a hard on?  Yeah, I don't think so.  She kept her door barricaded shut when she slept until they moved him to a more secure wing.  At least they took care of the situation and as soon as they knew there was a problem they kept the guy on very close watch from then on.  So yeah, good people there.

EDIT 14: September 8, 2013
I realize it's been a while since I updated this, so here's the run down:
August 28th, mom came home finally now that the incision in her stomach has healed (though she has a gnarly scar now).  We also got confirmation that all her meds and supplies are fully covered so we don't have to try and pay for everything (except the Essiac and Bloodroot extract).
September 5th, we got word from the manager that we are going to be moving into a two bedroom unit here in the complex (the building next door actually), so that will help us out a lot.
September 6th, the doctor finally pulled the IV pic line out of her arm now that the MRSA and the other infection are gone.
September 7th, we finally got news from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance that they are taking on her case, so she will be going up there on the 12th for a meeting with all the people who will be working her case and taking care of her.

I will post more as new info comes in.

EDIT 15: September 19, 2013
The incision site had healed well when she came home, then lately she had been in increasing pain but we had no idea why.  The incision site had grown red, then tonight it ruptured, gushing blood and fluid.  I called 911 and had them take her to St Joe's, though I couldn't go with her because I would have no way home.  I'm calling all her doctors first thing in the morning and going over there to see her right after.  I'm shaking so bad right now.  As it is I nearly lost her July 9th, am I going to end up on the verge of losing her again?  >.<

Update:
The nasty infection has returned and has tunneled through between the incision and where the drain was after the emergency surgery July 9th, which is what caused the rupture of her incision.  They had to open the wound further to evacuate as much as they could and pack it; it's bad, but may not be as bad as we feared, they've determined that the hole is around 3 inches deep at this point and are keeping her there for at least a couple days.  Depending on the results of the CT scan, they may take her into surgery, which would mean a longer stay.  They have her on IV antibiotics and gave her morphine for the pain.  We will know more in the morning when I go over there to see her.

EDIT 16: September 20, 2013
We just found out it's worse than we were initially told.  They think there is a second tumor that has grown and one of them has a fistula that has been draining icky fluid into her abdominal cavity which is causing this infection that ruptured her incision last night.  They are talking about surgery today but we don't know when and they are not telling her anything which is pissing us both off at this point.  I am seriously stressed the fuck out, and because of it, my normally mild to moderate Restless-Leg-Syndrome symptoms have of course amplified and would not let me sleep at all last night.  I seriously do not know how much more of this shit I can take before I break down completely...  >.<

Update:
Well, no surgery today, so they have her on Vancomiacin twice a day, plus another antibiotic twice a day, a constant IV bag, monitors, and intermittent oxygen as needed.  Got the results back and it's just one tumor, which has grown (it may only be the fluid filled tumor core of dead tissue that has grown) and her body is trying to get rid of it and is ejecting pieces of it.  The fistula (tissue tube filled with fluid and puss) infection tunneled through connecting the two parts of her colon and did not heal properly so it's passing puss and crap out rectally and through the stoma, which caused the eruption last night, so they are trying to heal it from the inside out (they opened, vacuumed out, and are packing the wound) and get rid of the infection, then they are talking about sending her to Seattle to go ahead with the surgery because something keeps happening and stalling the "plan" they were trying to do, meanwhile the tumor keeps growing and will kill her before they get to even start the stupid plan.  They are giving her Dilaudid (hydromorphone hydrochloride) for the pain.  Come to find out, this thing started while she was in Manorcare when she thought she had pulled a muscle and they thought she had healed was actually this infection, so they are going to make damned sure it's gone this time.  She kept putting off taking the Essiac and Bloodroot extract because she was in pain, was nauseous, and didn't feel good at all so she was hardly eating anything, and now we know why...  >.<

I will tell you this - chocolate icecream smothered in blueberries, raspberries, and whipped cream makes for some pretty yummy comfort food.  **digs in and noms**  I think I'll cook up the lobster tail and heat up some of that colecannon in a bit as well.  It may not really help the situation, but for the moment, it helps me destress and step away from things so I don't have a total emotional meltdown from all of this.  That, more than anything is what I need right now since there's really nothing I can do, and my mother needs all the help and prayers you are willing to send her way.

EDIT 17: September 21, 2013
Well, they sent her to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance place.  Looks like they're going to try surgery, though currently they give a "Guarded Prognosis" because of the severity of the issue.  Essentially the infection is coming from the tumor so there's no way to "cure" the infection without operating, yet the doctors at St Joe's say they can't operate while the infection is there.  Essentially they've given my mother a death sentence without outright saying it and if she dies, I become homeless since I am not allowed to stay and take over her apartment here and apartment complexes typically have a minimum 6 month waiting list (most are a year or more).  Because I'm a "Live-In Aide", if she leaves for any reason (moves out or dies), I have to move out immediately and take all her stuff and all five cats with me.  I can't just get on an apartment waiting list and try to find a place to move to because she needs me here if she does survive this.  And the friends I do have are either not local thus I can't move there, and the ones that are local can NOT take me in if she does die.  >.<  As if my life couldn't get any more stressful...

EDIT 18: September 22, 2013
The fistula that runs from the tumor to the bowel, between all the draining and vacuuming out they did at St Joe's, she's no longer hurting at least.  At SCCA, they are maintaining the drain and wound packing to keep the infection down, along with continuing with the Vancomiacin and IV fluids to keep it from spreading.  They are looking at options to get rid of the fistula, which may include surgical removal.  We'll know more hopefully tomorrow once the doctors have gone over all the information and everything is set in motion.  Things are still "guarded", but at least she's not in pain.

EDIT 19: October 15, 2013
Mom's been home for a while and we've been to SCCA and her regular doctor, we have a wheel chair now for when we need it, and her doctor at SCCA has flat stated he wants me to keep pushing her to get up and do things to increase her strength and ability to function, which will help her recovery.  The maintenance guy at her apartment complex told us about Hemp Oil, which he used on his own cancer, so I picked up some for mom yesterday.  There has been studies and trials using Hemp Oil on cancer, diabetes, and various kinds of infections with positive results.  So we'll see how that goes.  The wound is healing well and the tunnel seems to be gone, so that's at least good.  We see more of her doctors this week, and I think they're looking to start chemo and radiation by next month.

As for the move, this bullshit with the government may end up stalling it for I don't know how long...

EDIT 20: October 16, 2013
As if it couldn't get any worse...  Well, now we know that not only does mom have colon cancer, there is apparently a cyst in the tumor, but it can't be drained because it risks seeding the cancer (as if the rupture and sloughing off pieces of the thing wasn't doing that already?), and now she has a small suspicious lump in both lungs.  Plus she's been getting more and more nauseous and having a harder time keeping anything down.  At least she has some nausea medication now, so that helps.  But it's to the point she's started getting suicidal, so she's asked for a referral to a therapist.  She's been lashing out at pretty much everyone saying everyone is lying to her and no one cares what happens to her, including me.  Yet if I try to counter her accusations with facts, all I get is "Shut up, I don't want to hear it!" and more irrational accusations of how all I do is lie to her, that I don't care, and that all I do is use and manipulate her.  So yeah, she is not doing well at all.  >.<  As for me, I don't think it matters at all at this point.

EDIT 21: November 1, 2013
Well, she had to go BACK to the hospital because the tumor has grown and is now pushing on her kidneys and gave her an extremely painful UTI (which seems to be recurring).  Because it has grown so large so quickly, they started her on Chemo and Radiation earlier this week, not willing to wait anymore.  She has a chest port they put in and are using that to give her the chemo for now, then they are going to start her on the pills probably Monday and see how she tolerates that.  Her chemo doctor is all kinds of on the ball and downright protective of her I noticed.  I really like him.  He is going to get her a Green Card and a dispensary listing so we can get her on Hemp Oil as well.  I think at this point he is willing to do whatever is necessary to take away her pain and get rid of this cancer.

She does still have her sense of humor though.  One of the nurses was trying to draw blood from her pic line and at one point handed mom the syringe and asked her to hold it for a sec.  She looked at it and said, "Wait, tomorrow is Halloween.  This would be awesome, it's the real thing and there's just the right amount!  I wonder how fast it dries?"  The nurse was creeped out by that and said, "What, going around scaring people 'I have AIDS' or something?"  My mother clarified that she would go as a Vampire, which apparently only served to creep her out more and she took the syringe away.  XD  I thought it was hilarious and a few others did too, but apparently that one nurse has no sense of humor.  Gee, and people wonder where I get my warped and morbid sense of humor from.

EDIT 22: November 6, 2013
Well, bad reaction to the chemo, she now has sores in her mouth and throat that make it extremely painful for her to swallow let alone eat anything, though she is trying as much as she can.  I went to see her again today and got her feet washed, toe nails cut, and lotion rubbed on them to help sooth her feet.  I also took some Puffs with lotion and some vanilla pudding so she can at least eat SOMETHING without it hurting too much.

I have been duly informed by my mother that her IV machine is now named MO after her favourite robot from Wall-E.  XD  Also, I found this squishy soft and utterly adorable plush moose and bought him for her which made her smile, and she has named him Cleatus after the Fox Sports Team Robot, who is just bloody awesome, and because moose hooves sound like football cleats when they walk on hard surfaces.



EDIT 23: November 11, 2013
I don't know if she is getting better or not at this point.  She's been passing chunks of the tumor (some as large as a golf ball) which we are hoping is a good thing, and now I find out that she's also started passing dark green goo and is having increasing abdominal pain again.  I'm going over to see her tomorrow and if I find out anything more, I will let you guys know.  I found a pretty angel pin that I picked up and will be pinning it to Cleatus' scarf.

EDIT 24: November 19, 2013
Well, mom came home Friday (November 15th) and Yesterday (November 18th) we found out she may have another infection.  They took another set of blood cultures to be sure, and if positive, she'll be going back to the hospital again to deal with that.  All total from July 9th through November 15th, she's only been home for a total of 40 days.  She is understandably frustrated.  >.<

EDIT 25: November 20, 2013
Well, she's back in the hospital with a Staph infection in the chest port they put in.  The chest port itself is a catheter that runs through the chest wall to her heart, which they can easily access with a needle through the skin.  So, having an infection there is very bad.  So yeah, she's going to be in the hospital for another week to ten days.  >.<  Oh joy of joys...  We're BOTH getting sick of this crap...

You know you're spending too much time at the hospital when you not only know where everything is, but you're on a first name basis with more than half the staff, including the cafe crew (and they give you a staff discount), and you know the odd quirks of the machinery too!  **facedesks**  Somebody shoot me please?!?

EDIT 26: November 28, 2013
Well, seems they got rid of the Staph infection, but had to remove the chest port and send it for testing.  Oh joy of joys.  So, she came home yesterday afternoon and she gets to spend Turkey Day onwards at home.  She's happy about that.  But chemo and radiation start up again Monday, but she only has a week left of that so there is that.  Oh, and I did get a photo of Cleatus the Moose with Mo the IV machine.  XD  Check my gallery for it.

EDIT 27: January 3, 2014
From Marce:
Actually, no radiation, but continued chemo pills - one week on and one week off until the surgery.  During the week off, I will be taking Essiac and Blood Root Extract.  Just saw Dr. Chaves and got the great news - they are so happy they can hardly keep from dancing (Amy did, and Chaves couldn't stop smiling).  I felt like dancing too!  My CT Scan from last Friday showed that my tumor went from over 15 cm down to 3.7 x 3.1 cm, with no lymph involvement or other problems - in other words, it decreased in size beyond what they were even hoping for.  So now I am waiting for a surgery date, which will probably be this month.  Have to sign off for now, as today is payday for us and we have places to go and things to do.  Happy New Year to all, and may your year be as bright as mine looks to be!

Thank you EVERYONE for your prayers and well wishes, I could feel all the good energy from you guys, so thank you immensely.  My daughter has met such wonderful people on here, for which I am very grateful.

I thought that this was going to be my last Christmas, so I maxed out all my credit cards so we would have a really great Christmas - Katt made out like a bandit.  Gee, guess now I will actually have to pay all those credit card bills - well "Scrap."  But being alive is so-o-o worth it!  Now I'll get to see the new Transformers movies and series coming up!  YAAAYYY!

EDIT 28: March 7, 2014
Well, mom went in for surgery February 26th and all went well.  Now that we've gotten the post-op report, I can update you all.  The only complication during surgery was one of the urethral tubes from kidney to bladder accidentally got cut so they had to deal with that and she has a temporary tube there til that heals along with a surgery drain tube, they had to move the ostomy because the area had herniated so they had to fix that as well, they got the fistula that had formed as well as the diminished tumor.  There were still live cells in the tumor itself, but nothing in the glands, nothing in the margins, she is now totally cancer free.  She gets transferred to Manor Care today at around 1pm and will be there til she heals and the remaining drain and other tubes are removed.  After that she will be able to be up and moving around so she will be able to come home.  There's a 50/50 chance that in 3-4 months the ostomy will be reversed and she will be back to normal, depending on how she heals from this, which we are hoping for.  If that happens, she will go through surgery one more time, then return to Manor Care til she is healed, then she'll be home for good.  After that, we will see what happens regarding the living situation, whether we get moved to a 2 bedroom or I move back into my own apartment again (though certainly not the same one I had before).  Thanks immensely for all your prayers and well wishes, this was the best outcome we could have hoped for.

An update on the update:
Apparently I was slightly wrong on my info.  Mom is completely cancer free, that is confirmed, though she has a 30% chance of it coming back which we will stave off with Essiac and Bloodroot extract.  Between 2 and 9 weeks from now, she gets the staples out, the drain tube removed, and the pee bag removed, then in 3 to 4 months, she goes back in to surgery to completely reconstruct her colon and render her back to normal with no poo bag to deal with (the one she has is confirmed temporary).  We're both really happy about that one, I assure you.  Then it looks like once she's completely healed up and back to normal she won't be needing me to take care of her anymore and I'll be moving to my own apartment again (which I'm quite happy about).  I love my mom, but we really should not be living in the same place together.  XD  Two strong willed, independent, and dominant women in the same house?  Yeah, bad idea for the long term at least, though short term is sort of workable (as in a year or less).

EDIT 29: April 3, 2014
Well shit...  We learned that there is now apparently a mass on her liver that they are fairly certain is cancer, though it is as yet unconfirmed.  She goes in for a biopsy in two weeks, then sees her doctor again the following week.  If it is confirmed to be cancer, then she gets to go back on chemo for two months, then another surgery to remove it.  **sighs**  She's already to the point she can't take care of herself and can barely get to and from the bathroom...  This shit REALLY needs to stop...  At this point they're giving her a 10% chance of surviving the next 5 years...  And here we thought she was well on the mend and things were looking up, but nooooooo, we have more of this shit to deal with...  And people wonder why I'm so stressed out all the bloody time anymore...  >.<

EDIT 30: June 2, 2014
Well, we finally got confirmation on what's actually happening.  Back in 1988 mom had a partial hysterectomy to remove her uterus (adniomyosis and masses of fibroid tumors throughout) and her left ovary (it had detached itself, went visiting her intestines and attached itself there).  Apparently they didn't get it all and the ovarian tissue that was still attached to her large intestine went cancerous, thus the issues we have now - Ovarian cancer that had spread through part of the sigmoid region of her colon and they had to remove and resection that along with removing the right ovary and part of what was left of her vaginal cavity and some fatty tissue.  Biopsies done on the lesion on her liver and the tumor removed from her colon confirm that it's ovarian, not colon cancer.  Good news is ovarian cancer has a higher survival rate than colon cancer.  Bad news is it's much more painful to die from it, and it's aggressive.

She's on weekly chemo infusions for the next few weeks and will be referred to a surgeon very soon to remove what's left.  If I'm understanding this right, chemo for 1 to 2 months at most, then surgery.  Hopefully a more favourable outcome than we expected initially, since she has a better chance than we thought.  Still, the risk is not good and she could still die from all this.  She's not doing well as it is - she can't stand for more than a very few minutes without risking a fall or blacking out, and can't sit up for long periods either.  We're working on getting her an electric wheelchair currently, me pushing her around in a regular one is tearing the hell out of my shoulders as it is and she needs to be able to get around to her appointments and such on her own, as much for her own sanity as anything else (like me, she's rather independent that way).  We're also trying to get better housing arrangements as well, preferably me in my own apartment honestly.  We'll see how things go.

EDIT 31: July 11, 2014
Well, we have things confirmed now, she will be on chemo through mid August, and on the 18th she goes up to Seattle to see her surgeons up there for assessment and surgery scheduling.  One doc will reverse the temporary ostomy so she will be completely bag free and back to normal again, while the other doc will be removing the tumor from her liver.  From there she will be in the hospital and possibly a care facility for a bit while she recovers from surgery, then she'll have one more round of chemo to make sure it's gone and confirm her as cancer free.  After that, it'll be getting her back to normal and doing things on her own again.  So here's to hoping for the best outcome here, and hopefully this time it stays good.

EDIT 32: July 13, 2014
Mom went to the hospital with serious dehydration and sores on her inner thighs and bottom that were so painful she couldn't move, let alone sit down.  They said she has a bladder infection and chronic kidney disease, though her kidney numbers were a little better than they were Wednesday last week.  They also did a chest xray, a ct scan, and some blood work, so we'll see what happens from here.

EDIT 33: July 15, 2014
The new ct scan at the hospital showed the lesion on her liver, which was originally 2.8cm and had grown to 4.5cm, has shrunk to 2.2cm.  So good news there!  The sores that showed up on her legs and butt are apparently a staph infection, plus everything else, so yeah.  She's going to be at the hospital for a bit still.  I'll be going over later in the week to take a few things to her to help make her more comfortable while she's there.  I swear, with all the weird problems she's been having, she should be written up in a medical journal or something...  >.<

EDIT 34: July 17, 2014
Well, apparently it's not Staph, it's MRSA all over again.  **facepalms**  So yeah, they're keeping her for at least 10 days to try to heal her up and get her over the infections...  **sigh**

At least the Aide that's supposed to come over in the mornings can finally start once mom's ready to come back home.  I can't keep doing everything by myself (my shoulders and feet are already tore up as it is) and trying to get her to do even a little, like going through a few papers while reclining on her bed, is like pulling teeth (in spite of the fact that her doctors flat told me in front of her to make her do things to keep up her strength), yet she'll do whatever she's asked by anyone else.  >.<  I try to be independent yet she insists on controlling my life, I try to get her to help herself and she fights me on it every step of the way, and then I get blamed because she's too weak to do anything but lay there and read a book and is dehydrated and having kidney problems because she won't eat or drink hardly anything when I do put it in front of her as she "asks".

Apparently that's supposed to be "normal" mother-daughter behaviour.  There's nothing normal about it!  I want to live my life and have control of my things and what I do in my life, yet I'm called a control freak while she would come over to my apartment and insist she has to tell me how to rearrange my house because she doesn't like how I have it arranged?  Bloody Hell!  And people wonder why I'm stressed the fuck out all the time and can't draw or write shit anymore...  >.<

EDIT 35: August 16, 2014
Well, Tuesday we go to Seattle to see her surgeons and get her surgery scheduled.  That means what's left of the lesion on her liver gets removed and no more ostomy bag.  Incidentally, she was supposed to go through three rounds of three chemo treatments (totaling nine), but after only two of them, not only did the tumor shrink by just over half, but her cancer markers went from well over 1100 in May down to 12 when they checked last month.  Talk about getting bitch slapped!  The cancer was all "Alright!  I Give!"  LOL  So things are looking good for the upcoming surgery, thus far.  I'll update again after the appointment Tuesday.

EDIT 36: November 28, 2014
Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been rather hectic of late around here with so many things going on.  BUT, mom had her surgery on September 18th and as they removed part of her liver along with the quite dead remains of the tumor, and reversed the temporary ostomy bag she had (no more shit bags, YAY!).  She bled out and almost died on the operating table, however, so they had to give her seven units of blood (four, then two, then another one) over the course of two weeks or so.  They also had to give her some fluid along with it.  She had some issues coming home and had to go back into the hospital to deal with severe bloating and fluid in her lungs making it nearly impossible to breathe, let alone feed herself because her hands and arms (as well as the rest of her body) were so swollen she couldn't even grasp a spoon in her fingertips.  She still has some fluid in her right lung and she's trying to build her energy and stamina back up again, but otherwise she's mostly back to relative normal.  She's still not eating quite normal amounts (stomach of a mouse much?) and still has issues with random no warning nausea and coughing to the point of near vomiting (if not actual vomiting).  We're working on it, it's slow going but still.  She has a care giver that comes five days a week (Monday through Friday) from 8:30 til 2:30ish, which helps take a lot of the load and stress off me and frees me up to be able to start tracking down an apartment so I can move back out on my own again.  I love my mom, but I'm looking forward to being back in my own place again.

EDIT 37: September 11, 2015
It's been insanity around here for the last 10 months.  With the holidays in November/December, then packing everything to move the end of January, trying to get the new apartment arranged and settled, getting me on a list to move into my own apartment (18-24 month wait list as of January 2015), dealing with ongoing appointments and replacing mom's Copes worker, plus my ending up as staff on a geek culture podcast and all those responsibilities, going to Norwescon again after not having gone for 4 years, reconnecting with my now 14 year old son after little to no contact with him for nearly a decade (long story, don't ask), mom going through yet MORE chemo because the cancer had moved into her right lung...  Yeah, a lot of crap going on around here.

HOWEVER!  I went with mom to see her Oncologist today after she had a CT scan and blood drawn Wednesday.  We got the news that her cancer is officially considered to be in remission! **dances** Happy day indeed! Two and a half years of fighting this thing and there's finally a light at the end of this stressful dark tunnel, and it's not a freight train coming at us!  She's going to be getting an Avastin shot every three weeks to hopefully prevent the cancer from returning and they're going to keep a slagging close eye on everything to make sure.  If it does come back, they have a plan already in place.