My grandmother has had a tumor which has been steadily growing. A few years ago it was about the size of a peach and has currently grown to about grapefruit sized. She never wanted to do surgery as she was 80 when diagnosed and had already had triple bipass and a couple of strokes. I respected her decision to try and live the rest of her life as comfortably as she could.

Not only has her tumor been growing but her skin has been turning dark, almost black. Yesterday, her tumor ruptured and she bled black blood through her nipple My dad said that at first it was a little and then later it started bleeding again but a lot. Eventually the black blood turned red.

They took her to the hospital and basically they said there is nothing they can do for her. They tried to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding but it did not help. So now it's bleeding intermittently. Her breast is softer and the pain is more or less gone. It must have felt like a toothache, throbbing pressure. My poor grandma.

Has anyone known anyone that experienced this? Is this a sign that she's in the stage of dying? If anyone knows someone this happened to, did it just heal on it's own or did the blood build back up in the tumor?

I talked to her this morning and she's scared and reminded me not to forget to come see her. I'm going to see her tomorrow.

Damn ...




I love you


I have nothing of value to tell you, no experience or knowledge to share

just my love


I will send your granny Reiki ~

Mach said:

Thank you Machaela, it means so much to me.

I am so sorry to hear this. I can't give you any advice, but you and your grandmother are in my thoughts .

Serious said:

Thank you Martina The gravity of life right now.....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Try to stay strong and don't give up hope . And don't forget there are many people who care about you .
[Edited 6/18/09 10:09am]

Serious said:

I am so thankful that I came out to her and stopped wasting time. We have connected like you wouldn't believe. I still have to finish the account of coming out and everything else that has happened. There is so much.

We have had a chance to share her journey in this thing and I'm glad we have been able to take down all the walls and get real in the most beautiful of ways. I walked through a door when I came out to her. I hope that she is comforted that I am walking with her until she goes to the other side. I hope she is comforted.....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I am sure she is comforted and you should be comforted by it too. And it's a wonderful thing that you opened up to her and that the two of you have such a new understanding going on now .

So sorry to hear that Supa. Here's a link regarding different types of cancers. Hope that helps. All you can do is try to keep her comfortable, love and pray for her. My job involves dealing with cancer patients on a daily basis. I work for a physician who deals with cancer patients, and we have some that do have breast cancer although that is not his specialty.


http://www.cancer.gov/
[Edited 6/18/09 18:32pm]

Cancer is a bitch, my Mother died of breast cancer 12 years ago.
There came a time when not all the medication in the world would ease her pain.
My heartfelt prayers go out to your Grandmother and to you my dear. Stay strong and enjoy her now.

I don't have any advice either. There's been cancer deaths in my family but non breast cancer.

Just posting to let you know I'm sending you love and good thoughts.

First of all I just want to say how sorry I am to hear that your Grandmother is suffering from this terrible disease.

The cancer is now very advanced because of the rupturing and bleeding. Please tell her to keep an eye on it because of ulceration which is incredibly painful.

She should at this stage have an MRI to see what stage this cancer is at and they can give appropriate medicine to make her comfortable and just give nursing care for the tumour.

Your Grandmother is a very very brave lady and my heart goes out to her.

blueblossom said:

I agree wholeheartedly! to you supa and to grandma vicenta

I haven't been able to find much as far as what it means for life expectancy.
But I did see that as the cancer takes over other areas she may start to experience other symptoms. If it goes to her lungs, she may have trouble breathing. If it goes to her bones she may have bone pain. Liver, jaundice. Brain, mental confusion. Cancer is a bitch.

Love her, babe.

Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement and support. I truly truly truly appreciate it.

I talked to my grandma at lunch to see how she was feeling and she said she was feeling OK. I asked her if she was in pain and she said that the pain is way way less than before.

She fell a few weeks ago and spent a little time in a rehabilitation nursing home and while she was there she explained the pain to me. She said it felt like she was being stabbed in the breast with an ice pick She said that she has some itching more than any pain but that it feels better than before.

We talked and talked and she said she was happy that we have been getting closer and that when she dies she knows (I just had deja vu right now, 5:36....) that her grandkids are doing well and she knows how much we love her.

She said that she realizes she made the choice not to have treatment so she is accepting the situation for what it is and that she is just going to live each day the best she can. And here I am assassinating the guards at work for telling me to use the phone to call the operator She has every right to be a witch because she is hurting but she chooses to act responsibly. This is a lesson I'm learning from this.

I feel a little better knowing that she is processing this in the right way. She knows she made choices, she knows she can only accept it and move forward and live each day and in the end, isn't that all we can do anyway?

Sweetness, I am so sorry. You have a rare opportunity now with your grandmother and must try to spend as much time as possible with her. You could write down or video all of the stories she can remember about her life ~ this is your legacy ~ ask her all of the questions you will ever want the answers to and be sure she knows how important she is and how very much you love her. Let her know she is a very valued guide in your life just as you are to her. Much love to you and to your granny.
Tell her she has all of the positive energy of the org ~ that is a very special gift indeed.

My Mum passed away earlier this year from breast cancer, so I sympathise and understand what you're going through.

My Mum's situation was a little different as she opted to have surgery (a double mastectomy) after they discovered the lump (..and that it was malignant). For some people that's almost the end of it. If the doctors are confident that it hasn't spread beyond the lump, then only a small amount of treatment may be required.

Unfortunately for my Mum, her cancer had spread. Once this happens, it's really in the lap of the gods. There is of course treatment in certain circumstances depending on where it has spread and how it has responded to treatment. But in reality, there's not a great deal that can be done.

It's a shit situation and I really feel for you, but it sounds like your Grandmother is a strong person. The best you and your family can do is be there.

The only advice I would give is, don't be afraid of questioning doctors. To get the best care, to some extent, you have to take your health in your own hands. There are a lot of great doctors out there, but equally there are a lot of arrogant, dismissive asshole doctors.

Just remember that the most important person in this whole equation is your grandmother. If something a doctor says or does, feels wrong, don't be afraid to let them know.

Good luck. My thoughts are with you.

I know it's terrible to watch someone you love in pain. I feel for you and your grandma! I pray peace for you both!!!!

Not to go into a lot about myself, but I'm a six-year survivor of metastatic breast cancer (bone and possible liver involvement). My question is, was this tumor actually diagnosed as cancerous? If a malignant tumor had grown that big, I would really think that she would not have survived this long. It would surely have attacked other parts of her body (organs, bones). Could it be benign and now that it has burst, will heal?

Supa, I'm sorry to read this about your grandma. Much love and light to you and your grandma.

I don't often post here anymore but just wanted to send you and your Grandma love.

I'm so sorry.

Probably the best thing you can do for her at this point is to make sure they're managing her pain.

I hope that, when she decided not to have surgery, her doctor warned her that the tumor would likely end up ulcerating. I really do. It's something we mostly see in third-world countries, where surgery isn't an option. It looks awful. I'm sorry she's going through it.

I'm very sorry to hear about your grandmother, I'm praying for you and your family.

Hey honey,


I haven't experienced that with my mother. But the both of you are in my prayers.

Orgnote

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm so sorry sugar,

I'm happy that you enriched your relationship by opening up to her and I pray that she will know peace and comfort as much as possible. Give her a kiss for me and remember my love and prayers are with both of you.

babynoz said:

**Hugging and kissing grandma**

That's from Babynoz

Who?!



Thank you for your thoughts and wishes.

tackam said:

OK, I'm feeling that maybe someone needed to be there with her during all diagnosis and discussions because I'm questioning what the hell is really going on!

I found out this weekend that the cancer diagnoisis did not include a biopsy! Is it common for a cancer tumor to burst? I've never heard so but that doesn't mean it's not common. About a month ago, my grandma was at her doctor and he tells her she does not have cancer, that she has a rare french disease (mustafa, ostafa, ustapha - can't find anything on the net that resembles the way she pronounced it) that only 1 in 2,000,000 people get and one of the ways he diagnosed that was the fact that her skin was turning black. Now that the tumor has drained, her skin is turning back to its normal hue.

What if this is just an infection gone wild? The other thing is that all my grandmothers pain is GONE. She said she has no more pain. That has been my biggest concern, that she is in pain. Other than old lady aches and her back, her tumor isn't bothering her at. all.

dustysgirl said:

I'm wondering!

I'm glad you've survived dusty and my prayers and thoughts are with you for a life full of remission and that you remain cancer free