Can we start over?

You know how I was determined that this year was going to be better than last year? That is not going as planned. The past few days especially have been rough.

One of my dear friends from middle and high school passed away last night. Tony was a fighter until the end, but his battle with cancer that began in 7th grade eventually took its toll. He was able to get married; fulfill his dream of becoming a chef and worked at one of the best Memphis restaurants, Restaurant Iris; and be a doting uncle and godfather to his sister and brother-in-law's two little boys. My heart breaks that his nephews will never know first-hand what a wonderful, brave man their uncle was and how much he adored them. When I went to see him Tuesday, Tony's first question was, "How are Jeff and Cooper?" Even in his final days, his concern was for others more than himself. The world has lost one of the good ones- a genuine soul whose strength knew no bounds. Tony will be sorely missed by those that knew him.

Wednesday, we found out that what were originally believed to be pre-cancerous cells in Mama's breast were actually harboring Stage 1A cancer cells, called invasive carcinoma. According to her surgeon, he removed a 2 inch area of LCIS (pre-cancerous) and even though he cut through the tissue to look for anything suspicious and held it in his hands, it was the pathologist who discovered the cancer. Right now, the plan is for her to be on Tamoxifen for 5 years and to undergo 7 weeks of 5 times a week radiation. However, there is a spot on her other breast that needs to be biopsied now that it has been confirmed that she has cancer. If that spot is cancerous as well, she is almost 100% positive she will opt to have a double mastectomy. Basically, we are in a holding pattern until March 7th, when she is scheduled for the biopsy and March 14th, when she meets with the oncologist.

Please pray for my family as we help Mama fight this battle that will be difficult, but definitely win. Please also keep Tony and his family in your prayers. They will need lots of strength to make it through.