My mother has brain cancer.
Nov 2024.
My mom had a seizure. We rushed her to the hospital. We were told there was some 'mass' in her brain. Post MRI, we were told it is a tumor.
Our world was shattered. We proceeded with the surgery and we were told post biopsy that it was malignant.
Grade 3 astrocytoma - IDH wildtype.
Meaning it wasn't brain tumor anymore. It was cancer.
We went on with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She began to recover. Initial scans didnt show any improvement.
Dec 2025.
Scans showed a reduction in the size of the tumor. We were happy. Like really happy. But it didnt last long. She started to have mild seizures 3 months later and we learnt that the tumor size had doubled out of nowhere.
Surgery was the only option. Risky, but the only option.
The doctor said even if the surgery is successful, it could buy her 6 more months. And if there is even a small error, she could be paralyzed or lose her speech.
My mother herself doesn't want the surgery.
We've been having relatives come over, cry and leave. I see my Dad losing sleep everyday. I see my mother crying out of headache sometimes and I feel helpless.
She vomits everyday. Has focal seizures almost everyday. Sometimes the medicines mess with her head and she says some really bad things to us and my Dad.
I know she doesn't mean it, but the look on my Dad's face when he sees his wife saying things she wouldn't even think of before breaks me.
Why is life so unfair ?
My Mom is the purest soul I know. Never wished ill on anyone. Always been helpful to everyone. Avoided unnecessary fights. She sacrificed her career for me and my brother, and now this.
I haven't been able to process this. I never imagined I'd have to live without my mother. I mean, I knew there will come a time, but not so soon. There is no single person in this world that I love more than my mother. Ever since I was a kid, she was the one I'd always go to.
I haven't shed a lot of tears. Because I haven't been able to process this.
Can anyone tell me how to deal with this ?