Joe,
Hi. Your mom is going to appreciate everything that you do for her more than you will ever know. My mom is not speaking right now since she has a trache, but just to see her mouth the words "thank you" or "i love you" means so much to me.

These boards are the best support and most informative places you will find anywhere. I have found them to be a great help in my mom's treatments, by telling her some little bits from the boards (such as when someone is doing really well, or other good news) and, of course, I keep the bad stuff to myself. It is a good encouragement tool. I also use it to benchmark her progress compared to others at the same point in their treatments. Unfortunately it seems that she is a bit behind.

Also, this is a great place to go if you have a question or to do research. I cannot tell you all of the valuable information, tricks, etc. that I have learned here - to the point where I feel like I have the knowledge to ask the doctors for what we want, and they are things I would have never known to ask for if it was not for these boards.

If it is cancer (and remember, it is still an "IF") keep your head up. So many people here will tell you that being the caregiver is a difficult job, and it really is, but I could not imagine it any other way. Take care!

Amy