Thank you, Christine. You're so helpful. Before I posted back when my mom was initially diagnosed, I found your posts to be so very informative. It's clear that you are using every opportunity to help others navigate all this, and I'm so glad you were able to be with your kids at these major milestones.

My mom saw her surgeon today, but before that, I shared all these posts with her. She is very grateful for the input from everyone.

She's going to "go for it," as she said today. She talked with her original surgeon. He said that it is totally up to her, and although he can support any decision to forgo the surgery if she chooses to, he is willing to do the surgery. He said that he would discontinue the surgery if he found that it's more widespread than it appears and the risks far outweigh the benefits, but he believed that even if he couldn't get clear margins, the surgery would serve to provide her more time with less pain. Mainly, it appeared that she was concerned she would be a burden on us if she had surgery. We told her that she is no burden, and we love her. So, it looks like, assuming blood work, etc., is ok, she'll do surgery next Thursday.

Thank you again for your insight. The support you provide is so reassuring.