This just in: Dr. Zhang wants to do a "special scan" on Friday. He wants to look as carefully as he can at the tumor before going in. The tumor is right on the edge of the part of the brain that handles motor skills and movement on the right side of the body. Therefore, he wants to do everything he can to avoid harming Mom in any way. Surgery is planned now for Monday.

Yesterday we talked with the Neuro Oncologist, Dr. New, a rather ironic name. As it turns out, Dr. New is rather old. A soft-spoken woman that looked as if she arrived with the Mayflower, she's very fragile looking. Her skin is so thin I could see her hand bones. We heard that on one occasion a patient she was talking with sneezed and blew her across the hall into a storage closet.

Dr. New asked a lot of questions, let Mom go into all kinds of details about her condition and then said that most likely this is a type of tumor called Glioma. Here's what the Mayo Clinic writes about it:

Glioma is the medical term for a tumor that begins in the brain or spinal cord. Gliomas are the most common form of primary brain tumor. Treatment options depend on the specific type, size and location of the glioma. Outcomes can vary widely, even among people with similar gliomas.

Dr. New stayed a while and ended her visit by saying they had treatments for all types of brain tumor. In Mom's case, there will likely be six weeks of daily radiation therapy which is given on an out-patient basis. This will be followed by oral chemo. I think she said three months of that.

We also spoke to other people including a friend who is a radioology oncologist there at Methodist. He said this is survivable. I feel much better, partly because the news are positive given the circumstances and partly because I'm also learning to deal with my feelings about all this.

Love you all.