Confections For Cats

November 24, 2017 Where do I start? The story of Mathew's cancer did not start when the medical community finally recognized the problem. It started much earlier, but the road to Mathew's diagnosis is a tragedy and deserving of a blog of its own. This blog will begin with his long-overdue diagnosis. Sarcomas are the rarest cancers and predominantly affect the young and are often misdiagnosed with tragic consequences. Soft-tissue Sarcomas are usually fatal after months of devastating treatments. This is the story of Sarcoma. For reference: The number of new breast cancer diagnoses in the US is approximately 256,000.             Close to the population of Madison, Wisconsin. The number of Sarcomas diagnosed last year, 12,390.                             For a visual of this number see images for Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Ok. The number of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Sarcoma patients?                            The number of students in

Confections for Cats, A Journey through Sarcoma is a chronicle of my son's journey through Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Sarcoma. It is intended to educate and inspire by using Mathew’s thoughts and feelings, dreams and fears through a variety of mediums; art, music, and writing. Through factual experience, what we learned and what we wish we had known. Mathew’s desire was to give meaning to his journey and in the process help anyone else on a similar path. The last possible explanation in my mind for my son’s health problems was cancer. Even the words “the scan shows a large mass” didn’t lead me to conclude cancer and when the cancer diagnosis was confirmed, I still wasn’t prepared. My Mother is a breast cancer survivor and my sister Elizabeth passed away three years after her breast cancer diagnosis. I thought I knew what cancer treatment and living with cancer looked like, but none of us could imagine or be prepared for how all semblance of routine and normalcy had alre