First, the good: My mom misspoke when she said "centimeters", she meant "millimeters". Turns out there was also a blood clot stuck on the tumor, which my dad passed yesterday morning. This made the mass look bigger than it was (19 mm).

Bad news: the tumor is malignant cancer, and will have to be removed. Surgery is next Wednesday morning. It is fairly small, at about the size of an eraser. After the surgery, they'll do internal chemo, then let it drain after an hour. 

So, overall, I am a lot less worried than I was yesterday. It's still a serious situation, but not as bad as we thought.

Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes! 

It's been a crazy last couple of weeks. I'm sitting here on the verge of tears, wondering what's going to happen next.

Last Tuesday, my mom called me at work to tell me that my grandma's tumor is malignant cancer. She has to have treatment to shrink the cancer before it can be removed. "Don't borrow trouble," my mom told me, "The doctor said to not worry until there is something to worry about."

Yesterday afternoon, my mom text message me three times in rapid succession.

"First off, your dad is fine. He slipped on the ice while on a fire call, and hurt his shoulder. Not sure if broken, maybe torn rotor cup, MRI when swelling goes down. City will pay, as in line of duty, +workman's comp. Keep you posted."

I messaged her earlier today, to find out how dad was, and to pass along our good wishes.

This afternoon, my mom had to take him back to the ER, because he had blood in his urine. They were concerned that perhaps he had injured a kidney in the fall.

If only.

They did an MRI, and he has a large mass in his bladder. 19cm. He's seeing a specialist tomorrow, and may have to be admitted.

Okay, now I'm shaking.

I could tell that my mom was on the verge of tears, and trying desperately to hold on, but like she said, it's just too much. Her mother, and now maybe my dad.

Life is not fair, I understand this.

My hope is that the fall will have been a fortunate event, in that it helped us catch something early, but the size of this thing is troubling. Right now, I am currently trying to get things done around the house, in case I need to go help my mom, or go to the hospital tomorrow night.

Just sitting here worried, and not sure what to do next...