Squamous Cell Cancer-Part 1

Post this morning I am gone to post I want to write my own experiences loosing my sister to this kind of cancer. As I wrote in other posts: Her name was Peggy Lee, she was fifty one year's of age, a wife of thirty+ some year's to her husband who she have met when she was in her early teen age year's. She was a mother of seven, the youngest being eleven year's of age of her passing. She was a sister, who who was a year and half older than me. Growing up together in the same home, we weren't very close sister's and we had our little squabble's and differences as any other siblings have. As we grew older, we went our different ways. When she married her husband, we moved away from each other so we weren't in each other's life like we like too. Because of the last confrontation it caused some hard feelings which may have caused us our sister relationship distance from each other so we haven't spoke to each other in year's.

The year before her passing, husband and I travel down to see the younger sibling. When we arrived at the younger siblings home we weren't there no more than I believe what I can recall twenty minutes or so that her phone rang. She excused herself from her sitting room to answer the phone and it happen to be Peggy Lee who was on the other end. Peggy Lee reason for calling, was to ask our younger sibling to ask if Ada had any pickle juice. Peggy Lee loved her pickle juice. It just happen Ada had some stored in her refrigerator. I am assuming Ada's intention was to to deliver the pickle juice to Peggy Lee's house but did not work in that order. I couldn't hear the full conversation between Peggy Lee and Ada on the phone, first I was not paying attention to their conversation for that would of been rude and disrespect to listen in to their phone conversation and that is not in my nature who I am.

While having Peggy Lee still yet on the phone, Ada mentioned that I was there visiting. I didn't how it came over where my husband and I ended up delivering the pickle juice to Peggy Lee's house but we ended up getting volunteer to drive over to Peggy Lee's house to drop off the pickle juice. Now I haven't visit Peggy Lee for year's before this. It must of been I am going to say, maybe approximately eight or nine since we last spoke to each other. We cut our visit early at Ada's house so we could stop by to drop off Peggy's Lee pickle juice. Upon our arrival to her home, not yet husband parked the car, Peggy Lee was standing at her front door of her home waiting I guess for my husband and I. Finally, when the car was parked, I got out of the car and my husband stayed in the car for our plans were to only visit for a few minutes because there was still some issues between us two that was not settled. I can remember that visit vividly. Peggy Lee walked over to me and threw her arms around me to give me a hug, I hesitated responding hugging her back. First noticing upon our visit, Peggy Lee was thin as a rail, she had no fat on her whatsoever and her face was like a skeleton. I felt something was wrong, felt she was sick but she would not tell me nothing but the only face she had shared with me she had seizures. Peggy Lee was a very stubborn, bull headed sister, strong headed. She was a heavy smoker I was told through the grape vine and love the sun. She had a very dark tan. I left her know that her tan looked nice, her hair was very long that went down pass her buttocks. Very beautiful head of hair but my concerns was she was very thin. She hated hospital, hated doctor's so she refused to go get examination and refused to go to doctor's appointments.

Our forty five minute visit went very well, she lived in a two bedroom trailer she had bought and was so happy of the little things she owned. For she had a rough and rocky life too. Her husband was an alcoholic and abused her physically,emotionally, mentally and our oldest two siblings used her to get what they wanted from her. Ada, used Peggy Lee to, to get money out of her. See Peggy Lee had only 4th grade education she she could not read or write as well. She had a heart of gold and that part I didn't have opportunity to get to know of her because our many years of dispute and differences. Our separation part from each other, we lost many year's of getting to know each other. I knew she loved me and I knew she thought of me for on her death bed, she made a comment to Ada that she could not leave this world just yet because I was not there and she had something to say to me.

Well in the month of September, the year of 2006, I received a an afternoon phone call from my Uncle and Aunt, for my other siblings would not call me for nothing because simple fact we were not close and I was considered the black sheep of the family. I believe I just stepped in the front door of my house, just arriving home from a hard days work, I threw my bags down right there at my front door with my coat still on my back and walked over to answer the phone. It was not the phone that nobody wanted to receive. The phone conversation between my Aunt and I went something similar to this.

Aunt: Hey Dotti, did Ada call you?

Me: No, "Why? Something wrong with Mom? Something happen?

Me: I just walked in my front door and just got home from work.

Aunt: Oh, Okay. Well your sister is in the hospital.

Me: Which sister?

Aunt: Peggy Lee

Me: Why? What is wrong?

Aunt: Well, she was rushed to the hospital, her husband called the ambulance because she fell over or something in her home.  I was not told the full detail, but the hospital they taken her: General Osteopathic.

Me: Okay, do you happen to have the phone number on hand so I can call the hospital to see if I can get more information. I will than call you back to fill you in what information they give me.

I called General Osteopathic and the receptionist answered but she only could give me briefly information which was, yes; they had a patience by that name who just arrived late last night. Because of patience privacy rights I can not share anymore information with you. That is fine, the hospital was an hour or two away from us, if you can just give me the room she is in, I will come to the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital and took the elevator up to her room, my first expression when I saw her laying there in bed, she was hooked up to machine, a trek down her throat, I had to walk out for it caused to bring on an asthma attack. So I walked out of my sister's room so she would not of seen me fall apart and know I had to be strong for her so I needed to get myself together. Even though the many year's we have not had a sister relationship seeing my sister Peggy Lee laying there in the condition she was, I felt compassion for her and a knot in my stomach. When I walked back into her room after pulling myself together, I stood beside her bed and bend over to reach down to give her a hug and I can remember even today the first thing I said to my sister: which was- Sis, you can't die on me, you're my big sister for I need you..I don't why I said those words but after being explained to why she was in the hospital I felt guilty. I tried to visit her every day I could, sit by her bedside to comfort her. In the middle of one conversation, It slurred out of my mouth, asking my sister was she ready to die? Is she saved? Would she like me to pray for her? Would you like to ask Jesus in your heart? and accept Jesus. She blink her eyes two times so that day I witnessed to my sister on her death bed and helped to bring her to the feet of Jesus. Thinking about, I wish we had more time where we could make amends with each other. After praying with my sister Peggy Lee, I than got up out of the chair and walked to the foot of her bed and she looked straight at me and asked me to get her pen and paper, she wrote the words on that paper, "I am sorry!" I responded right back with the same words, "I am sorry too, and I already forgave you year's ago. I hope you forgiven me too. Another visited it was just my sister and I and husband in sister's room and she requested to see her doctor. I rang the nurse-the nurse was not so kind and friendly, but I demanded the nurse in a stern voice to than paged the doctor on duty and walked back to my sister's room and pulled up a chair to my sister's bedside and held onto her hand. Together, we waited for the doctor on call to come so we could get answers to my sister's questions and we also wanted to know.

My sister Peggy Lee sure earned her Angel wings: and died on January 17,2007, she fought cancer for three and half months, and she gave up a good fight for she wanted to live to be able to raise her last child who was only eleven year's old. Squamous Cell cancer taken the life of my sister and the second part of this story will explain what exactly is Squamous Cell cancer that robbed my sister's life. Peggy Lee was fifty-one year's old.

Continue to Part # 2