NEED HELP! MOM'S RARE CANCER
Donation protected
We have been reluctant to write this final update as it is closing a major chapter in our lives. As most of you may know, on March 16, 2017, we lost our special, kind-hearted, animal loving, beautiful mom, Geri. Everything seemed to be going very well with her treatment from the last time that we posted an update, back in October 2016, and continued to go accordingly until January 2017. It’s strange because our mom's arm first began hurting her on January 20th, 2014, which led to the discovery of Ewing sarcoma cancer. Almost exactly 3 years later something else major happened to her...
She began to feel extreme pain in her lower back, which continued and worsened within a short period of time. Her doctors had increased her medication drastically, but the pain was still unbearable. She finally went into the hospital in the beginning of February, but even with the strong intravenous medication that she was given, the pain was barely alleviated. It took roughly 3 weeks to get the pain under control, which meant that she was taking high dosage ‘round the clock medication that made her sleep constantly.
While the pain was finally under control, it was discovered that the cancer had spread and caused fractures to vertebrae in her lower back, which was the reason she was experiencing such excruciating pain. During this time the same cancer was detected in her right leg, which was causing her additional intense pain. To think that this news was horrible enough, we then found out that the terribly aggressive Ewing sarcoma cancer had metastasized to her bone marrow- compromising virtually 100% of it.
After receiving this news, we were told that our mom had about six months to live and it was recommended that we place her under Hospice care. We were stunned that almost immediately after bringing our mom home as a Hospice patient, her health began to rapidly decline. Seeing this change, we decided that our youngest sister, Samantha, should come home from her college spring break so that we could spend time together as a family.
Since a blizzard was heading our way, we felt the best place for our mom to be was in a hospital so that she could be monitored closely. We relocated our mom to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, where her battle finally ended.
Our family spent the last weeks with our beloved mother, wife, sister and aunt at her side. We each had the chance to tell her how much she meant to us and how much of a caring, strong, and influential presence she was in our lives. We tried everything in our power to keep our mom with us- even when the doctors ran out of options and when hope seemed nonexistent. We want everyone to know how fiercely Geri fought for her life and that she held on to her very last breath with great courage and determination.
Thank you one last time to all of our family, friends, outstanding doctors, nurses, and strangers that have supported us through this difficult journey. Please always remember our mom with her hair perfect, her smile bright, and her positive energy radiating to everyone she came in contact with (and her lipstick on, of course!)
Geri loved life and never let cancer define her, even in the darkest of hours. We will forever mourn the loss of an extraordinarily brave person and she will stay in our hearts indefinitely.
Love,
Glenn, Lindsay, Robby, Samantha, and Jagger Kraditor xoxo
UPDATE 2:
Since we last sent out an update, a lot has happened. If you haven’t dealt with a parent’s serious illness before, it is hard to understand all of the ups and downs that come with the illness. People might think, “ok, she’s getting treatment…everything is ok.” While it is true that our mom, Geri, is getting treatment now, everything is not ok. Our mom has been on a regimen of chemotherapy which is 2 weeks on and a week off. About two months ago in early August our mom had a CT Scan which showed that the tumors that are in her lungs and surrounding areas have shrunk by more than 50%! The chemotherapy is working and it was an incredible moment that we all experienced on a 5 way conference call with our family and her oncologist. However, the Monday after we found out this amazing news, there was a problem. After having her labs drawn, it showed that her Liver levels were dangerously high. Chemotherapy was stopped and she went for a sonogram and another CT Scan of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas. These scans showed a Bile Duct Blockage which meant there was a problem in the area around her Liver, Gall Bladder or possibly Pancreas. The hope was that it was gall stones or sludge ( a build-up of a muddy clog) but there was the strong possibility of a new cancer or the current cancer appearing in that area. We all were freaked out and it was very difficult to work, go for a walk or do anything “normal” without thinking about all of the “what if’s…” She had an ERDC procedure, an EBD and Liver Biopsies and thankfully, the cause of the problem was “sludge” in the Gall Bladder! This was the best news we could hope for! She could resume chemotherapy, which she had not received for 2 weeks and could get back on track.
Next week, she will have new scans and we are very hopeful that these will show more progress leading to eventual remission.
You have all been so good to us and have given us, especially our mom, the strength to fight harder and we can’t thank you enough!
Please share our mom’s story with others you know who may be in a position to help, as well as to get the word out about this devastating disease.
We continue to appreciate and are so grateful for all the support you have all extended our way.
THANK YOU ALL,
The Kraditor Family
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone who has supported our mom, Geri, while she continues to fight her current battle with Ewing Sarcoma Cancer. We greatly appreciate your continued financial support and we hope that you can pass Geri’s story/gofundme page to all of your friends, family and co-workers and anyone else you know of. We wanted to give you an update on the status of her illness:
After spending 2 months trying to figure out her options, meeting with 5 specialists and exploring clinical trials, initially we thought that chemo was not the right course of action. Between the chemotherapy given during her battle with breast cancer and then the 14 months of chemotherapy given for Ewing Sarcoma, it was risky to consider anymore chemo except as a last resort. However, as we explored the drugs that were approved and successful in treating Ewing Sarcoma, we came up with none. Yes, there are medicines that are a possibility in fighting the disease, but none that have a proven success rate in stopping the growth of the masses in her lung, lymph nodes and windpipe. The clinical trials that are out there are mostly with chemotherapy that she already had or with drugs that might stop the disease short-term, like for 3 months. The running around physically from memorial Sloan Kettering to MD Cooper Anderson to Mt. Sinai alone has exhausted our dad these last 2 months. Not to mention the hours and hours of time calling doctors, hospitals and clinical trials and all the bureaucracy that goes with it. All the time we worried that the clock was ticking and our mom still was without treatment. We were given excellent leads and advice by many of you and we're grateful for all the effort and thoughtfulness as well as your generous donations.
Finally, our mom's doctors agreed that even though chemotherapy was extremely risky for her and her body may not be able to handle it, it is the only option for stopping the masses and the metastatic disease from progressing. We all agreed that rather than try something that was not really proven, it was her best bet to utilize chemo therapy. This has the best chance of shrinking the tumors and stopping the progression of this disease. This chemotherapy is different from what she had in the past since these two types of chemo are not typically given to patients with Ewing Sarcoma. The 2 chemotherapies that she is currently taking, aside from being extremely aggressive are primarily used for Colon cancers and Brain Cancers but have been successful in treating metastatic Ewing Sarcoma.We are happy to say that as of today, 7/19/16, she has officially
completed her first week of chemotherapy treatments. It has not been an easy road the past week to say the least. The nausea and fatigue took its toll on her. Her doctors are cautiously hopeful that she can get through another round of chemotherapy because their concern is that it can further affect her 2 autoimmune disorders as well as bring about the potential for other side effects including compromising her bone marrow. It is through your continued support that we remain positive and hopeful knowing so many people are rooting for our mother's good health and for her to overcome her illness. Words can not convey the gratitude we feel from your support, love, and compassion! It's still a long, long road to go. We are cautiously optimistic, along with her doctors, that this treatment will put her in remission. We still need your support and are asking that you continue to share our mom's GoFundMe page with others. We remain positive and hopeful and forever grateful to all of you!
Love,
The Kraditor Family
To our family, friends and everyone who is reading this; we are the 3 children of Geri Kraditor (Lindsay, Robby & Sam).
We have decided to create this page because we are desperate to help our beautiful, strong, loving mother and the rock of our family.
We are asking for your contribution to help manage our mom's mounting medical bills, while fighting a rare cancer, known as Ewing's Sarcoma.
Please share this GoFundMe page with others, so they can hear our mom’s story.
We are a close-knit family who has never been super public about sharing our troubles. However, we are at a point where we are asking for your help.
To make a VERY long story short, please read below:
In 2004, our mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. After having surgery, chemo and radiation, she went into remission in 2005. We were so happy that she was healthy, and that cancer was something we never had to think about again!
Unfortunately, we were wrong. In January 2014 our mom was experiencing excruciating pain in her right arm, which manifested into a large lump. As the lump grew larger and much more painful, it wasn’t until April that she was diagnosed with a very rare soft tissue cancer, called Ewing Sarcoma.
Ewing Sarcoma Cancer or Ewing's Sarcoma is a very rare type of cancer that is primarily found in children and males 26 and under. With that being said, it is much less common to be found in an adult woman. Compared to her previous Breast Cancer, there is less information, funding and research being done on this disease. This makes options for treatment much more limited.
Our mom's oncologist suggested we go to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital and see a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, oncologists and radiation oncologists, who are specialists in dealing with sarcoma cancer. After seeing the surgeon, it was recommended that she needed to have her arm and her shoulder amputated and that she needed to go on a year and a half of chemotherapy. To say that our family was shocked was an understatement. After getting second and third opinions, we decided she would not go through with the amputation and she would start radiation treatments which lasted for 6 weeks. Once she finished radiation, she started an extremely high dose of chemotherapy. Since she already had 4 months of chemotherapy for breast cancer, this made the treatment even more risky. Her schedule for chemotherapy was split into 2 doses - Dose A: she would check into the hospital for 7-9 days and receive chemo for 5 continuous days straight. She then would get 2-3 weeks off to rest and then go into the hospital as an outpatient for Dose B: and receive almost 12 straight hours of chemotherapy. This was not smooth sailing. From nausea, to completely losing her hair, to developing 2 auto immune diseases, fevers, fatigue, shortness of breath to having to receive blood and platelet transfusions on a regular basis; all of this became our "New Normal". After 14 months, she finished chemotherapy and was considered to be in remission.
However, shortly thereafter, another spot was found in her right arm, which was the same arm where the disease had started from. This meant the cancer had come back. Next, she received 32 treatments of Proton Radiation Therapy. After completing Proton Radiation, in March 2016, again she went into remission.
After all of that, in May 2016, a PET Scan confirmed our worst fears, the cancer had come back and this time it spread to her Lungs and Lymph Nodes.
At this time, surgery and chemotherapy are not options. Chemotherapy would only be used as a last resort, as the doctors are afraid that it would compromise her bone marrow and immune system.
We are now exploring Clinical Trials and Immune Therapies to treat the current cancer. Since there is very little research, we are willing to try anything.
Our mom has been through hell and back, to say the least. We are still trying to figure out what we are going to do next, to get rid of this nasty disease. This is a very scary time for our family and there are many unknowns.
The stress of worrying over the mountain of medical bills that keep accumulating is having a major impact on our mom’s emotional/mental state. We have been trying to stay positive, but this has become a constant worry and strain on our family.
Over the last 2 ½ years, this has taken our dad away from work and has almost become his full time job. From coordinating between doctors’ offices, scheduling doctor appointments, hospital visits, obtaining records, follow up visits, scans, treatments, and taking our mom back and forth between New Jersey and New York for doctors and hospitals.
On top of the emotional aspect of living with the fear of the unknown, we are drowning in medical and day to day bills, since we have exhausted all of our financial resources.
We are also concerned about the future treatments our mom will need and the different specialists we have appointments with to see if they can help her. We have no idea what this will add to the medical bills we already have.
We are asking for your contribution to help manage our mom's mounting medical bills.
Please share this GoFundMe page with others, so they can hear our mom’s story.
We love our mom so much and would do anything and everything to get her well, and see her healthy and happy. We want our mom to be able to see us get married and have families, and be there so our kids can see what an amazing and kindhearted person their grandmother is.
We are beyond grateful to anyone who reads this and makes a contribution and shares this page in honor of our mom.
We hope by getting our moms story out there, this will raise more awareness and could lead to better treatment options and cures for Ewing Sarcoma Cancer.
With Love,
Lindsay, Robby & Sam
Celebrating our parent's 32nd Anniversary in the hospital at RWJUH.
She began to feel extreme pain in her lower back, which continued and worsened within a short period of time. Her doctors had increased her medication drastically, but the pain was still unbearable. She finally went into the hospital in the beginning of February, but even with the strong intravenous medication that she was given, the pain was barely alleviated. It took roughly 3 weeks to get the pain under control, which meant that she was taking high dosage ‘round the clock medication that made her sleep constantly.
While the pain was finally under control, it was discovered that the cancer had spread and caused fractures to vertebrae in her lower back, which was the reason she was experiencing such excruciating pain. During this time the same cancer was detected in her right leg, which was causing her additional intense pain. To think that this news was horrible enough, we then found out that the terribly aggressive Ewing sarcoma cancer had metastasized to her bone marrow- compromising virtually 100% of it.
After receiving this news, we were told that our mom had about six months to live and it was recommended that we place her under Hospice care. We were stunned that almost immediately after bringing our mom home as a Hospice patient, her health began to rapidly decline. Seeing this change, we decided that our youngest sister, Samantha, should come home from her college spring break so that we could spend time together as a family.
Since a blizzard was heading our way, we felt the best place for our mom to be was in a hospital so that she could be monitored closely. We relocated our mom to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, where her battle finally ended.
Our family spent the last weeks with our beloved mother, wife, sister and aunt at her side. We each had the chance to tell her how much she meant to us and how much of a caring, strong, and influential presence she was in our lives. We tried everything in our power to keep our mom with us- even when the doctors ran out of options and when hope seemed nonexistent. We want everyone to know how fiercely Geri fought for her life and that she held on to her very last breath with great courage and determination.
Thank you one last time to all of our family, friends, outstanding doctors, nurses, and strangers that have supported us through this difficult journey. Please always remember our mom with her hair perfect, her smile bright, and her positive energy radiating to everyone she came in contact with (and her lipstick on, of course!)
Geri loved life and never let cancer define her, even in the darkest of hours. We will forever mourn the loss of an extraordinarily brave person and she will stay in our hearts indefinitely.
Love,
Glenn, Lindsay, Robby, Samantha, and Jagger Kraditor xoxo
UPDATE 2:
Since we last sent out an update, a lot has happened. If you haven’t dealt with a parent’s serious illness before, it is hard to understand all of the ups and downs that come with the illness. People might think, “ok, she’s getting treatment…everything is ok.” While it is true that our mom, Geri, is getting treatment now, everything is not ok. Our mom has been on a regimen of chemotherapy which is 2 weeks on and a week off. About two months ago in early August our mom had a CT Scan which showed that the tumors that are in her lungs and surrounding areas have shrunk by more than 50%! The chemotherapy is working and it was an incredible moment that we all experienced on a 5 way conference call with our family and her oncologist. However, the Monday after we found out this amazing news, there was a problem. After having her labs drawn, it showed that her Liver levels were dangerously high. Chemotherapy was stopped and she went for a sonogram and another CT Scan of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas. These scans showed a Bile Duct Blockage which meant there was a problem in the area around her Liver, Gall Bladder or possibly Pancreas. The hope was that it was gall stones or sludge ( a build-up of a muddy clog) but there was the strong possibility of a new cancer or the current cancer appearing in that area. We all were freaked out and it was very difficult to work, go for a walk or do anything “normal” without thinking about all of the “what if’s…” She had an ERDC procedure, an EBD and Liver Biopsies and thankfully, the cause of the problem was “sludge” in the Gall Bladder! This was the best news we could hope for! She could resume chemotherapy, which she had not received for 2 weeks and could get back on track.
Next week, she will have new scans and we are very hopeful that these will show more progress leading to eventual remission.
You have all been so good to us and have given us, especially our mom, the strength to fight harder and we can’t thank you enough!
Please share our mom’s story with others you know who may be in a position to help, as well as to get the word out about this devastating disease.
We continue to appreciate and are so grateful for all the support you have all extended our way.
THANK YOU ALL,
The Kraditor Family
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone who has supported our mom, Geri, while she continues to fight her current battle with Ewing Sarcoma Cancer. We greatly appreciate your continued financial support and we hope that you can pass Geri’s story/gofundme page to all of your friends, family and co-workers and anyone else you know of. We wanted to give you an update on the status of her illness:
After spending 2 months trying to figure out her options, meeting with 5 specialists and exploring clinical trials, initially we thought that chemo was not the right course of action. Between the chemotherapy given during her battle with breast cancer and then the 14 months of chemotherapy given for Ewing Sarcoma, it was risky to consider anymore chemo except as a last resort. However, as we explored the drugs that were approved and successful in treating Ewing Sarcoma, we came up with none. Yes, there are medicines that are a possibility in fighting the disease, but none that have a proven success rate in stopping the growth of the masses in her lung, lymph nodes and windpipe. The clinical trials that are out there are mostly with chemotherapy that she already had or with drugs that might stop the disease short-term, like for 3 months. The running around physically from memorial Sloan Kettering to MD Cooper Anderson to Mt. Sinai alone has exhausted our dad these last 2 months. Not to mention the hours and hours of time calling doctors, hospitals and clinical trials and all the bureaucracy that goes with it. All the time we worried that the clock was ticking and our mom still was without treatment. We were given excellent leads and advice by many of you and we're grateful for all the effort and thoughtfulness as well as your generous donations.
Finally, our mom's doctors agreed that even though chemotherapy was extremely risky for her and her body may not be able to handle it, it is the only option for stopping the masses and the metastatic disease from progressing. We all agreed that rather than try something that was not really proven, it was her best bet to utilize chemo therapy. This has the best chance of shrinking the tumors and stopping the progression of this disease. This chemotherapy is different from what she had in the past since these two types of chemo are not typically given to patients with Ewing Sarcoma. The 2 chemotherapies that she is currently taking, aside from being extremely aggressive are primarily used for Colon cancers and Brain Cancers but have been successful in treating metastatic Ewing Sarcoma.We are happy to say that as of today, 7/19/16, she has officially
completed her first week of chemotherapy treatments. It has not been an easy road the past week to say the least. The nausea and fatigue took its toll on her. Her doctors are cautiously hopeful that she can get through another round of chemotherapy because their concern is that it can further affect her 2 autoimmune disorders as well as bring about the potential for other side effects including compromising her bone marrow. It is through your continued support that we remain positive and hopeful knowing so many people are rooting for our mother's good health and for her to overcome her illness. Words can not convey the gratitude we feel from your support, love, and compassion! It's still a long, long road to go. We are cautiously optimistic, along with her doctors, that this treatment will put her in remission. We still need your support and are asking that you continue to share our mom's GoFundMe page with others. We remain positive and hopeful and forever grateful to all of you!
Love,
The Kraditor Family
To our family, friends and everyone who is reading this; we are the 3 children of Geri Kraditor (Lindsay, Robby & Sam).
We have decided to create this page because we are desperate to help our beautiful, strong, loving mother and the rock of our family.
We are asking for your contribution to help manage our mom's mounting medical bills, while fighting a rare cancer, known as Ewing's Sarcoma.
Please share this GoFundMe page with others, so they can hear our mom’s story.
We are a close-knit family who has never been super public about sharing our troubles. However, we are at a point where we are asking for your help.
To make a VERY long story short, please read below:
In 2004, our mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. After having surgery, chemo and radiation, she went into remission in 2005. We were so happy that she was healthy, and that cancer was something we never had to think about again!
Unfortunately, we were wrong. In January 2014 our mom was experiencing excruciating pain in her right arm, which manifested into a large lump. As the lump grew larger and much more painful, it wasn’t until April that she was diagnosed with a very rare soft tissue cancer, called Ewing Sarcoma.
Ewing Sarcoma Cancer or Ewing's Sarcoma is a very rare type of cancer that is primarily found in children and males 26 and under. With that being said, it is much less common to be found in an adult woman. Compared to her previous Breast Cancer, there is less information, funding and research being done on this disease. This makes options for treatment much more limited.
Our mom's oncologist suggested we go to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital and see a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, oncologists and radiation oncologists, who are specialists in dealing with sarcoma cancer. After seeing the surgeon, it was recommended that she needed to have her arm and her shoulder amputated and that she needed to go on a year and a half of chemotherapy. To say that our family was shocked was an understatement. After getting second and third opinions, we decided she would not go through with the amputation and she would start radiation treatments which lasted for 6 weeks. Once she finished radiation, she started an extremely high dose of chemotherapy. Since she already had 4 months of chemotherapy for breast cancer, this made the treatment even more risky. Her schedule for chemotherapy was split into 2 doses - Dose A: she would check into the hospital for 7-9 days and receive chemo for 5 continuous days straight. She then would get 2-3 weeks off to rest and then go into the hospital as an outpatient for Dose B: and receive almost 12 straight hours of chemotherapy. This was not smooth sailing. From nausea, to completely losing her hair, to developing 2 auto immune diseases, fevers, fatigue, shortness of breath to having to receive blood and platelet transfusions on a regular basis; all of this became our "New Normal". After 14 months, she finished chemotherapy and was considered to be in remission.
However, shortly thereafter, another spot was found in her right arm, which was the same arm where the disease had started from. This meant the cancer had come back. Next, she received 32 treatments of Proton Radiation Therapy. After completing Proton Radiation, in March 2016, again she went into remission.
After all of that, in May 2016, a PET Scan confirmed our worst fears, the cancer had come back and this time it spread to her Lungs and Lymph Nodes.
At this time, surgery and chemotherapy are not options. Chemotherapy would only be used as a last resort, as the doctors are afraid that it would compromise her bone marrow and immune system.
We are now exploring Clinical Trials and Immune Therapies to treat the current cancer. Since there is very little research, we are willing to try anything.
Our mom has been through hell and back, to say the least. We are still trying to figure out what we are going to do next, to get rid of this nasty disease. This is a very scary time for our family and there are many unknowns.
The stress of worrying over the mountain of medical bills that keep accumulating is having a major impact on our mom’s emotional/mental state. We have been trying to stay positive, but this has become a constant worry and strain on our family.
Over the last 2 ½ years, this has taken our dad away from work and has almost become his full time job. From coordinating between doctors’ offices, scheduling doctor appointments, hospital visits, obtaining records, follow up visits, scans, treatments, and taking our mom back and forth between New Jersey and New York for doctors and hospitals.
On top of the emotional aspect of living with the fear of the unknown, we are drowning in medical and day to day bills, since we have exhausted all of our financial resources.
We are also concerned about the future treatments our mom will need and the different specialists we have appointments with to see if they can help her. We have no idea what this will add to the medical bills we already have.
We are asking for your contribution to help manage our mom's mounting medical bills.
Please share this GoFundMe page with others, so they can hear our mom’s story.
We love our mom so much and would do anything and everything to get her well, and see her healthy and happy. We want our mom to be able to see us get married and have families, and be there so our kids can see what an amazing and kindhearted person their grandmother is.
We are beyond grateful to anyone who reads this and makes a contribution and shares this page in honor of our mom.
We hope by getting our moms story out there, this will raise more awareness and could lead to better treatment options and cures for Ewing Sarcoma Cancer.
With Love,
Lindsay, Robby & Sam
Celebrating our parent's 32nd Anniversary in the hospital at RWJUH.Organizer and beneficiary
Rob Kraditor
Organizer
East Brunswick Township, NJ
Geri Kraditor
Beneficiary
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