Anya’s Healing Journey
Donation protected
Almost 3 years ago, while pregnant with her daughter, Anya felt a painful thickening in her left breast and was immediately sent for an ultrasound which was ruled normal, no need to repeat. The thickening stayed constant and uncomfortable while she was nursing her daughter. At that point, Anya insisted on a repeat ultrasound (almost 6 months after the first ultrasound), which immediately showed a mass that the mammogram confirmed as a calcified mass suspicious of breast cancer. She was immediately sent to Miami to a breast surgeon and a biopsy revealed that it was in fact Breast Cancer and not only that, it came back positive for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive forms of BC that younger woman are susceptible to. This form of BC is first treated with very strong chemotherapy as there is no targeted therapy for that type (such as there is for hormonal positive or HER2 +). She was referred to an oncologist who prescribed the treatment, which thankfully she could receive at home. Genetic testing was also conducted but came back negative for any genes. A staging PET scan was also done and showed spots in Anya’s liver which a subsequent biopsy confirmed to be positive for Metastatic TNBC. This quickly changed her early Stage 2 diagnosis to a devastating Stage 4.
The chemotherapy treatment was started immediately, to which she had an amazing response. The chemotherapy treatment was administered over a grueling 4 month dose dense period and follow up scans showed an imaging clear response. At that point, the breast surgeon determined that a lumpectomy be performed; which showed a Pathological Clear response. Post initial surgery, Anya was referred to 25 rounds of Radiation treatments (over 6 weeks) with a chemo pill as Stage 4 requires constant treatment in an attempt to keep it under control. Anya stayed in Miami for 6 weeks of treatment in a hotel and worked throughout. Fast forward to 3 months post radiation and at her follow up, a scan showed the BC had returned in her liver to which she was recommended to have almost half of her liver removed in an attempt to control it. The scan also revealed the cancer had spread to her lungs. This was a very hard time for the family and Anya went through a very serious surgery which had a long recovery time.
Over the past 2.5 years, Anya has had over a dozen procedures and operations (performed off island), and been through 7 different types of treatment. She has traveled over 30 times to Miami and NYC, where she now sees a specialist team at MSK Cancer Center that focuses on BC, particularly TNBC.
Right after Christmas 2018, Anya suddenly became severely jaundiced due, which was later determiened to be due to thickening in her bile duct from mTNBC cells which had spread. She underwent a procedure to place a permanent stent and an external drain into her bile duct to control it and allow her liver to function. She has been hospitalized (sometimes for durations as long as a month or two) both at home and NYC for treatment of severe infections, blood transfusions, draining of fluid from her lungs and abdomen. Despite living in constant pain and dealing with horrible side effects, Anya fights incredibly hard to overcome this disease for her family, particularly her 2 young children, Cristian who is 5.5 and Giuliana who is 2.5 years old.
She is currently on her 7th line of treatment which is a brand new approved treatment for metastatic TNBC. It's immunotherapy with a chemotherapy agent; which she receives 3 weeks a month. So far she is showing a very good response and we continue to pray that it will clear it up and teach her immune system how to fight these cells. We humbly ask for all your prayers in this regard. The treatment is very intense with many side effects to control that take a toll on her. She receives the treatment at home but returns to NYC every 2 to 3 months for her drain exchange and monitoring of the disease by the specialist team.
As you can imagine, the constant trips which include airfares, hotel, meals and transportation have taken a significant toll on the family finances due to this catastrophic illness; this is all on top of dealing with the normal expenses that make up everyday life. We believe in an awesome God and rely on our faith and prayers to guide us through this. We humbly ask for any contribution you can make to help with the immense and continuous costs that insurance or local aid cannot cover so that Anya can continue with her care and treatment as she looks ahead at the road to complete healing and recovery. We also believe in the power of prayer and ask for you to pray for our family and for complete healing and to please ask your friends, families and community to pray for Anya as well.
Anya has become an advocate for young women to always trust their gut and push for tests if they feel anything is wrong, it is better to have gone through tests that may be deemed unnecessary and get a negative result than to not do it and find out later on that had you found out sooner, you could have received treatment at a critical early stage. Never let a doctor tell you that you are too young, cancer doesn't hurt etc., find one who will listen.
God bless you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Chris and Anya
The chemotherapy treatment was started immediately, to which she had an amazing response. The chemotherapy treatment was administered over a grueling 4 month dose dense period and follow up scans showed an imaging clear response. At that point, the breast surgeon determined that a lumpectomy be performed; which showed a Pathological Clear response. Post initial surgery, Anya was referred to 25 rounds of Radiation treatments (over 6 weeks) with a chemo pill as Stage 4 requires constant treatment in an attempt to keep it under control. Anya stayed in Miami for 6 weeks of treatment in a hotel and worked throughout. Fast forward to 3 months post radiation and at her follow up, a scan showed the BC had returned in her liver to which she was recommended to have almost half of her liver removed in an attempt to control it. The scan also revealed the cancer had spread to her lungs. This was a very hard time for the family and Anya went through a very serious surgery which had a long recovery time.
Over the past 2.5 years, Anya has had over a dozen procedures and operations (performed off island), and been through 7 different types of treatment. She has traveled over 30 times to Miami and NYC, where she now sees a specialist team at MSK Cancer Center that focuses on BC, particularly TNBC.
Right after Christmas 2018, Anya suddenly became severely jaundiced due, which was later determiened to be due to thickening in her bile duct from mTNBC cells which had spread. She underwent a procedure to place a permanent stent and an external drain into her bile duct to control it and allow her liver to function. She has been hospitalized (sometimes for durations as long as a month or two) both at home and NYC for treatment of severe infections, blood transfusions, draining of fluid from her lungs and abdomen. Despite living in constant pain and dealing with horrible side effects, Anya fights incredibly hard to overcome this disease for her family, particularly her 2 young children, Cristian who is 5.5 and Giuliana who is 2.5 years old.
She is currently on her 7th line of treatment which is a brand new approved treatment for metastatic TNBC. It's immunotherapy with a chemotherapy agent; which she receives 3 weeks a month. So far she is showing a very good response and we continue to pray that it will clear it up and teach her immune system how to fight these cells. We humbly ask for all your prayers in this regard. The treatment is very intense with many side effects to control that take a toll on her. She receives the treatment at home but returns to NYC every 2 to 3 months for her drain exchange and monitoring of the disease by the specialist team.
As you can imagine, the constant trips which include airfares, hotel, meals and transportation have taken a significant toll on the family finances due to this catastrophic illness; this is all on top of dealing with the normal expenses that make up everyday life. We believe in an awesome God and rely on our faith and prayers to guide us through this. We humbly ask for any contribution you can make to help with the immense and continuous costs that insurance or local aid cannot cover so that Anya can continue with her care and treatment as she looks ahead at the road to complete healing and recovery. We also believe in the power of prayer and ask for you to pray for our family and for complete healing and to please ask your friends, families and community to pray for Anya as well.
Anya has become an advocate for young women to always trust their gut and push for tests if they feel anything is wrong, it is better to have gone through tests that may be deemed unnecessary and get a negative result than to not do it and find out later on that had you found out sooner, you could have received treatment at a critical early stage. Never let a doctor tell you that you are too young, cancer doesn't hurt etc., find one who will listen.
God bless you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Chris and Anya
Organizer
Christopher Orlandini
Organizer
Longwood, FL
