Jeanne's Medical Fund
Donation protected
In November 2014, my mom received devestating news from her doctor that she has Kidney Cancer. Previous to this discovery she was being treated for severe pain in her lower back, where on several occassions she could not walk. After several months of bouncing back and forth to her primary physician and urgent care, the emergency room doctor ordered x-rays to see if there was an explanation for the sudden changes over the past year. They discovered that she had an 11 cm tumor taking over her right kidney.
On January 15th 2015, my mom had her right kidney, as well as some of her abdominal wall removed at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. The surgeons were confident that they got all the cancer and it was only uphill from there starting with her recovery from surgery.
In April of 2015, only 4 months later, my mom received news that her cancer had metastasized to her liver and lungs. Not only was this an enormous shock but a setback as well. At this point they determined my mom had Stage IV Kidney Cancer. Dartmouth provided my mom with a prognosis of 6 months if she did nothing because her type of cancer was aggressive. Following this diagnosis, our family decided to seek a second opinion at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital (MSK)located in New York City. We knew this would be difficult for my mom traveling almost 4 hours for each appointment but today looking back, it was the best decision our family could have made.
My mom's oncologist, Dr. Voss, at MSK started her on her first treatment named Sutent, but unfortunately after 3 days she ended up in the emergency room with a severe allergic reaction. This was not only disappointing but discouraging having a result like that after only 3 days of being on the medicine.
In July 2015, my mom's oncologist started her on a second choice of treatment named Votrient. After a few months of taking her Votrient, her CT scans showed the treatment was working and several of her tumors showed signs of change and several in her lungs had shrunk. This was fantastic news especially after the surgeon at Dartmouth only gave her 6 months to live. Yet again, my mom experienced another setback when her CT scans in November 2015 showed the Votrient was no longer working and some of her tumors in her liver had grown. This particular scan was done sooner because my mom had started experiencing uncontrollable pain in her right side.
Following this discovery, my mom's oncologist decided to try a third treatment named Axitinib/Inlyta. This time she would be part of a clinical trial where she would receive the Axitinib/Inlyta regardless, but she would have a 50/50 chance of receiving an additional treatment known as Dalantercept.
In December 2015 and after 2 weeks of being on the Axitinib/Inlyta, she was unexpectedly hospitalized for a week at MSK due to her being in a pain crisis. Her Palliative Pain Management Team determined that a small tumor between her ribs was raising havoc on her liver, which was causing severe pain in her back and her side between her right ribs. During this time MSK perfomed a nerve block which turned out to be successful and they were able to get her pain under control.
At this time, my mom will be traveling to and from NYC on a weekly basis. Due to my mom's limited funds and delicate health, she is experiencing a significant financial strain. On top of her traveling expenses, her medical bills over the past year are continuing to build along with the cost of her medications that she has to pay out of pocket each month, which is not covered by her insurance.
This horrible disease has not only taken a toll on my mom, but our family as well. With my mom's type of Kidney Cancer, there is no cure there is only trial and error to prolong her life. It is hard to watch someone you love suffer day in and day out with excruciating pain and to watch them battle this aggressive disease. My mom's strength keeps our family together and keeps her motivated to fight and continue fighting. My mom has experienced so many set backs in the past year yet she continues to give it her all. Time is precious and she most certainly doesn't take anything for granted.
On January 15th 2015, my mom had her right kidney, as well as some of her abdominal wall removed at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. The surgeons were confident that they got all the cancer and it was only uphill from there starting with her recovery from surgery.
In April of 2015, only 4 months later, my mom received news that her cancer had metastasized to her liver and lungs. Not only was this an enormous shock but a setback as well. At this point they determined my mom had Stage IV Kidney Cancer. Dartmouth provided my mom with a prognosis of 6 months if she did nothing because her type of cancer was aggressive. Following this diagnosis, our family decided to seek a second opinion at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital (MSK)located in New York City. We knew this would be difficult for my mom traveling almost 4 hours for each appointment but today looking back, it was the best decision our family could have made.
My mom's oncologist, Dr. Voss, at MSK started her on her first treatment named Sutent, but unfortunately after 3 days she ended up in the emergency room with a severe allergic reaction. This was not only disappointing but discouraging having a result like that after only 3 days of being on the medicine.
In July 2015, my mom's oncologist started her on a second choice of treatment named Votrient. After a few months of taking her Votrient, her CT scans showed the treatment was working and several of her tumors showed signs of change and several in her lungs had shrunk. This was fantastic news especially after the surgeon at Dartmouth only gave her 6 months to live. Yet again, my mom experienced another setback when her CT scans in November 2015 showed the Votrient was no longer working and some of her tumors in her liver had grown. This particular scan was done sooner because my mom had started experiencing uncontrollable pain in her right side.
Following this discovery, my mom's oncologist decided to try a third treatment named Axitinib/Inlyta. This time she would be part of a clinical trial where she would receive the Axitinib/Inlyta regardless, but she would have a 50/50 chance of receiving an additional treatment known as Dalantercept.
In December 2015 and after 2 weeks of being on the Axitinib/Inlyta, she was unexpectedly hospitalized for a week at MSK due to her being in a pain crisis. Her Palliative Pain Management Team determined that a small tumor between her ribs was raising havoc on her liver, which was causing severe pain in her back and her side between her right ribs. During this time MSK perfomed a nerve block which turned out to be successful and they were able to get her pain under control.
At this time, my mom will be traveling to and from NYC on a weekly basis. Due to my mom's limited funds and delicate health, she is experiencing a significant financial strain. On top of her traveling expenses, her medical bills over the past year are continuing to build along with the cost of her medications that she has to pay out of pocket each month, which is not covered by her insurance.
This horrible disease has not only taken a toll on my mom, but our family as well. With my mom's type of Kidney Cancer, there is no cure there is only trial and error to prolong her life. It is hard to watch someone you love suffer day in and day out with excruciating pain and to watch them battle this aggressive disease. My mom's strength keeps our family together and keeps her motivated to fight and continue fighting. My mom has experienced so many set backs in the past year yet she continues to give it her all. Time is precious and she most certainly doesn't take anything for granted.
Organizer and beneficiary
Racquel Cheyanne Harrington
Organizer
Cambridge, NY
Jeanne Harrington
Beneficiary