Amanda Eddy - 37 Year Battle with Cancer - Warrior
Donation protected
My sister-in-law, Amanda Eddy, was just 16 in 1985 when she started to have unexplained and unstoppable nose bleeds. That was the year when she was first diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This was the day her battle began. Unfortunately, 37 years later, her battle continues. On January 24, 2020, her latest MRI & PET Scan confirmed that the tumors in her brain and the tumor along her jawline had grown.
Amanda is a vibrant, loving 52 year old woman. She is a dedicated Christian, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend. She is always the first to help anyone in need and to offer her support and power of prayer. My brother and Amanda would never ask anyone for financial support, but I will. So now, I am reaching out to everyone that reads this post to please offer their financial support to Amanda and her family as they continue to fight for her life. Anything you can afford. If you don’t have the means, please reach out with emotional support and prayer. It will all be a blessing.
Amanda’s story:
The diagnosis in 1985 resulted in surgery to remove the malignant tumor growing in her throat. She would have to endure reconstruction surgery to repair the massive hole left in her palate that left her with a permanent/removable prosthetic mouth piece. Her coming years would included endless chemo and radiation treatments, which left her with permanent complications. She can no longer produce saliva, leaving her teeth brittle and vulnerable to infection and resulting in many dental surgeries.
On September 4, 2018 she had her most recent surgery, a nasopharyngectomy, to remove a new malignant tumor growing in her throat and fibular flap reconstruction. Amanda is still recovering from that surgery. The surgery required major jaw and throat reconstruction, necessitating the grafting of her skin and bone from her leg, a tracheotomy, a feeding tube (which she still has) and multiple hours of rehabilitation. She was left with permanent numbness in her mouth, tongue and throat and the right side of her face. Making it very difficult to eat, drink, speak, or take her medications.
January 2019 Stanford scheduled her for her first round of immunotherapy. The tumors did not respond and it left her with severe arthritis. Stanford then prescribed a chemotherapy pill, which stabilized two tumors, but another one grew.
The MRI & PET Scan in May, showed lesions in her brain and throat. This news was heartbreaking, maddening and shocking to all. The results from the next MRI & PET Scan in September showed progression of the tumors.
Amanda and her doctors at Stanford decided to try a different immunotherapy starting on December 30, 2019 and follow-up with both a MRI & PET Scans to check the progress. This therapy left her nauseated and vomiting, with severe back pain leaving her with the inability to walk, chills/fever, double-vision and severe headaches. The January MRI & PET Scan results were like a punch in the gut. They showed that the tumors had progressed and were starting to branch-out towards the back of her brain. The tumor along the jaw line had also progressed. There was pressure on her brain stem, which could be catastrophic. The doctors believe the pressure was being caused by the immunotherapy, so they prescribed steroids. Thankfully since Amanda started taking the steroids, many of the horrible side-effects have subsided.
On January 27, 2020 the doctor had a conference with the family. The doctor’s prognosis was “poor” and she even assigned a percentage on how successful she believed the immunotherapy would be, 20%. Very grim. She left Amanda with a final plan of action, one last round of immunotherapy on January 28, 2020, followed-up with a MRI & PET Scan on February 18. There would be no other treatment or options available after that.
WHAT! Giving up, “Poor” and “20%” are not a part of Amanda’s or her family’s vocabulary.
Amanda decided to seek a second opinion from MD Anderson in Houston, one of the top two cancer hospitals in the US. GREAT NEWS! On January 31, 2020, Amanda’s case was accepted by MD Anderson and they too believe that it is appropriate for Amanda to go there for medical review and possible treatment. We are so excited that she is getting the privilege of being one of their patients. The appointment will be scheduled in the next two to three weeks. She could be there anywhere from 3 to 5 business days for consult, and longer for treatment. We have great hope that they will have the effective treatment to keep her alive.
The acceptance is exciting and a little frightening. Amanda will have to travel and that is always scary due to her fragile health. It will be very costly. Due to her extensive health problems their finances are already tight. Amanda and her family will need to fly to Houston from Sacramento, get a rental car, find hotel accommodations and have meals away from home. There will also be the regular everyday costs associated with a serious illness, such as: co-pays and deductibles, medications and treatments not covered by insurance, loss of income, travel expenses from going back and forth from Sacramento to Stanford for treatments and tests and regular everyday living expenses.
Again I am asking for you to please consider giving anything you can afford to help Amanda to continue her battle to save her life. God Bless you all and Thank you.
Amanda is a vibrant, loving 52 year old woman. She is a dedicated Christian, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend. She is always the first to help anyone in need and to offer her support and power of prayer. My brother and Amanda would never ask anyone for financial support, but I will. So now, I am reaching out to everyone that reads this post to please offer their financial support to Amanda and her family as they continue to fight for her life. Anything you can afford. If you don’t have the means, please reach out with emotional support and prayer. It will all be a blessing.
Amanda’s story:
The diagnosis in 1985 resulted in surgery to remove the malignant tumor growing in her throat. She would have to endure reconstruction surgery to repair the massive hole left in her palate that left her with a permanent/removable prosthetic mouth piece. Her coming years would included endless chemo and radiation treatments, which left her with permanent complications. She can no longer produce saliva, leaving her teeth brittle and vulnerable to infection and resulting in many dental surgeries.
On September 4, 2018 she had her most recent surgery, a nasopharyngectomy, to remove a new malignant tumor growing in her throat and fibular flap reconstruction. Amanda is still recovering from that surgery. The surgery required major jaw and throat reconstruction, necessitating the grafting of her skin and bone from her leg, a tracheotomy, a feeding tube (which she still has) and multiple hours of rehabilitation. She was left with permanent numbness in her mouth, tongue and throat and the right side of her face. Making it very difficult to eat, drink, speak, or take her medications.
January 2019 Stanford scheduled her for her first round of immunotherapy. The tumors did not respond and it left her with severe arthritis. Stanford then prescribed a chemotherapy pill, which stabilized two tumors, but another one grew.
The MRI & PET Scan in May, showed lesions in her brain and throat. This news was heartbreaking, maddening and shocking to all. The results from the next MRI & PET Scan in September showed progression of the tumors.
Amanda and her doctors at Stanford decided to try a different immunotherapy starting on December 30, 2019 and follow-up with both a MRI & PET Scans to check the progress. This therapy left her nauseated and vomiting, with severe back pain leaving her with the inability to walk, chills/fever, double-vision and severe headaches. The January MRI & PET Scan results were like a punch in the gut. They showed that the tumors had progressed and were starting to branch-out towards the back of her brain. The tumor along the jaw line had also progressed. There was pressure on her brain stem, which could be catastrophic. The doctors believe the pressure was being caused by the immunotherapy, so they prescribed steroids. Thankfully since Amanda started taking the steroids, many of the horrible side-effects have subsided.
On January 27, 2020 the doctor had a conference with the family. The doctor’s prognosis was “poor” and she even assigned a percentage on how successful she believed the immunotherapy would be, 20%. Very grim. She left Amanda with a final plan of action, one last round of immunotherapy on January 28, 2020, followed-up with a MRI & PET Scan on February 18. There would be no other treatment or options available after that.
WHAT! Giving up, “Poor” and “20%” are not a part of Amanda’s or her family’s vocabulary.
Amanda decided to seek a second opinion from MD Anderson in Houston, one of the top two cancer hospitals in the US. GREAT NEWS! On January 31, 2020, Amanda’s case was accepted by MD Anderson and they too believe that it is appropriate for Amanda to go there for medical review and possible treatment. We are so excited that she is getting the privilege of being one of their patients. The appointment will be scheduled in the next two to three weeks. She could be there anywhere from 3 to 5 business days for consult, and longer for treatment. We have great hope that they will have the effective treatment to keep her alive.
The acceptance is exciting and a little frightening. Amanda will have to travel and that is always scary due to her fragile health. It will be very costly. Due to her extensive health problems their finances are already tight. Amanda and her family will need to fly to Houston from Sacramento, get a rental car, find hotel accommodations and have meals away from home. There will also be the regular everyday costs associated with a serious illness, such as: co-pays and deductibles, medications and treatments not covered by insurance, loss of income, travel expenses from going back and forth from Sacramento to Stanford for treatments and tests and regular everyday living expenses.
Again I am asking for you to please consider giving anything you can afford to help Amanda to continue her battle to save her life. God Bless you all and Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
VIVA DURHAM
Organizer
Petaluma, CA
Amanda Eddy
Beneficiary