Amy’s Army of Angels: Life Fund
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Thank you for reading this and for your support!
As many of you know, Amy was diagnosed with metastatic small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder (metastatic to a lymph node) in November, 2022.
‘Small-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the gallbladder is an uncommon, distinct clinicopathologic entity. It is an aggressive tumor that tends to metastasize early and is associated with a poor prognosis. It is also an extremely rare tumor, first described by Albores-Saavedra et al in 1981. Subsequently, numerous case reports have been published; however, a paucity of data on this tumor persists—to our knowledge, only 73 cases have been published in the English literature to date.”
(Small cell carcinoma of the gallbladder: a case report; Hayemin Lee, Ho Joong Choi, and Il Young Park)
Amy remained a warrior while undergoing one of the most aggressive types of chemotherapy to help shrink the tumors she has in her gallbladder and lymph node, which are also very close to other important organs, making surgery very risky. The doctors were hopeful that the chemo would shrink the tumors enough to be able to remove them. A CT scan after the 3rd round of chemo showed minimal progress/shrinkage,
therefore making surgical resection impossible.
She began radiation treatments 5x/week, while continuing the last 3 rounds of chemo. Her doctors are hopeful that this will shrink the tumors but they have no idea what her prognosis is at this time. A follow-up scan will be performed at the end of the month, as well as appointments with her oncologist in Elizabeth City, her radiation team in Nags Head, and with her surgeon in Norfolk. We will have much more information at that time.
But…for the present moment…we are trying to return to ‘normal’ as much as possible….
The last 6 months have been a full-time job of treatment sessions, scans, weekly blood work, hours of research, and keeping Amy safe and healthy….
you see…Amy is facing all of this head-on…but the side effects of all of the treatments have been brutal. If she wasn’t as young as she is and hadn’t been in such great shape before this diagnosis, she wouldn’t have done as well as she did through these aggressive treatments…
Besides the ‘typical’ side effects of chemo that you know about…Amy has suffered side effects from receiving infusions of one of the most aggressive forms of chemo, called the ‘Cadillac of chemo’, consisting of heavy metals. Some of these include:
- permanent hearing loss and constant ringing in her ears. Her last audiology exam reveled that the hearing loss is ‘severe’ in one ear and that she will require hearing aids. We have another appointment later this month for another audiology exam to monitor further hearing loss and to be fitted for HAs.
- severe muscle wasting…many of the activities Amy used to do easily, now require her to ask for help or unable to complete at all.
- extreme fatigue: this side effect has increased steadily over the last few months as she endured more rounds of chemo as well as daily radiation for a month.
- Amy is easily worn out with simple tasks and becomes out of breath, requiring her to take multiple breaks.
- low/high blood counts: the chemo ravaged Amy’s red blood cell counts, white blood cell counts, platelets…she received an injection at the end of each round of chemo that helped her white blood cell count but made her very sick for a few days afterward. Her platelets were too low for her last round of chemo and they delayed it by a week. Amy will continue to have weekly blood work completed to monitor her levels. We have been told to watch her physical activity for the next 3 months…her blood counts will need time to recover and she could suffer interior bleeding and/or difficulty clotting with wounds and more susceptible to infections.
These are just SOME of the things she has been going through…not to mention the mental and emotional stress she doesn’t often show.
There is no more possible treatment. If surgery is not indicated after the next scan then…this is it. We continue with monthly follow visits to her doctor to monitor symptoms and blood levels…CT/PET scans every 3 months to monitor tumor growth/spread but there is no further treatment for small cell carcinoma.
…and the thing about SCC (small cell cancer) is…even if the scans show the cancer is gone at the end of this month…it’s not IF it will come back…the question becomes….WHEN will it come back. SCC is unlike regular cancer in that the cells and tumors grow much more quickly and often spread to other areas very quickly.
Amy is struggling to get back on her feet after fighting for her life…please consider contributing to Amy’s ‘Life Fund’ so that her energy can continue to be spent on her well-being, keeping herself safe and healthy, and to help her get ‘BACK TO LIFE’ without overdoing herself.
THANK YOU for reading this, for sharing her story, and for loving Amy. ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Goodman
Organizer
Rodanthe, NC
Amy Goodman
Beneficiary