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This is Andrea's second time battling bone cancer. She is traveling several times a month to California for treatment. This can get very expensive let alone very tiring. Let's help her every way possible and make life a little less stressful! All money will go straight to Andrea for her to use any way she needs it.
This is from Andrea herself:
I was diagnosed with bone cancer December 17, 2012. My bone biopsy from several days before, following an “odd but probably nothing” x-ray was confirmed osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. I had a tumor in my right leg, proximal tibia.
I went in for follow-up tests and learned it had spread to my lungs and several lymph nodes. My chance of survival with protocol treatment at this point was not good. I finished my degree at UNMC then packed up and moved cross country to California and entered a trial treatment at UCLA. I went through months of chemo and radiation, a thoracotomy, a lobectomy, several leg surgeries, and hours of physical therapy and rehab.
After nearly one and a half years of treatment in California I got the amazing news that I was cancer free!
I moved back to Nebraska and started working as an RN at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. Unfortunately, my 9-months scans came back suspicious. A bone biopsy confirmed the cancer was back in the original area of the tibia.
I have a long road ahead of me. I’ve been flying back and forth to Los Angeles for treatment. I have several more rounds of chemo and radiation and will have leg surgery to remove the tumor in May, followed by weeks or months more of physical rehab and several rounds of post-surgery chemo.
Osteosarcoma is a rare type of cancer, with only about 800 new cases in the U.S. each year, the majority in teens and young adults. There is no known cause and it’s often diagnosed late. I hope my story can help bring attention to this type of bone cancer and help to improve treatment options and survival rates.
I cannot express how thankful I am for the support of so many people throughout all of this. I have been amazed and humbled by the support. Thank you.
This is from Andrea herself:
I was diagnosed with bone cancer December 17, 2012. My bone biopsy from several days before, following an “odd but probably nothing” x-ray was confirmed osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. I had a tumor in my right leg, proximal tibia.
I went in for follow-up tests and learned it had spread to my lungs and several lymph nodes. My chance of survival with protocol treatment at this point was not good. I finished my degree at UNMC then packed up and moved cross country to California and entered a trial treatment at UCLA. I went through months of chemo and radiation, a thoracotomy, a lobectomy, several leg surgeries, and hours of physical therapy and rehab.
After nearly one and a half years of treatment in California I got the amazing news that I was cancer free!
I moved back to Nebraska and started working as an RN at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. Unfortunately, my 9-months scans came back suspicious. A bone biopsy confirmed the cancer was back in the original area of the tibia.
I have a long road ahead of me. I’ve been flying back and forth to Los Angeles for treatment. I have several more rounds of chemo and radiation and will have leg surgery to remove the tumor in May, followed by weeks or months more of physical rehab and several rounds of post-surgery chemo.
Osteosarcoma is a rare type of cancer, with only about 800 new cases in the U.S. each year, the majority in teens and young adults. There is no known cause and it’s often diagnosed late. I hope my story can help bring attention to this type of bone cancer and help to improve treatment options and survival rates.
I cannot express how thankful I am for the support of so many people throughout all of this. I have been amazed and humbled by the support. Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Andrea Koll
Beneficiary