Christina’s fight to kick cancers a$$

Hi my name is Nicole, I am helping to raise money for my best friend, Christina. Christina has been fighting cancer and receiving treatment in Buffalo for the last 7 months. At this time, her best chance at survival is to begin treatment in NYC. This new plan is going to cost thousands of dollars in travel expenses alone, please help in any way you can.

In her own words, this has been her journey so far:

My story

The past 6-7 years. It began with my being in the best shape of my life, happy and healthy and a newlywed. Then came a series of 3 second-trimester miscarriages. None of which completed naturally and 2 of which I ended up giving birth in my bathroom. The cause was finally discovered to be the combination of a uterine septum and a painful degenerating fibroid, which broke my water each time. I had the septum resected and fibroid removed surgically. I had complications to include kidney infection and blockage, kidney stones and the IUD they placed coming out of place. The losses and stress helped to destroy my marriage and we divorced.

By the time my new partner and I were ready to start trying to have a baby, I began hemorrhaging and was found to have another degenerating fibroid the size of a grapefruit, which I needed surgically removed via c-section. After that surgery’s success and being told I’d finally be able to carry to term, it was determined that I had aggressive uterine cancer and needed a total hysterectomy. Despite my unwillingness to go through with it, I was told I wouldn’t survive long enough to have a baby if I didn’t. So I went through with a total hysterectomy 5 weeks after the c-section. I then developed a pelvic access and was hospitalized for a week on antibiotics.

It was determined to be an incredibly rare form of cancer, that Roswell Park, Sloan Kettering and Mayo Clinic all gave consult on. Uterine Tumor Resembling Ovarian Sex Cord Tumor, accounts for less than 2% of all uterine cancer, and this one even behaved differently. But it was agreed upon that I did not need further treatment.

Still determined to start a family, with only one ovary left, and a ridiculously low AMH level of .01, I insisted on doing IVF. Two egg retrievals resulted in 2 embryos. A year later, while trying to save enough for another round of IVF, embryo transfer to a surrogate, and the thousands in lawyer fees to do the legal paperwork for a surrogate, an ultrasound found pelvic masses. A scan afterwards found lung masses and a biopsy confirmed cancer. Metastatic Uterine Sarcoma. Now considered stage 4.

I began “Red Devil” chemotherapy at Roswell park, in July of 2021, every 3 weeks. I completed 9 rounds out of the usually recommended 6 per lifetime, due to the drug’s toxicity, because it was my best chance. My long, beautiful hair fell out in handfuls after the first treatment. My eyebrows and lashes followed, not long after. After completing my 9th and (what i hoped to be) final treatment, I caught a cold while my immune system was non-existent from chemo, and was hospitalized with neutropenic fever for a week. I underwent a blood transfusion and injections to bring my blood counts up.

While treatment was working at first, my latest PET scan revealed that the cancer has spread again; more in my lungs and some lymph nodes. I’ve been given a prognosis of living another year or less, but I refuse to accept that or stop fighting. I just turned 40.

The plan is either a different chemo regimen or a clinical trial in NYC. Each trip to New York will be hundreds at minimum, between travel and lodging. I can only work part time at best right now, between appointments, treatment and the unpredictability of my health. I am single and pay all of my bills alone, to include a mortgage.