Moms Cancer Battle
Donation protected
My mom was diagnosed 1995 with Stage 3 ductal breast cancer by a routine mammogram at the age of 40. She had the mammogram earlier than she was due because I had jumped on her resting on the couch on a family vacation. She had some tenderness and decided to have it checked out. It wasn't long before her doctor contacted her that her mammogram looked "different" than her last one and ordered a biopsy. That biopsy showed cancerous activity and 21 lymph nodes that were involved. She was staged 3 and scheduled for a mastectomy which had gone into her chest wall. The cancer was described aggressive and so she was told she would have to have chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant to surpass her expected survival of 2 years.
Upon completion of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she was admitted to the University Hospitals of Cleveland for high dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant. This was the popular and experimental school of thought at that time as a published article in the 1990's boasted incredible studies of women who were treated with this protocol of extremely high doses of chemotherapy thought to annihlate cancer cells , and then follow it up with a stem cell transplant. Mom donated her own stem cells, as they showed no evidence of cancerous activity. Mom completed the treatment in 1997 .
23 years later, Mom began experiencing joint pain, fatigue and suffered a fall that set her back on her daily walks and time outside. At the urging of her family doctor, she was asked to get a complete blood panel done, as her cholestorol had been high. She had the blood work done and was contacted 1/2 hour after leaving the lab with notification that her blood counts were very disturbing and erratic. She was referred the next day to a hematologist/oncologist who reviewed her lab work, and he quickly diagnosed her with MDS, or Myelodysplastic Syndrome , a disease that attacks bone marrow and cause stem cells to produce abnormal, unusually shaped, stem cells that don't go on to mature and become healthy marrow. She is in the 10 - 12 percentile of damaged blast cells, and therefore is considered high risk to develop acute leukemia. She is currently getting chemotherapy 5 days a week every 28 days, and an injection once a week to boost her red blood production. She needs a bone marrow transplant and has already had her DNA made available to the Donor sponsor site to field eligible candidates. Her doctors have confirmed the high dose of radiation , chemo and stem cell transplant in the 1990's most likely caused the destruction of her bone marrow. This procedure is covered by insurance, but she will be required to be off work for the transplant 4 to 6 weeks, followed by 100 days at home for complications of graft vs. host disease. She's a divorced office manager at a dental office and can't afford to be without an income for 4 months. , Our goal is 6,000 dollars, but anything would help at this point. We never thought our mother would be in this position again. If your not able to donate , we ask for you prayers. We need our mom in good health .
Upon completion of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she was admitted to the University Hospitals of Cleveland for high dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant. This was the popular and experimental school of thought at that time as a published article in the 1990's boasted incredible studies of women who were treated with this protocol of extremely high doses of chemotherapy thought to annihlate cancer cells , and then follow it up with a stem cell transplant. Mom donated her own stem cells, as they showed no evidence of cancerous activity. Mom completed the treatment in 1997 .
23 years later, Mom began experiencing joint pain, fatigue and suffered a fall that set her back on her daily walks and time outside. At the urging of her family doctor, she was asked to get a complete blood panel done, as her cholestorol had been high. She had the blood work done and was contacted 1/2 hour after leaving the lab with notification that her blood counts were very disturbing and erratic. She was referred the next day to a hematologist/oncologist who reviewed her lab work, and he quickly diagnosed her with MDS, or Myelodysplastic Syndrome , a disease that attacks bone marrow and cause stem cells to produce abnormal, unusually shaped, stem cells that don't go on to mature and become healthy marrow. She is in the 10 - 12 percentile of damaged blast cells, and therefore is considered high risk to develop acute leukemia. She is currently getting chemotherapy 5 days a week every 28 days, and an injection once a week to boost her red blood production. She needs a bone marrow transplant and has already had her DNA made available to the Donor sponsor site to field eligible candidates. Her doctors have confirmed the high dose of radiation , chemo and stem cell transplant in the 1990's most likely caused the destruction of her bone marrow. This procedure is covered by insurance, but she will be required to be off work for the transplant 4 to 6 weeks, followed by 100 days at home for complications of graft vs. host disease. She's a divorced office manager at a dental office and can't afford to be without an income for 4 months. , Our goal is 6,000 dollars, but anything would help at this point. We never thought our mother would be in this position again. If your not able to donate , we ask for you prayers. We need our mom in good health .
Organizer
Kyley Bramley
Organizer
Medina, OH
