Help for the Campagna's during cancer treatment

We have created this GoFundMe to help Julie and Marco Campagna as they journey through this most challenging chapter of their lives. For those of you that are unaware of their stories, below is an overview of their situation.

With all they are going through, we anticipate a loss of income and additional uncovered medical expenses. We know many of you who love Julie and Marco want to help but aren't sure how. We hope this will give you a means to participate in carrying them through this challenging time and alleviate some of the financial stress in the months ahead.

Marco:

In March of this year, Marco began to experience some odd symptoms in his abdomen. Initially, he felt like he had strained a muscle, but the pain did not go away despite rest and reduced exercise. The abdominal pain often felt like a GI issue, and Marco generally lost his appetite. Loss of appetite resulted in the loss of weight. After several weeks of persistent pain and discomfort, Marco reached out to his doctor, who ordered various tests. All test results came back “normal” or “clear,” but there was no relief from the abdominal pain/discomfort. Finally, on May 26th, Marco went in for a physical exam, and the doctor noticed an odd protrusion from the side of his abdomen. She ordered an ultrasound and a CT scan that revealed a large tumor between his liver and right kidney. It was biopsied on June 8th, which was inconclusive regarding the type of cancer, though the doctors knew it was malignant. After sending Marco’s biopsy samples to Johns Hopkins for further review, the results indicated that the tumor was a retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcoma. This type of cancer originates in fat cells and can go undetected for many years. Marco has likely had this tumor for at least several years. When it was finally discovered, the tumor measured approximately 7”x 5” x 4.3”. It applies tremendous pressure to several vital organs and the abdominal wall and causes significant pain, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness.

On June 24, after discussing Marco’s case and reviewing his scans, the Kaiser Oncology Board confirmed the liposarcoma diagnosis. They recommended radiation treatment followed by surgery as the standard care for Marco’s condition. Marco agreed to the suggested treatment plan and began 6 weeks of daily radiation treatments (5x per week) on July 12. Radiation aims to prevent recurrence by radiating the margins around the tumor and preventing cancer from spreading. Radiation would not shrink the tumor, but it would kill the cancer cells. We are happy to report that Marco completed his last treatment on August 18. Still, as the radiation oncologists had warned, radiation has taken a tremendous toll on his body, and Marco is battling continuous waves of nausea, fatigue, and increased pain. Hopefully, these symptoms will resolve in the next week or so. Marco constantly tries to manage the pain and continues to show bravery and resilience daily. Unfortunately, nausea limits Marco’s appetite, and he has lost quite a bit of weight. Fortunately, friends and family are bringing delicious and healthy meals to try to fatten him back up!

In terms of next steps, Marco will take the next 3 to 4 weeks to recover before going into surgery to remove the tumor. Unfortunately, there are limited treatment options for liposarcoma. Surgically removing the tumor is the primary form of treatment. The surgery date is not confirmed but is anticipated to be mid-September. Because the tumor is large, protrudes into the liver, encapsulates the right kidney, and pushes into the intestines and abdominal wall, the surgeons anticipate removal of the right kidney, part of the ascending colon, part of the liver and sections of the right abdominal wall. Marco will likely be in the hospital for a week post-op, and recovery is expected to take between 4-8 weeks. As a result of this schedule, he will likely not be able to return to teaching until late into this semester or after the New Year.

Julie:

Around the same time Marco started noticing the pain in his abdomen in late March, Julie felt something odd in her upper right chest wall. At the time, she wasn’t immediately concerned, didn’t think much of it and quite frankly forgot about it, assuming it was a pulled muscle or clogged milk duct that would eventually go away. It was not until a couple of months later, on a trip to the Cayman Islands with some college friends, that she began to think about the odd lump more seriously. A couple of her dear friends who had their own experiences with breast cancer encouraged her to meet with her doctor upon her return stateside. So, in the beginning of June, Julie emailed her doctor about the lump and scheduled an appointment for a few weeks later. Julie truly believed nothing was wrong but felt it was best to get it checked out nonetheless. She was going to focus the appointment on her desire to get genetic testing for breast cancer (another suggestion from her friends) as her mother had passed away from breast cancer at the age of 54, and Julie felt it was important to find out if she might have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. Julie has always been aware of her potential breast cancer risk and was getting regular mammograms annually, but was feeling as though she needed to get more information for her kids and to take everything a bit more seriously. She will be the first to tell you that she “probably buried her head in the sand a bit” when it came to wanting to know what the genetic test might reveal.

On Friday, June 24th, Julie met with her OB, shared Marco’s situation, and asked for genetic testing. Her doctor then conducted a breast exam and gave Julie a look she will never forget. Her doctor gently told her that she would need to get a diagnostic mammogram as soon as possible. Julie was completely shocked, given everything that was happening with Marco’s health. The following Tuesday, June 28, Julie underwent a mammogram and an ultrasound. After the ultrasound, the doctor and radiologist explained that there were three lesions that they were concerned with and wanted to biopsy for further review. Of course, Julie agreed and proceeded to undergo the biopsy in which they took 15 samples from the three tumors.

On July 1st, Julie received the unfathomable news that she had breast cancer. She then began meeting with her cancer care team and talking with various doctors and surgeons to determine the best course of treatment. Based on the pathology, conversations with friends and family and lots of prayers, Julie decided to have a double-mastectomy followed by reconstruction. She then underwent a breast MRI on July 11, which revealed a 4th lesion. Thankfully, all of the lesions were small and were caught relatively early.

Julie selected two excellent surgeons from Kaiser Oakland and had a successful double mastectomy on August 5. Julie was released the same day and arrived home to friends and family who assisted her around the clock during her recovery. The sentinel lymph node was taken during surgery to check if the cancer had spread. This past week, the doctor shared that the pathology report showed a micromet of cancer measuring 1.5mm. Further testing was ordered by oncology, and Julie will find out what other treatment options she will need to undergo when she meets with her oncologist on September 6. We are all hoping and praying that this will be the end of treatment and that she can focus on healing and supporting Marco in his upcoming surgery. Reconstruction surgery will be planned for Julie in approximately 4 months.

As you can see, this is a lot for any family to hold and manage. Add to this that they were also in the middle of a long-awaited and much-needed remodel of their tiny kitchen. At the beginning of the remodel, they tested for mold (at the same time they both received their cancer diagnosis) and learned that there was significant mold in the main bathroom. So, in addition to the kitchen remodel, which was in progress, they now have to rip out and redo the master bath to remove all of the mold and make sure they return to a safe, mold-free home where they can both recover.

Marco and Julie’s most significant concern is their children and ensuring their lives remain as normal as possible. Because of God’s grace and the love and support of friends and family, both Olivia and Gianluca are doing remarkably well and keeping busy with school and their activities; Olivia is in cheerleading and soon-to-be lacrosse and Gianluca with soccer. Marco and Julie would like to say to everyone who has prayed for them, fed them, housed them, driven their kids, cared for them at their bedside, assisted with doctors appointments, sent flowers, cards and text messages, THANK YOU. Their hearts are full of gratitude, and their spirits are strong because of their faith. They look forward to getting to the other side of this “interrupted life”, but are finding the beauty in each of the moments in between.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1