Help Ivy Kochinka Beat Cancer

Chessy Sanchez is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Lloyd Kochinka.

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Ivy Kochinka is a loving wife, mother, daughter & sister! She has always had a big heart to help others and now it is time for us to help her. We would like to share with everyone what’s been going on the for the past few months.

Ivy was recently diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma, or in layman’s terms, bile duct cancer. She has a small tumor in her liver which is sitting in between all three of the major veins that drain blood from the liver back to the heart. The tumor was found by accident in an MRI her gastroenterologist ordered as the final procedure they could do before doing surgery to remove her gallbladder. About a month and a half ago, her gallbladder was removed and they performed a needle biopsy on the tumor.

Her current treatment plan is to have Y90 radiation treatment which involves inserting a catheter into her femoral artery in her thigh, basically in the groin area. The catheter is run up to her liver where the beads containing the radiation will be delivered. The Y90 will shrink the tumor, but also as part of the goal, will kill the right 2/3s of her liver. While the right side of her liver is shrinking, the left side will grow so that she has roughly 30-35% of her liver remaining on the right side.

After a few months, they will do more imaging to make sure the tumor shrunk, along with the right side of her liver and that the left side is now large enough to support losing the right side. If all goes well, sometime in October/November time frame, the liver transplant surgeons at Shand’s Hospital in Gainesville will cut off the right side of her liver, along with the tumor and 1-2 of those 3 drainage veins. She will then have a 2-3 month recovery time from the major surgery.

Right now they are barely a couple months into the entire process. Ivy & her husband met with the team at Shands multiple times. They’ve already done the trial run of the Y90 procedure which they use to map and image where the actual radiation will go. By 9/9/19, Ivy should go back to Shands to have the Y90 procedure done. After this, she is scheduled to have 2/3 of her liver removed.

To know Ivy is to understand that she is a sincere, caring and giving woman, dedicated to her family and friends and passionate about rescue dogs/animals.

This was the last thing anyone – including Ivy – ever expected to happen to her.

Due to her lengthy process to recovery, her employer could not keep her position held and they do not have any supplemental insurance. This is where her family and friends can assist. The Kochinka Family is hoping for your love, support, and gratitude in whatever way you can.

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