Help us Surprise Atsuyo with A lasting Memory

 On July 3rd 2017, our world was turned upside down, when our mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.  With all that she has been through battling this disease and what she will have to continue to fight in the future, we wanted to give something to our mother to celebrate all that she has overcome. My sisters and I are coming together to pitch in money for a surprise trip of her dreams. With medical expenses piling up everyday, our parents could never afford to do something like this themselves. We would love to help her visit her family in Japan or fulfill her life long dream of  going on a cruise. There are a few things she has on her bucket list and we would like to help make them possible. 

If you know our parents you know they are the helpers not the ones to be helped. They hate to ask for anything and are always the first to serve. But Cancer is a burden that can consume your whole life- your strength, your finances, your time and sometimes your faith. Our mother has been surrounded by angels that have carried her and our family through this experience.  Mom has such a strong desire to continue to live fully and if you would like to help us with this goal we would be so grateful for your support. We want to give this gift to celebrate her amazing strength and give her something to look forward to in the future. 

***Atsuyo’s journey

 Our mom was visiting us in Hawaii in May of 2017 and had a light cough.  In July, when it still wouldn’t go away we encouraged her to go to the doctor just to check things out.  At first they sent her home with some allergy medicine. When that didn’t work, she went back and they gave her an inhaler. Being healthy and active, she kept getting dismissed until one night she couldn’t breath, and we rushed her to the ER. Finally, after having a chest X Ray done, doctors discovered two tumors in her lungs. Then later they found cancer in her hip and lymph nodes and told her, it wasn’t allergies or asthma, but actually advanced Stage 4 lung cancer. We were all stunned.

 Our mom is a tiny person, but she is strong willed and big hearted.  She has been working for years as a medical translator and has not let this diagnosis slow her.  One of the things she told us early on is that she still wanted to be active in the community, keep working and help others for as long as she possibly could.  

Fortunately, for the past year and a half she has been able to treat her cancer with targeted gene therapy pills, a break-through in lung cancer research.  It had been working very well, and after about a year, all her tumors had shrunk dramatically or disappeared completely.  She was almost in a type of remission. 

 However, this January her cough returned and after a visit to the ER we were informed her cancer had started growing again from the original place in her lungs. She was about to go on a trip to Hawaii to visit her grandchildren and just like last time life again came screeching to a halt. She had to cancel her trip and immediately was ordered to start a new treatment- this time 12 rounds of chemotherapy. 

Again, she has amazingly tolerated chemo therapy very well.  She has gone every Wednesday for the past few months to recieve three different types of cancer fighting drugs.  All the while she has kept working in many of the Seattle hospitals, her patients having no idea that their cheerful interpreter was silently fighting cancer along side them. 

Mom has 4 rounds of chemotherapy left and  is doing great.  After chemotherapy is finished, she will have a 6 week break from medications while they decide what treatments to do next.
 
We would love to surprise her with some adventures in this break to keep moms spirits strong as she continues to fight this battle. Never could we have ever dreamed such beautiful moments and such beautiful love could have come from such an ugly thing as cancer.  Thank you in advance for loving and serving our wonderful mom!