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Help the Hamilton's fight Cancer

Shocking. Diagnosed with endometrial / uterine cancer at the age of 28 has sent shock waves through my life. Shocked and surprised are the words used by every medical professional I’ve seen since being diagnosed on October 23rd 2019. If we haven’t met yet, HI, I’m Shannon a young woman that finds herself in ‘extremely rare circumstances’. I am willing to do whatever it takes to beat this cancer, but as a family we have come to terms with the fact that we can not do this alone. The Hamilton’s are going to need your help. It has lead me here to go-fund-me ; an awesome platform where people can connect and reach out to the greater community and share their personal story and struggles. Any kind of donation no matter how big or small would be greatly appreciated, including prayers. Anything will help! I have set a very realistic, calculated and achievable goal for this campaign as you will see in the details of my journey below.



United together, your generous contributions will go directly towards any of our medical expenses, travel expenses (hotels, airbnb’s, fuel from our tiny town of Colborne to the big city of Toronto, exercise and overnight expenses for the care of our doggie Atticus, parking etc), lost wages, meals/dietary requirements, etc. I’m sure there is more that I’m forgetting to write here but as you probably know being deep in the battle trenches you can only process and foresee so much. This goal only covers the immediate needs of what we’re dealing with right now. I personally promise to update you on the progress of my treatments! We appreciate those of you who simply pass this along and share it with as many people possible. 

“Endometrial adenocarcinoma usually occurs after menopause, but in 2%–14% of cases, it occurs in young patients (less than 40 years of age) who are eager to preserve their fertility.”  ((quote sourced from U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine article )) It has been a long and emotionally gruelling process to get where I am here on this journey today. However, I feel confident in my current health team at Princess Margaret (Toronto), one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world.

My initial consultation was on November 29th with the Gynecologic-Oncology team where we discussed fertility preservation and potential treatment options. Urgent MRI and CT scans were scheduled to see if I met the criteria. Dr Ferguson’s summary notes explain it best: “Unfortunately, Shannon has a large mass in her uterus with deep invasion close to the serosa (essentially the border or last layer of tissue) and is not a candidate. The MRI findings indicate that the uterus is anteverted and enlarged measuring 12.5 x 10.8 x 9.9 cm. The endometrium is markedly distended measuring up to 3.7 cm in thickness. It is completely replaced by an endometrial-based middle enhancing, diffusion restricting, T1 and T2 intermediate signal mass measuring 7.9 x 7.9 x 7.4 cm.” Not being a candidate meant my cancer was far more advanced than anyone anticipated. Therefore, surgery for a robotic-assisted radical hysterectomy was immediately booked for January 13th 2020.

I was personally hoping that if I was on the fast track to a hysterectomy then Dr. Ferguson would be able to save my ovaries. Unfortunately, in her expert opinion it’s believed the team cannot conserve my ovaries due to the cancers deep invasion; I am at a ‘higher risk for lymph node and ovarian involvement’. The cancer may have possibly spread microscopically beyond my uterus. Dr Ferguson also warns of the high risk of recurrence. The Pathology report ( of cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, omental biopsy, sentinel lymph node dissection) received after surgery will heavily determine next steps in treatment: chemo, radiation, a combination of the two, or possibly nothing!!! Of course I remain hopeful for that last option! 


Recovery from this surgery will extremely restrict my ability to do even the simplest of every day tasks… like getting out of bed. I will be incapacitated for 2+ months. As I learned from my laparoscopic appendectomy, doing too much too soon can actually cause more irreversible damage. We are currently looking into some local service providers (nurses for recovery care, cleaning businesses, etc) to assist with the heavy load at home. Outsourcing will simply make this stressful time a little easier and truthfully give me some peace of mind knowing my dad won’t drop to the floor from another heart attack. He's the kind of guy who will continue to push on far past his bodies limits. 

There are still a lot of unknowns, but with absolute certainty I can say that when I wake up from surgery I will abruptly experience induced menopause - There is no gradual transition like most women experience with typical perimenopause where hormones slowly fizzle out. This may require further treatment or at the very least ‘symptom management’. Guaranteed that if you haven’t experienced menopause yourself, then you’ve heard living stories from women in your life that have.. and every account of the intense symptoms is honestly terrifying.

This fast approaching surgery date (as I sit here and write this on new years eve; t-minus 13 DAYS and counting) has catapulted us into full on MAYDAY MODE.

That same day we sat down with Dr Ferguson (Dec 13th 2019) about imaging results etc, a referral was made for an urgent consultation with Dr. Glass, a leading specialist in fertility and egg retrieval / freezing. We rushed home from Toronto and made it back just in time for a detailed introductory video call from the CReATe Fertility Centre . Dr. Glass concluded with these words, “If you want to proceed Shannon you need to stop taking the medication you’re on right away and come to our private clinic in Toronto first thing Monday morning.” I had approximately 3 hours to make a huge life decision. I was informed the government would pay for the procedure of the egg retrieval, however, the necessary medications were not covered and would cost between $3 - 5K. It’s important to note that IVF egg retrieval and freezing is just the first step of MANY.  IVF itself can be time-consuming, expensive, invasive, physically and emotionally draining, but I must admit, saying yes was very easy. So that Monday (Dec 16th) my Dad drove me once again into the city where we learned the new in’s and out’s of the IVF process -

1.  cycle monitoring - consists of very frequent EARLY morning visits for blood tests, ultrasounds, medication tracking, Dr check in’s, and of course lots of waiting rooms. At the beginning of the process visits are every two to three days and then as you get closer to the “trigger shot”, around the time egg the retrieval session happens, you are asked to go to the fertility clinic DAILY for monitoring. Our routine is that Dad and I leave around 7AM and get home anywhere between 1 and 4 PM.

2.  daily injections - the first day we learned how to mix drugs for the shots and when and where to administer them. Thank goodness the nurse let me film the demo!

I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge how imperative my parents support has been as we navigate this extremely complex and trying time.


My dad has been taking valuable time off work. The Holiday season is undeniably the busiest and most profitable time of year for him.. so not being able to work has been a huge sacrifice. He has taken on most of the responsibilities looking after mom (recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s) and the house and now everything with ME!!! Which is ALOT  for any 65 year old man. Dad is the person who drives me into Toronto every time, sits in on ALL the appointments with me and helps give me my injections. In the last few day's he's admitted to me he is burnt out. I know everything has taken an extremely large tole on him emotionally and physically. He will be off work for an undetermined amount of time. I would just like to extend a huge THANK YOU to our family at Barberian’s (where my dad has worked for almost 40 years). You have all been so understanding and compassionate towards our situation and we love you.


Well this write up that is supposed to be short and sweet is far from it! If you've made it this far, holy sh*t I think you're awesome and I sincerely say thank you. I tried to condense it numerous times, but honestly everything that is here is the meat of the stacked cancer burger. It's hard to ask for help. Any kind of donation no matter how big or small would be greatly appreciated. We appreciate those of you who simply pass this along and share it with as many people possible. 
I know in the end the struggle will make us stronger.
Please, Help the Hamilton's.

Much Love,
Shannon, Kathy & John Hamilton
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  • Anonymous
    • $660 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $118 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $660 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
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    • $1,080 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
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    • $2,200 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer

Shannon Hamilton
Organizer
Colborne, ON

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