Help Tricia Beat Cancer
Donation protected
The Backstory
The story starts in 2013. Our beloved friend Trish was diagnosed with stage 1 Colorectal cancer. She had to have a bowel resection with the end result being that, supposedly, she shouldn't need any more treatment.
In 2014, Trish was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer of the metastatic peritoneal and stomach lining. She started chemo in the month of June in 2014. Being told that she had two years or so to live and there was nothing they could do, Trish sought out alternative methods. Some of her friends found a procedure called HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) and found out that there was a doctor in Toronto that offered the service. It turned out to be a fairly new concept.
In Canada, there are only a few places that offered the procedure so she had her oncologist refer her to one of the two surgeons in Ontario to perform this surgery. After meeting with her, she said that Trish was a good candidate for HIPEC surgery but still had to finish 12 rounds of chemo first. It was also necessary she had a laparoscopy to make sure that there wasn’t more cancer than they thought. In January 2015, Trish had finished her chemo and went for the laparoscopy. The news was good. She could have the surgery and it was the best news possible, even though we were aware of the complexity of the procedure.
In March of 2015 we went in for the HIPEC surgery. The procedure had some complications and lasted 23 hours. Trish spent 6 weeks in the hospital due to an infection which involved having the doctors reopen the wound to drain the fluids out. Finally, Trish was sent home with a VAC, a machine that helps in aiding the healing of large open wounds.
By the end of the summer the wound had not healed fully and reopened on its own. Trish had to go back to the surgeons and again they had to re-open the incision. It was at this time that we found out someone had not removed all the packing from the incision when they were initially draining the infection during the waiting period for the VAC. This was resulting in Trish not healing as her body was becoming septic, leading to further illness. Trish’s complexion had turned almost gray in colour. Once they removed the packing, she had started to feel back to her old self again.
We only had a few months before we were given the news that the cancer had returned, this time attached to her abdominal wall. The surgeon who did the original HIPEC procedure said that again the cancer could be removed
In March of 2016, Trish went back to Mount Sinai Hospital to have another surgery. This time they removed the cancer, however, doctors had to place mesh inside of the stomach to recreate a new abdominal wall. The surgery was successful, and she only had to stay 1 week. Trish spent the summer enjoying time with her kids and family. In October that year we were told that there was a chance the cancer had returned yet again, and we would wait until the next CT in January to see if the mass had changed.
In January of 2017, the next CT scan showed the mass had grown large and surgeons sent her for a biopsy. Three weeks later, the results came back positive. Surgeons suggested a 2nd HIPEC surgery which isn’t something that is commonly done. The procedure can be performed a limited number of times due to it be a very complicated procedure and having certain standards that need to be met before proceeding.
In March of 2017, Trish had yet another HIPEC procedure which led to even further complications resulting in the surgery lasting 29 hours. This time, a three-week stay was necessary. Trish spent the rest of the year doing well, having CT scans regularly every 3 months continuing into 2018.
In September of 2018, CT scans showed masses in her uterus, lymph nodes and again in the peritoneal lining. This time the surgeon said it’s inoperable due to it being in her lymph nodes. Not to mention that the scar tissue would be too much to cut through without causing complications. She referred Trish back to the oncologist to see what the next course of treatment would be.
She saw him in the beginning of October where he told Trish that the best course of treatment would be immune therapy. However, this isn’t covered by the government for this type of cancer. He set out a plan to contact different avenues to see if he could get it covered. He was refused by the government because the cancer is rare. There are no clinical trials available to her at this point, so the drug companies won’t cover it. Trish has private benefits, but again they don’t cover this drug. When she left his office that day, he was still trying avenues for the treatment to be covered.
On October 24, the oncologist had to inform us that still no one was willing to cover the treatments. Trish’s private company asked for more information, which was provided but still no return from them. The oncologist told us the procedure probably won’t be covered and that we should try to get the money ourselves. If Trish does not have treatment it is just a matter of time before it takes a turn for the absolute worst as they do not know how long she will have left. It was a hard thing to take in considering how hard she has been fighting thus far. There is a drug out there that could potentially add years to her life, but it was out of reach because it was out of her budget, which was unsettling due to the effort that has been put into helping Trish beat this.
The Punches are Adding Up
It has been five years Trish and her family have been putting everything they have got into getting past this, emotionally and mentally. Anti-nausea meds that weren’t covered by private insurance, medical marijuana for nausea and pain after surgeries and during chemo, travel expenses for chemo, surgeries, scans, follow ups, food, loss of time for work for her husband and mother, and finally not being able to work herself due to the way treatment affected her health. Due to the loss of income, the family was forced to claim bankruptcy, meaning they can’t even get a loan to cover the costs
Right now, they need help from our community. Trish's ongoing battle with cancer has hit a funding hurdle. New trial drug, Keytruda, is currently the light at the end of our tunnel. The problem is the cost. Securing treatment will run upwards of $150,000 annually, and is seldom covered by any insurance.
It is with a heavy heart that her friends and family ask for help from the community around us and the generous souls willing to help around the world. We have all lost someone to the monster that cancer is and even just a few spare dollars can make bigger impact that you may initially realize.
If you cannot give, even just sharing the link to this page will help bring attention and hopefully give her the help she needs and deserves.
Thank you for reading Trish’s story and God bless you for giving what you can.
The story starts in 2013. Our beloved friend Trish was diagnosed with stage 1 Colorectal cancer. She had to have a bowel resection with the end result being that, supposedly, she shouldn't need any more treatment.
In 2014, Trish was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer of the metastatic peritoneal and stomach lining. She started chemo in the month of June in 2014. Being told that she had two years or so to live and there was nothing they could do, Trish sought out alternative methods. Some of her friends found a procedure called HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) and found out that there was a doctor in Toronto that offered the service. It turned out to be a fairly new concept.
In Canada, there are only a few places that offered the procedure so she had her oncologist refer her to one of the two surgeons in Ontario to perform this surgery. After meeting with her, she said that Trish was a good candidate for HIPEC surgery but still had to finish 12 rounds of chemo first. It was also necessary she had a laparoscopy to make sure that there wasn’t more cancer than they thought. In January 2015, Trish had finished her chemo and went for the laparoscopy. The news was good. She could have the surgery and it was the best news possible, even though we were aware of the complexity of the procedure.
In March of 2015 we went in for the HIPEC surgery. The procedure had some complications and lasted 23 hours. Trish spent 6 weeks in the hospital due to an infection which involved having the doctors reopen the wound to drain the fluids out. Finally, Trish was sent home with a VAC, a machine that helps in aiding the healing of large open wounds.
By the end of the summer the wound had not healed fully and reopened on its own. Trish had to go back to the surgeons and again they had to re-open the incision. It was at this time that we found out someone had not removed all the packing from the incision when they were initially draining the infection during the waiting period for the VAC. This was resulting in Trish not healing as her body was becoming septic, leading to further illness. Trish’s complexion had turned almost gray in colour. Once they removed the packing, she had started to feel back to her old self again.
We only had a few months before we were given the news that the cancer had returned, this time attached to her abdominal wall. The surgeon who did the original HIPEC procedure said that again the cancer could be removed
In March of 2016, Trish went back to Mount Sinai Hospital to have another surgery. This time they removed the cancer, however, doctors had to place mesh inside of the stomach to recreate a new abdominal wall. The surgery was successful, and she only had to stay 1 week. Trish spent the summer enjoying time with her kids and family. In October that year we were told that there was a chance the cancer had returned yet again, and we would wait until the next CT in January to see if the mass had changed.
In January of 2017, the next CT scan showed the mass had grown large and surgeons sent her for a biopsy. Three weeks later, the results came back positive. Surgeons suggested a 2nd HIPEC surgery which isn’t something that is commonly done. The procedure can be performed a limited number of times due to it be a very complicated procedure and having certain standards that need to be met before proceeding.
In March of 2017, Trish had yet another HIPEC procedure which led to even further complications resulting in the surgery lasting 29 hours. This time, a three-week stay was necessary. Trish spent the rest of the year doing well, having CT scans regularly every 3 months continuing into 2018.
In September of 2018, CT scans showed masses in her uterus, lymph nodes and again in the peritoneal lining. This time the surgeon said it’s inoperable due to it being in her lymph nodes. Not to mention that the scar tissue would be too much to cut through without causing complications. She referred Trish back to the oncologist to see what the next course of treatment would be.
She saw him in the beginning of October where he told Trish that the best course of treatment would be immune therapy. However, this isn’t covered by the government for this type of cancer. He set out a plan to contact different avenues to see if he could get it covered. He was refused by the government because the cancer is rare. There are no clinical trials available to her at this point, so the drug companies won’t cover it. Trish has private benefits, but again they don’t cover this drug. When she left his office that day, he was still trying avenues for the treatment to be covered.
On October 24, the oncologist had to inform us that still no one was willing to cover the treatments. Trish’s private company asked for more information, which was provided but still no return from them. The oncologist told us the procedure probably won’t be covered and that we should try to get the money ourselves. If Trish does not have treatment it is just a matter of time before it takes a turn for the absolute worst as they do not know how long she will have left. It was a hard thing to take in considering how hard she has been fighting thus far. There is a drug out there that could potentially add years to her life, but it was out of reach because it was out of her budget, which was unsettling due to the effort that has been put into helping Trish beat this.
The Punches are Adding Up
It has been five years Trish and her family have been putting everything they have got into getting past this, emotionally and mentally. Anti-nausea meds that weren’t covered by private insurance, medical marijuana for nausea and pain after surgeries and during chemo, travel expenses for chemo, surgeries, scans, follow ups, food, loss of time for work for her husband and mother, and finally not being able to work herself due to the way treatment affected her health. Due to the loss of income, the family was forced to claim bankruptcy, meaning they can’t even get a loan to cover the costs
Right now, they need help from our community. Trish's ongoing battle with cancer has hit a funding hurdle. New trial drug, Keytruda, is currently the light at the end of our tunnel. The problem is the cost. Securing treatment will run upwards of $150,000 annually, and is seldom covered by any insurance.
It is with a heavy heart that her friends and family ask for help from the community around us and the generous souls willing to help around the world. We have all lost someone to the monster that cancer is and even just a few spare dollars can make bigger impact that you may initially realize.
If you cannot give, even just sharing the link to this page will help bring attention and hopefully give her the help she needs and deserves.
Thank you for reading Trish’s story and God bless you for giving what you can.
Co-organisers (2)
Brenton Hayward
Organiser
Lindsay, ON
Tricia Reynolds
Beneficiary
Tricia N Jimmy Reynolds Jr.
Co-organiser