My Battle With Incurable Cancer

I was diagnosed with cancer almost to the day the covid pandemic was declared in early 2000. I suspected something wasn’t right because I couldn’t hear much in my right ear when I answered the phone one night. Then the bad headaches came and forced me to seek medical attention. I tested positive for Nasopharyngeal cancer! Initial treatment was 35 rounds of 70 Gy radiation over seven weeks. It was considered a successful treatment, which was good news as I had minimal treatment options due to my age and weight. Risky doing any biopsies and a more potent chemo treatment would be toxic to me.

Unfortunately, in November 2021, new scans showed cancer had metastasized to my lungs and bone (incurable). I started chemo with a mild drug called Gemcitabine and received eight cycles (16 doses). About a month ago, I had to get a port-a-path inserted in my right chest as my veins would no longer accept blood withdrawal or chemo injections. Thankfully, for the most part, I’ve been holding my own except for some minor aches & pains. Have been off chemo for a couple of months to give my body a rest but have scans booked for next month which will indicate if I can go back on chemo. The last two scans showed I was ‘stable’ (a good word in the medical field), but we need to know how the tumors responded to not having treatment. If the tumors are larger from no chemo, I guess I’ll be playing the waiting game for when my time comes to move on to another life. It’s been about two & one-half years since I received this devastating news, and if I’m one of the lucky ones, I hope to have another 2-3 years. However, that prospect changed just recently.

I was experiencing severe dizziness, so I checked myself into the ED at Trillium Mississauga Hospital. A CT Scan and an MRI showed I had suffered a stroke that hit the part of my brain that controls a person’s balance. I didn’t even know I had a stroke; there were no other indicators, just the dizziness, which wasn’t going away. Finally, after a week in the hospital, I recovered well and came home. I still have some balance issues and have to be careful not to fall, but this leaves me worrying about when another stroke will happen and what damage it might cause. Unfortunately, having incurable cancer and being prone to strokes is not a good combination. I was fortunate with the first one, but that may not be the outcome next time. Still, I’ll continue to be positive and fight the good fight with all my supporters behind me!

I have been healthy all my life, but with the current situation being so unpredictable, I feel obligated to put my position on the back burner for now and think about my husband’s well-being. He beat cancer about five years ago but suffered some long-term issues. He has AFIB, so he can only walk short distances and has to use a suprapubic catheter forever. Aside from these issues, he’s doing well these days. I used to think that if one of us suffered a stroke, it would be him. How wrong that thinking was!

So now it’s my wish to raise funds for his future daily care as I could become incapacitated with another stroke at any time and not be able to care for him. So whatever funds are raised will be held for his ongoing care when I cannot tend to his needs – rent (which will be double what we pay now if he has to go into a long-term care facility), groceries, medications etc. It would also allow him to care for our two long-term FIV+ foster cats, as they're good company and bring him great joy.

I realize this is the worst time ever to be looking for financial help, as most are experiencing their own struggles, but the possibility of me not being able to take care of him is weighing on my mind. If I were to leave this earth today, I’d like to know he’ll be able to manage financially. There are only the two of us, and being my situation is pretty unpredictable, I need to take things seriously now, not after the fact. Any amount is appreciated, but if you’re unable to help, it would be very much appreciated if you could pass this appeal on to others (friends & relatives and ask them to do the same) as one never knows who might be happy to help. Also, if you wish to help but not be identified in the actual GoFundMe, you can do an e-transfer using my email address, and I'll add it manually to the fundraiser as anonymous.

Sincerest thanks from the bottom of my heart, and I wish you all good health. As I've learned, your health is precious and can fail you in the blink of an eye.