PLEASE HELP SHELLEY GET HER TREATMENT
Spende geschützt
Our dear friend Shelley is in the fight of her life - this fundraiser has been set up to help Shelley raise the money needed to get treatment at Hope4Cancer. You can learn more at: https://hope4cancer.com/about-us
From Shelley:
My cancer journey started just 12 days after I left a job that I’d been at since 2001. I was to start a new full-time job January 2, 2020, but on December 26, I wasn’t feeling like I could fully inhale and I thought I should get it checked out. I was admitted to MG hospital as soon as my doctor saw my X-ray. It turns out that I had pleural effusion, they removed 1300cc of a dark bloody liquid. Of course we googled it as soon as we returned to the hospital room, it came up as malignant effusion… we decided to wait and see what the doctor had to say. It turns out, that the doctors at the small local hospital don’t really do much with things like what I was going through, and they wanted to transfer me to a larger hospital, after already spending three days at our local one. Our kids were only home for Christmas for a few more days, so I opted to discharge myself and spend time with them, knowing in the back of my mind that this was probably serious.
Just a few days later, on December 30th, I wasn’t feeling well and went to the emergency room at the larger hospital, as per doctor’s orders. They did a CT of my lungs and accidentally caught one of my ovaries. The ER doc told us I had influenza A and ovarian cancer. I wasn’t completely surprised after the googling experience from the pleural effusion.
On January 6, we met with the first oncologist, and she told us that the cancer was stage 4, and that I would die from it. I still feel like she had no right to tell me how she thinks I will die, and if I have anything to do with it, she will be 100% wrong. We were afraid, however, and did sign up for treatments with that cancer clinic.
In the meantime, we also went to Mayo Clinic and met with one of their gynecological oncologists. He and his students gave us little hope, and literally asked why we were there. He did suggest another clinic however because of their affiliation with clinical trials.
Third time was a charm and we met with a doctor that we not only both liked, but she gave me a 20% chance of survival. Finally a doctor that I felt like I could align with, someone that believed I could actually beat this, just like I did and still do. Unfortunately, I had already had one chemotherapy treatment with the other clinic, so we had to stay on that program, even though she would have preferred another course of treatment. After three monthly treatments, I had a debulking surgery, removing any visible cancer, as well as my ovaries and omentum. Three weeks later, I started another three rounds of chemotherapy.
My last chemo was on July 3rd, and my CA125 ( the ovarian cancer marker) had continuously gone down, by July 23 it had gone down to 24, with the normal range being 0-30. My doctor gave us the good news that she thought I was cancer free, but to work on my bucket list because it probably wouldn’t last for long. I have to say, I thought that meant, several years! But by my 3 month check-up in October, my CA125 was up to 119. Unfortunately, because the cancer came back so quickly (actually never went away), I am considered platinum-resistant, which is the gold standard treatment for ovarian cancer. I was given the option to see how I felt while we tested monthly to see how my disease was progressing. The CAT scan showed cancer has spread to several lymph nodes and I had several biopsies to confirm that. My last CA125 was 717.
Since my diagnosis, I have continued to increase what I can do to positively affect my health. I’ve read many books, watched a plethora of documentaries, and changed so much of my life. I thought I had a healthy diet before, but now I eat 99% organic whole food, meditate twice daily, exercise, use an infrared sauna, and look for joy daily. Creating… making art is what takes me away from all of it, and it keeps me sane.
My doctor has offered another chemotherapy drug, as well as a drug to stop the tumors from spreading, but I’m told they are for the rest of my life, and there is no cure. They will likely prolong life, but at what cost? No guarantees and no promise that it won’t make life extremely uncomfortable or even be the actual cause of death. They’ve tested my genetics and I don’t have any of the mutations that are currently being used for treatment in ovarian cancer.
Feeling like I need to take charge of my own health, I am still convinced that I can beat this, that with the proper frame of mind, proper nutrition, exercise and the treatments at Hope4Cancer, I can be cancer free! I've seen several Naturalpaths, an oncology nutritionist in the last few weeks, as well as watching hours and hours of webinars from https://hope4cancer.com/about-us/ . They offer non-toxic treatments that treat the whole body, mind and spirit, not just the cancer. So much of the research talks about trauma that gets stuck in the body and turns into dis-ease. They use many treatments that aren’t approved in the US, but are used throughout Europe. The program is three weeks in Mexico, and includes two return visits, as well as several treatments brought back home to continue for the next several months to a year. I’ve researched cancer clinics throughout the US, and while Hope4Cancer feels expensive at $47K, some of the treatments start at over $100K here in the US.
Our kids are coming in a few weeks for a belated Christmas and to celebrate my 60th birthday, so I’d like to go to Hope4Cancer in the beginning of March, especially since my numbers keep going up.
I am so grateful to everyone that has helped me and my family during this difficult time, and if you can help I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
From Shelley:
My cancer journey started just 12 days after I left a job that I’d been at since 2001. I was to start a new full-time job January 2, 2020, but on December 26, I wasn’t feeling like I could fully inhale and I thought I should get it checked out. I was admitted to MG hospital as soon as my doctor saw my X-ray. It turns out that I had pleural effusion, they removed 1300cc of a dark bloody liquid. Of course we googled it as soon as we returned to the hospital room, it came up as malignant effusion… we decided to wait and see what the doctor had to say. It turns out, that the doctors at the small local hospital don’t really do much with things like what I was going through, and they wanted to transfer me to a larger hospital, after already spending three days at our local one. Our kids were only home for Christmas for a few more days, so I opted to discharge myself and spend time with them, knowing in the back of my mind that this was probably serious.
Just a few days later, on December 30th, I wasn’t feeling well and went to the emergency room at the larger hospital, as per doctor’s orders. They did a CT of my lungs and accidentally caught one of my ovaries. The ER doc told us I had influenza A and ovarian cancer. I wasn’t completely surprised after the googling experience from the pleural effusion.
On January 6, we met with the first oncologist, and she told us that the cancer was stage 4, and that I would die from it. I still feel like she had no right to tell me how she thinks I will die, and if I have anything to do with it, she will be 100% wrong. We were afraid, however, and did sign up for treatments with that cancer clinic.
In the meantime, we also went to Mayo Clinic and met with one of their gynecological oncologists. He and his students gave us little hope, and literally asked why we were there. He did suggest another clinic however because of their affiliation with clinical trials.
Third time was a charm and we met with a doctor that we not only both liked, but she gave me a 20% chance of survival. Finally a doctor that I felt like I could align with, someone that believed I could actually beat this, just like I did and still do. Unfortunately, I had already had one chemotherapy treatment with the other clinic, so we had to stay on that program, even though she would have preferred another course of treatment. After three monthly treatments, I had a debulking surgery, removing any visible cancer, as well as my ovaries and omentum. Three weeks later, I started another three rounds of chemotherapy.
My last chemo was on July 3rd, and my CA125 ( the ovarian cancer marker) had continuously gone down, by July 23 it had gone down to 24, with the normal range being 0-30. My doctor gave us the good news that she thought I was cancer free, but to work on my bucket list because it probably wouldn’t last for long. I have to say, I thought that meant, several years! But by my 3 month check-up in October, my CA125 was up to 119. Unfortunately, because the cancer came back so quickly (actually never went away), I am considered platinum-resistant, which is the gold standard treatment for ovarian cancer. I was given the option to see how I felt while we tested monthly to see how my disease was progressing. The CAT scan showed cancer has spread to several lymph nodes and I had several biopsies to confirm that. My last CA125 was 717.
Since my diagnosis, I have continued to increase what I can do to positively affect my health. I’ve read many books, watched a plethora of documentaries, and changed so much of my life. I thought I had a healthy diet before, but now I eat 99% organic whole food, meditate twice daily, exercise, use an infrared sauna, and look for joy daily. Creating… making art is what takes me away from all of it, and it keeps me sane.
My doctor has offered another chemotherapy drug, as well as a drug to stop the tumors from spreading, but I’m told they are for the rest of my life, and there is no cure. They will likely prolong life, but at what cost? No guarantees and no promise that it won’t make life extremely uncomfortable or even be the actual cause of death. They’ve tested my genetics and I don’t have any of the mutations that are currently being used for treatment in ovarian cancer.
Feeling like I need to take charge of my own health, I am still convinced that I can beat this, that with the proper frame of mind, proper nutrition, exercise and the treatments at Hope4Cancer, I can be cancer free! I've seen several Naturalpaths, an oncology nutritionist in the last few weeks, as well as watching hours and hours of webinars from https://hope4cancer.com/about-us/ . They offer non-toxic treatments that treat the whole body, mind and spirit, not just the cancer. So much of the research talks about trauma that gets stuck in the body and turns into dis-ease. They use many treatments that aren’t approved in the US, but are used throughout Europe. The program is three weeks in Mexico, and includes two return visits, as well as several treatments brought back home to continue for the next several months to a year. I’ve researched cancer clinics throughout the US, and while Hope4Cancer feels expensive at $47K, some of the treatments start at over $100K here in the US.
Our kids are coming in a few weeks for a belated Christmas and to celebrate my 60th birthday, so I’d like to go to Hope4Cancer in the beginning of March, especially since my numbers keep going up.
I am so grateful to everyone that has helped me and my family during this difficult time, and if you can help I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
Organisator und Spendenbegünstigter
Kristin Laursen
Organisator
Osseo, MN
Shelley Long
Spendenbegünstigte