Update 11/14/24:

I have been on 800mg Votrient since December 2023. The side effects are nausea, vomiting, extreme fatigue, white hair, gastrointestinal upset, etc. I have been traveling to MD Anderson in Houston from Oregon once every three months for MRIs, PETs, and CT scans. Bloodwork is done every month at home to check for liver and kidney damage from the votrient. The votrient will eventually stop working, it does this for everyone who takes it. For right now it is controlling the lung metastasis. There are about 20 lung mets. I met with a thoracic surgeon in September 2024 who said intensive thoracic surgery might be an option when the lung mets start to grow again. There will be two surgeries and I am preparing myself now for the upcoming year and recovery with these surgeries. This will be a long road to go on with no chance of a cure. I am hopeful though, and want to win this fight. Thank you all for your support this far!!!! It means so much to me and my family.

Update 12/9/23: I have completed 5 AIM chemo cycles this year (epirubicin and ifosfamide), 2 surgeries, and 8 radiation treatments. Unfortunately, just 2 months after I finished cancer treatment it was discovered that I have numerous lung metastases. Unfortunately, there are too many and they are all too little for surgery, radiation, and cryoablation to be an option right now. My next steps are to start taking Votrient, a chemo pill. I will not be able to work at all, and am working on getting approved for disability as I am now a stage 4 metastatic cancer patient at 23 years old. I am traveling to get second opinions at Dana Farber in Boston, MD Anderson in Houston, and Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC. Please consider donating but if you cannot, please continue to help me and my family pray & share this fundraiser! Any donation, large or small, is appreciated! Every dollar counts...thank you with all of my heart.

Background story: My name is Raina Dominski, and I am a 22 year old who has been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. Since January 2021, I have experienced a lot of pain and 4 misdiagnoses. Doctors told me that my tumor was a calcification, intramuscualar hematoma, hernia, and a benign mass. I had to be persistent in asking for a biopsy to be done. When the final pathology report came back, my world turned upside down. When I am in pain, I am unable to walk without having a severe limp at work, walking the dog, or doing any other basic movements. I am looking forward to having surgery, and starting treatment soon, but I will be out of work until I kick cancer's butt.

The cancer center where I will be getting surgery and treatment at is 100 miles, or 2 hours away from where I live. I imagine I will be in the hospital for awhile directly after surgery, but costs for traveling up there for radiation treatments, body scans (CT scan, lung scan, PET scan for starters), and biopsies (bone biopsy, lymph node biopsies) will add up in no time.

Along with the emotional stress of being diagnosed with a rare cancer, comes financial stress as well. I am asking for donations to help with expenses. I love life, my senior labrador pup, nature, hiking, camping, biking, and horseback riding. I love all animals. I believe in kindness and miracles...but I am very scared.