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Anyone who knows Luciana Holanda (Lu) has witnessed and perhaps has been touched by her incredible enthusiasm, her charisma, her genuine love for life, and love for her family and friends. She is the type of person who volunteers to babysit the children at her church during sermons simply because it fills her heart with joy. She has built a beautiful family with her husband Leonardo Holanda (Leo) with whom she has Gabriel (10) and Larissa (4).
What you may not know is that Lu has been fighting metastatic Papillary thyroid cancer since April of this year. A battle that she hoped was over 10 years ago when the cancer was first diagnosed. At the time, the doctors recommended complete removal of her thyroid gland and radiation treatment which by all accounts should have been enough to keep her "disease-free" as doctors like to say. She got used to having her blood checked every year for markers of the cancer and being told that 'everything was great'.
Unfortunately, Lu and Leo were shocked when they were told that her tumor markers had increased significantly this year (more than doubled), a frightening sign that the cancer was coming back. Her doctors found an enlarged lymph node in her neck and a biopsy proved that all of their worst fears were true. The cancer had returned and no one could say with certainty how extensive it was. On May 13th, she underwent an operation where the doctors removed 40 lymph nodes from her neck in hopes to find and treat all the cancer growing in her body. Lu and Leo were hopeful that one surgery and perhaps another round of radiation would work just like 10 years ago and she would be okay. The problem was that this time her tumor markers continued to increase even after the operation - the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.
To make matters worse, Lu and Leo are having to pay out of pocket for all her hospital bills which have skyrocketed. She has a whole body scan scheduled for September 1st and her doctors hope to find the remaining cancer cells in her body and decide the next best course of action which could be chemotherapy and/or radiation.
All Lu and Leo can do right now is pray, love, and support each other but WE can do more and come together to support this incredible family. No deed is too small or unappreciated. We have opened this GoFundMe for anyone that would like to help financially. All donations will be going directly to the Holanda family. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
What you may not know is that Lu has been fighting metastatic Papillary thyroid cancer since April of this year. A battle that she hoped was over 10 years ago when the cancer was first diagnosed. At the time, the doctors recommended complete removal of her thyroid gland and radiation treatment which by all accounts should have been enough to keep her "disease-free" as doctors like to say. She got used to having her blood checked every year for markers of the cancer and being told that 'everything was great'.
Unfortunately, Lu and Leo were shocked when they were told that her tumor markers had increased significantly this year (more than doubled), a frightening sign that the cancer was coming back. Her doctors found an enlarged lymph node in her neck and a biopsy proved that all of their worst fears were true. The cancer had returned and no one could say with certainty how extensive it was. On May 13th, she underwent an operation where the doctors removed 40 lymph nodes from her neck in hopes to find and treat all the cancer growing in her body. Lu and Leo were hopeful that one surgery and perhaps another round of radiation would work just like 10 years ago and she would be okay. The problem was that this time her tumor markers continued to increase even after the operation - the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.
To make matters worse, Lu and Leo are having to pay out of pocket for all her hospital bills which have skyrocketed. She has a whole body scan scheduled for September 1st and her doctors hope to find the remaining cancer cells in her body and decide the next best course of action which could be chemotherapy and/or radiation.
All Lu and Leo can do right now is pray, love, and support each other but WE can do more and come together to support this incredible family. No deed is too small or unappreciated. We have opened this GoFundMe for anyone that would like to help financially. All donations will be going directly to the Holanda family. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Organizer and beneficiary
Leonardo Holanda
Beneficiary