On December 27, 2019, the day Ryan was born, doctors found a large mass on Cindy’s liver. Cindy and Pete were overjoyed to welcome their son after years of praying and trying to have a baby. They would have never expected that with this overwhelming joy would come the devastating news that the mass was cancerous.
In January 2020, Cindy made her way from her home in Las Cruces, NM to San Antonio, TX to begin treatments for Stage 4A cholangiocarcinoma at MD Anderson. Cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, is a very rare cancer (fewer than 20,000 cases per year in the US) that grows in the small tubes (bile ducts) that connect the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine.
So far, the treatments have not been successful, and are only being administered to extend Cindy’s time with her family beyond the prognosis of 6-9 months. Despite this devastating news, Cindy continues to remain strong and faithful and has chosen to continue with chemotherapy in hopes of being present as long as possible with her family, her loving husband of 13 years, and 19-month-old son. Throughout this time, an added strain has been placed on their family as Cindy and Ryan have been living in San Antonio with Cindy’s parents while Pete continues to work in New Mexico and commute to San Antonio regularly to be by Cindy’s side. Despite having medical insurance, they have accumulated medical debt over 100k, and it continues to grow. Without life insurance, they will also need to find a way to cover funeral expenses in a hopefully distant future. We ask that you consider helping our friend Cindy Pineda (Sanchez) and her beautiful family with your prayers and financial assistance to make these trying times as stress free as possible.
