Rally With Tina in Her Battle Against LCH
Donation protected
Those of you who Tina, know she is a very caring, genuine, and deeply loyal friend. She has suffered silently for years, and I want her story to be known.
This is the story of her fight against LCH (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis).
At the end of August 2007, she began feeling pain behind her right ear that she couldn’t explain. Doctors originally assumed it was an ear infection or swimmers ear. They tried all kinds of antibiotics but nothing killed the pain. Three months later, beginning of Nov 2007, she was sent to an ears nose and throat specialist. After finally receiving a catscan they noticed a tumor behind her ear in what was called her mastoid. Doctors, infectious disease specialists, and brain surgeons, came to speak with her mom to notify her of the pros and cons, and seriousness of the surgery. They decided it best to move forward. She had surgery to remove the tumor on November 27, 2007, shortly after turning 18 years old. After the surgery she stayed in the hospital while doctors tried to figure out what caused the tumor. She got pathology back that it was a disease they knew very little about, called LCH. They sent her to see an Oncologist specialist. She was told that she was 1 in 560,000 adults who had LCH. So rare that most doctors only know about it from what they’ve read in medical books, or stories they’ve heard, but no one had real hands-on experience. Still now, she continues to find most doctors don’t know what LCH is and have a hard time treating her. Her untreatable health conditions starting effecting her life in a very negative way. She has suffered 3 miscarriages and found out one of her fallopian tubes was infected and needed to be removed. She suffers from all the symptoms of PCOS, with no diagnosis of PCOS because doctors cannot determine why she is experiencing the symptoms. 3 years after her tube removal, countless doctor appointments, and 10 years after her tumor removal surgery, she was told what she has is now classified as a cancer. It takes over the whole body with a vengeance. It mimics a disease called Hidradenitis Suppurativa, but after over 18 surgeries, it still has not gone away. After a call to the world specialist in Texas who specializes in LCH, she was told that the only hope was to start chemotherapy. After doing a pet scan (cancer scan) it was also found that her right breast and right lymph node came up positive for cancerous cells. She is working with a breast surgeon to see if a mastectomy is needed as she has already had to have both nipples removed due to the infections that took over her breasts inside and out.
Because of her disease she is currently out of work and unable to maintain stable employment due to the multiple surgeries, and the healing times that follow. The bills are piling up and have become a tremendous burden for her and her mother. We are asking for any donations you can give to help her afford her bills, groceries, rent, etc. This will help towards lifting this burden while she continues her battle to become healthy, and hopefully one day she will be able to live a pain free, surgery free, life as a happy, healthy 29 year old woman. We would be beyond grateful for anything you can give.
This is the story of her fight against LCH (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis).
At the end of August 2007, she began feeling pain behind her right ear that she couldn’t explain. Doctors originally assumed it was an ear infection or swimmers ear. They tried all kinds of antibiotics but nothing killed the pain. Three months later, beginning of Nov 2007, she was sent to an ears nose and throat specialist. After finally receiving a catscan they noticed a tumor behind her ear in what was called her mastoid. Doctors, infectious disease specialists, and brain surgeons, came to speak with her mom to notify her of the pros and cons, and seriousness of the surgery. They decided it best to move forward. She had surgery to remove the tumor on November 27, 2007, shortly after turning 18 years old. After the surgery she stayed in the hospital while doctors tried to figure out what caused the tumor. She got pathology back that it was a disease they knew very little about, called LCH. They sent her to see an Oncologist specialist. She was told that she was 1 in 560,000 adults who had LCH. So rare that most doctors only know about it from what they’ve read in medical books, or stories they’ve heard, but no one had real hands-on experience. Still now, she continues to find most doctors don’t know what LCH is and have a hard time treating her. Her untreatable health conditions starting effecting her life in a very negative way. She has suffered 3 miscarriages and found out one of her fallopian tubes was infected and needed to be removed. She suffers from all the symptoms of PCOS, with no diagnosis of PCOS because doctors cannot determine why she is experiencing the symptoms. 3 years after her tube removal, countless doctor appointments, and 10 years after her tumor removal surgery, she was told what she has is now classified as a cancer. It takes over the whole body with a vengeance. It mimics a disease called Hidradenitis Suppurativa, but after over 18 surgeries, it still has not gone away. After a call to the world specialist in Texas who specializes in LCH, she was told that the only hope was to start chemotherapy. After doing a pet scan (cancer scan) it was also found that her right breast and right lymph node came up positive for cancerous cells. She is working with a breast surgeon to see if a mastectomy is needed as she has already had to have both nipples removed due to the infections that took over her breasts inside and out.
Because of her disease she is currently out of work and unable to maintain stable employment due to the multiple surgeries, and the healing times that follow. The bills are piling up and have become a tremendous burden for her and her mother. We are asking for any donations you can give to help her afford her bills, groceries, rent, etc. This will help towards lifting this burden while she continues her battle to become healthy, and hopefully one day she will be able to live a pain free, surgery free, life as a happy, healthy 29 year old woman. We would be beyond grateful for anything you can give.
Organizer and beneficiary
Catie Fiscus
Organizer
Cedar Swamp, NY
Tina Marie Berry
Beneficiary
