Manpreet's Cancer Journey

We are starting this page to help our friend Manpreet. 

 
Manpreet’s cancer journey started on January 25th when she noticed she had a lump in her neck and decided to see her doctor.  As flu season was in full swing, her doctor, however well intentioned, didn’t give it the consideration it deserved. He simply recommended that she monitor the swollen lymph node, chalking it up to just a symptom of an infection or impending cold. She left the doctor’s office assuming everything was fine, and resumed her regular life of working at Remax during the week, and weekends at the Real Canadian Wholesale Pharmacy. In addition to working two jobs, Manpreet was also enrolled in the Real Estate Course at UBC Sauder School of Business. Over the next week, Manpreet’s potential flu never did materialize, while the lymph node continued to enlarge.  A second opinion was sought from a different doctor, along with the requisite blood work being done in combination  with an ultrasound.  As she awaited the ultrasound date, she concurrently completed her Real Estate course and was planning on setting the date for the exam.  Amidst these plans, she began experiencing weight-loss, night sweats, and lethargy, mistakenly convinced that it was due to the long hours of work and studying, not thinking the three symptoms were related.


 
During the second week of March, she still hadn’t heard from the ultrasound department and was now experiencing even more weight loss. Additional enlarged lymph nodes were becoming apparent and was causing significant concern. As Manpreet’s symptoms advanced, her doctor finally decided to refer her to an ENT specialist. The ENT specialist expressed immediate concern as he had seen similar cases and advised her that she would have to undergo surgery to extract one of the large lymph nodes from her neck in order to provide a diagnosis; the procedure was invasive and involved prolonged discomfort. Manpreet remained optimistic however, and that after five months of blood work and multiple imaging scans, she was finally going to get some answers. On May 9th, she did in fact get the answer, but it wasn’t the one she was hoping for.  The diagnosis given was one that changed the course of her life, “you have cancer”.


 
After meeting with her oncologist in Kelowna on June 5, it was determined that she has advanced stage of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. As the cancer had spread throughout her body, the treatment regime was going to be aggressive and toxic. The oncologist also informed her, that due to the widespread effects of the treatment, she would not only suffer from the typical deleterious mental and physical effects of the treatment, but she would also experience detrimental effects to her reproductive system. At this point, a decision was made to delay chemical therapy in order to refer her to the fertility clinic so that steps could be taken to protect her reproductive organs. The fertility specialist advised her to have eggs extracted and frozen, in combination with drug therapy, which would be administered once a month to suppress her ovaries so she would be able to conceive kids naturally. As this portion of the treatment is beyond the standard care for cancer, it was going to be expensive and not fully covered by health insurance.



 On July 8th, Manpreet started chemotherapy. Everything seemed to be in place: her chemotherapy consists of a battery of different drugs, with an administering time of five to six hours, followed by another set of four separate drugs for nausea, fertility injections and pain management.

 
After a month of treatment, complications arose. As the pain in her abdomen and chest became unbearable, acid-reducing medication was introduced, in addition to morphine to help her deal with pain. As the chemo drugs attacked all of the cells in her body, not just the cancer cells, her white blood cell count had dropped drastically. The low white blood cell count left her at a high risk for infection, therefore a neutrophil increasing drug has been added to the treatment regime. This drug is administered for 5 days after every chemo session and injected into the abdomen in order to stimulate cell production from her bone marrow. While thankfully the drug is working as intended, and her white blood cell count is increasing, the side effects of aching bones and muscles are making day to day activities a challenge. Manpreet’s unwavering spirit remains surprisingly high, and she committed to fight and persist in doing whatever it takes to get better. 



For those of you who know Manpreet, you know her as a determined and independent woman who is willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to achieve her goals and dreams. Since such an aggressive treatment regime has been prescribed, her oncologist has advised her that she will be unable to return to work for approximately one year. Until recently, she has kept her diagnosis private and she has refused to accept financial assistance from friends and family, preferring and stubbornly trying to work while undergoing treatment. The pains, nausea and lack of energy has unfortunately gotten the best of her. Savings have now been depleted due to the unforeseen costs of treatment, so she has finally given us permission to start this page to help her with the financial impact of her illness, and allow her the opportunity to continue to fight in getting her life back. Manpreet is fiercely determined to beat cancer, and once again pick up the pieces of her life in the pursuit of the fulfilling life she always wanted and deserves. She would also like the opportunity to show and work with other cancer victims, so that her story can show hope and inspiration to others who also have to battle the plethora of challenges that come with fighting life threatening cancers.

 
Thank you for taking the time to read Manpreet’s journey. Any financial support, positive thoughts, and the sharing of her story is greatly appreciated. 


Paul, Karrie & Angela