Crystal's Story
On Thursday May 15, 2008 I wasn't feeling well at work. I thought I had a bad case of gastritis. A friend gave me gas-x and it helped a little but I was still in pain.
On Friday I had the day off from work so I called my Doctor. I was able to get a morning appt. so I wouldn't have my whole day off ruined (or so I thought). My Dr. checked me out and said it was either my appendix or an ovarian cyst. She sent me for a CAT scan at noon. When the results came back from the CAT scan they sent me right to a surgeon. The Dr. that originally look at my CAT scan said it was my appendix but the surgeon said it was my ovary. The surgeon referred me to my OB/GYN who I wouldn't be able to see until Monday May 19, 2008.
I was able to see my OB/GYN in the late Morning. She sent me for an ultrasound. It showed that I had a cyst on my left ovary. So she sent me to another surgeon. This 2nd surgeon I had seen on Tuesday May 20, 2008. She said I needed surgery. She said that I had a cyst about the size of a golf ball. Normally they don't remove a cyst of this size but she thought that I had another cyst that ruptured. She thought the pain I was having was from fluid that came from a ruptured cyst. She gave me all the warnings about surgery because anything can happen. She said that she was 99.999% sure that it wasn't cancer.
I had surgery the next day, May 21, 2008. When I woke up in recovery the nurses said that my family was waiting for me but there wasn't a room for me yet. I thought it was strange when she said family because it was just my husband that was there when I went in for surgery.
When I finally got to my room they let my family in to see me, which was my husband Lou and my sister Michelle. I knew something wasn't right. Then the Dr. came in and dropped a bomb. She said I had cancer. She had removed my left ovary but that isn't where the cancer came from. She had to send the tumor out for tests to find out where it started.
I came home from the hospital after my surgery on Saturday May 24. I was scheduled to see an Oncologist on May 29 so I was doing a lot of sleeping, maybe too much sleeping and not enough drinking. I ended up dehydrated. When I went to see the Oncologist she didn't like the way I looked and I was also supposed to have a colonoscopy on May 30 and she didn't think I would be able to do the prep for that so I was admitted to St.Peter's Hospital. They did the Colonoscopy on Tuesday June 3 while I was in the hospital. They found that the tumor was on my Appendix.
On Wednesday, June 4, my 36th birthday, I had my 1st chemotherapy treatment. I receive 4 or 5 different drugs. The 1st few take about 4-5 hours then the last one runs for 48hrs. I was nauseous while receiving the chemotherapy but once it was done the nausea stopped.
I came home from the hospital on Saturday June 7. Now I am trying to build up my strength and weight because I lost a lot in the hospital. I have Colon Cancer. I have to get Chemotherapy treatments every other Wednesday for 6 months. I am just living life Day by Day. It is the only thing I can do. I am staying positive and trying to stay strong. I have to because I am going to beat this!!!
Today is Jan.20, 2009. It has been a long 7 months. It turns out that I have stage 4 Appendix Cancer. I did 6 months of chemo and thought that it was going good. 2-3 weeks after my last treatment I started having more abdominal pain. My Dr. said I would have to do more chemo. My sister found a Dr. at Mt.Sinai in NYC that specializes in appendix cancer. He does this surgery called debulking which is going in the abdomen and removing all visible tumors. After that a new treatment is used called HIPEC treatment. It is heated chemotherapy that is put directly into the abdomen. I have decided to have this surgery and treatment. I will have to go to NYC and will be in the hospital for 10-14 days. It is a very serious surgery but I have to do it. I can't leave any stones unturned. It is going to be hard on my kids but it will be worth it in the long run. This is just another mountain I have to climb but I am ready for it!!
*
Unfortunately, we lost Crystal on November 11, 2009, but we keep her spirit with us. Her family, friends and community will climb that mountain with Dakota and Dillon so that they will feel the love and support that we had for their mother, and now, for them.
On Friday I had the day off from work so I called my Doctor. I was able to get a morning appt. so I wouldn't have my whole day off ruined (or so I thought). My Dr. checked me out and said it was either my appendix or an ovarian cyst. She sent me for a CAT scan at noon. When the results came back from the CAT scan they sent me right to a surgeon. The Dr. that originally look at my CAT scan said it was my appendix but the surgeon said it was my ovary. The surgeon referred me to my OB/GYN who I wouldn't be able to see until Monday May 19, 2008.
I was able to see my OB/GYN in the late Morning. She sent me for an ultrasound. It showed that I had a cyst on my left ovary. So she sent me to another surgeon. This 2nd surgeon I had seen on Tuesday May 20, 2008. She said I needed surgery. She said that I had a cyst about the size of a golf ball. Normally they don't remove a cyst of this size but she thought that I had another cyst that ruptured. She thought the pain I was having was from fluid that came from a ruptured cyst. She gave me all the warnings about surgery because anything can happen. She said that she was 99.999% sure that it wasn't cancer.
I had surgery the next day, May 21, 2008. When I woke up in recovery the nurses said that my family was waiting for me but there wasn't a room for me yet. I thought it was strange when she said family because it was just my husband that was there when I went in for surgery.
When I finally got to my room they let my family in to see me, which was my husband Lou and my sister Michelle. I knew something wasn't right. Then the Dr. came in and dropped a bomb. She said I had cancer. She had removed my left ovary but that isn't where the cancer came from. She had to send the tumor out for tests to find out where it started.
I came home from the hospital after my surgery on Saturday May 24. I was scheduled to see an Oncologist on May 29 so I was doing a lot of sleeping, maybe too much sleeping and not enough drinking. I ended up dehydrated. When I went to see the Oncologist she didn't like the way I looked and I was also supposed to have a colonoscopy on May 30 and she didn't think I would be able to do the prep for that so I was admitted to St.Peter's Hospital. They did the Colonoscopy on Tuesday June 3 while I was in the hospital. They found that the tumor was on my Appendix.
On Wednesday, June 4, my 36th birthday, I had my 1st chemotherapy treatment. I receive 4 or 5 different drugs. The 1st few take about 4-5 hours then the last one runs for 48hrs. I was nauseous while receiving the chemotherapy but once it was done the nausea stopped.
I came home from the hospital on Saturday June 7. Now I am trying to build up my strength and weight because I lost a lot in the hospital. I have Colon Cancer. I have to get Chemotherapy treatments every other Wednesday for 6 months. I am just living life Day by Day. It is the only thing I can do. I am staying positive and trying to stay strong. I have to because I am going to beat this!!!
Today is Jan.20, 2009. It has been a long 7 months. It turns out that I have stage 4 Appendix Cancer. I did 6 months of chemo and thought that it was going good. 2-3 weeks after my last treatment I started having more abdominal pain. My Dr. said I would have to do more chemo. My sister found a Dr. at Mt.Sinai in NYC that specializes in appendix cancer. He does this surgery called debulking which is going in the abdomen and removing all visible tumors. After that a new treatment is used called HIPEC treatment. It is heated chemotherapy that is put directly into the abdomen. I have decided to have this surgery and treatment. I will have to go to NYC and will be in the hospital for 10-14 days. It is a very serious surgery but I have to do it. I can't leave any stones unturned. It is going to be hard on my kids but it will be worth it in the long run. This is just another mountain I have to climb but I am ready for it!!
*
Unfortunately, we lost Crystal on November 11, 2009, but we keep her spirit with us. Her family, friends and community will climb that mountain with Dakota and Dillon so that they will feel the love and support that we had for their mother, and now, for them.