Catalina
We can only hope better treatments become available in the future for one of the worst forms of cancer.
Catalina has endured five blood transfusions, a spinal bone marrow test, a surgical biopsy of her liver as well as months of unpleasant procedures. The treatment has now advanced to chemotherapy. She will have to endure numerous rounds. In addition, radiation treatment will be administered. Based on the position of the tumor on the pancreas, the doctors have decided to perform a "Distal Pancreatectomy and splenectomy" which involves removing the tail of the pancreas. As we have indicated Catalina has limited medical coverage that only covers 80% of her procedures, and some are not covered at all. We are all very positive that with these treatments along with Catalina's strength and resolve will result in her KNOCKING OUT this cancer so she can get on with enjoying her family, her two grandchildren and life! If you can spare anything to help you have our heartfelt appreciation and love.
UPDATE:
We want to give our heartfelt love to all that have donated thus far to Catalina's (Stevey) cause. Confidence was high when starting the chemo but unfortunately, Catalina's blood levels had dropped too low to endure the treatments and she had to endure another transfusion and 3 units of blood. After hard work on diet, supplements, fresh juices and a positive attitude Catalina was able to get her levels high enough to start chemo. She maintained a great attitude and a will to get better and was able to complete her first round of chemo. We all know the side effects but she handled it all admirably and continued to maintain the will to beat this! Her blood levels unfortunately had gone down again and she reported to Doctors she observed blood while vomiting and while using the restroom and Doctors indicated they did not feel it was serious.
Round 2 of chemo: Catalina went in strong but after completing the treatments she felt weak and she discovered she was internally bleeding to a greater degree and reported it to her Doctors who had her admitted to Memorial Hospital. Another transfusion was given and this time it was 4 units of blood. Although the levels would rise from the many transfusions all of us were concerned as to the underlying cause. She was released but the bleeding persisted as well as weakness and other symptoms causing great concern.
As Catalina's bleeding continued and symptoms worsened the decision was made to go to Jackson Memorial hospital, and a good decision it was by her family and team. In addition, a family friend, Dr. David Woosley, was contacted and was a Godsend. This fine Doctor encouraged and helped get Catalina admitted at Jackson and he and the team there were instrumental in finally discovering what was wrong. After many tests and another transfusion the great team at Jackson discovered the cause of the bleeding and came up with a diagnosis. Although it was good to finally know the cause of the bleeding, it was not good news unfortunately and it looks like a tough road ahead but Catalina is tougher! The bleeding issue is called "gastric varices" and to sum it up her liver had swelled and pushed into the spleen causing hemorrhaging. This is a very serious result of this type of cancer. At this point round 3 of chemo was obviously stopped in order to address the critical bleeding. Catalina sadly will have to go through a procedure called "variceal embolization" where a coil and other techniques are used to stop the bleeding. Although a serious procedure she is confident and in good spirits. The procedure is coming up approximately December 19 and once the bleeding is controlled the chemo will continue but at a much stronger level. If the chemo is successful in shrinking the tumors on the pancreas, Catalina will be looking at a procedure called "distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy" where the tail of the pancreas and spleen are removed. We will continue to post updates and we can't stress enough how thankful we are for any donations, and we ask for continued help.
Update January 25, 2019:
The "gastric varices" procedure was successful and stopped the bleeding issue and we are all thankful for the Doctors and medical team that provided this life-saving treatment. As Catalina prepared for further chemotherapy a blood clot was located which is sometimes a side effect of this treatment. She is now receiving injections for that issue and was cleared to continue chemo. As of now the chemo continues and she has completed a total of 4 rounds and has been a trooper in handling all that comes with that. Round 5 of chemo is scheduled at Sylvester Cancer research and we are optimistic Catalina will get through this and continue to stay strong.
We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support and we ask for continued donations and help. As we all know Pancreatic cancer is a tough battle and every penny can help, so please if you can spare anything we are appreciative.
Update March 11, 2019:
Catalina has completed 7 rounds of chemotherapy and upon completion completed a PET scan. The scan showed that two of the tumors were gone and there is one left on the liver and pancreas that both show signs of shrinking, as well as no signs of further spreading of cells. The treatment plan will be to continue chemo treatments until the liver shows further improvement and at that point surgery will be considered on her pancreas tail. She is scheduled for round 8 of chemotherapy on March 13 at Sylvester Cancer Research center.
Due to the brutal treatments Catalina is receiving she continues to be unable to work and expenses are mounting for her care. We ask for further donations to help Catalina with her battle please and very much appreciate all who have contributed.
Update March - May 2019:
Catalina completed round 8 through 12 of her chemotherapy treatments with her 12th round completed on May 6th. During these treatments Catalina had to endure the many brutal side effects associated with this type of chemo. The superb hospital staff headed by Dr. Peter Hosein were amazing in every way and we are very grateful. Through good nutrition, faith and positive outlook Catalina has been able to maintain close to her normal body weight and remains active with her grandchildren.
Update June 2019:
Upon completion of her 12th round of chemotherapy another PET scan was done on Catalina. Doctor Hosein was pleased to report that the test results were beyond his expectations. The PET scan showed no tumors and cancer cells were all in the normal range. He praised Catalina for her strength in handling so many (12) treatments was optimistic for her future. We are again forever grateful to Dr. Hosein and his amazing staff.
Although the news is miraculous, the fight is not over yet with Catalina now being placed in a maintenance mode for 3 to 4 months. During the maintenance mode Catalina will have to endure more chemotherapy treatments but it will be at 21 one day intervals compared to 12 days for the others. After completion of the maintenance mode Catalina will be evaluated for surgery on the tail of her pancreas and we continue to remain optimistic.
Update June 6, 2019:
Catalina completed her first maintenance mode chemotherapy treatment on June 6th. This was in addition to 12 other chemotherapy treatments prior. It should be noted that each chemo treatment is 3 days so she actually has received 36 total treatments of chemo which is very high for a patient to endure. We will not get into details, but the side effects have been difficult for Catalina but she remains strong with the will to fight. We are grateful to those who have contributed as it has made a big difference for her.
We ask for continued help as Catalina has been unable to return to work due to her side effects and treatments. Any contribution, kind word or gesture will help Catalina win this battle.
Update August 2019:
Catalina continued receiving her chemotherapy maintenance every 21 days and has just completed her 6th grueling maintenance chemo treatment. She continues to battle through these treatments and remains in good spirits with a bright outlook. Unfortunately during her maintenance treatments Catalina developed debilitating condition called "Neuropathy". This is a result of the repeated chemo treatments that damages the nerves in your feet and hands causing numbness, tingling and serious pain. There is no treatment for this condition other than pain killers which Catalina is avoiding as they may affect her liver. The pain is so severe that at times Catalina is unable to walk or put weight on her feet and during these times cannot drive. Upon completion of her treatments this condition will normally improve and we are optimistic she will get through this horrible side effect. Despite the neuropathy and multiple side effects, Catalina attempted to go back to work part time for Uber but the pain prevented her from being able to do this consistently so she currently is not able to produce any income and continues to need help so we any contributions continue to be heartfelt and very much appreciated. Additional scans are scheduled for the end of September and we are all optimistic that the results will be favorable. She will then meet with her outstanding Oncologist, Dr. Peter Hosein, and at that time surgery, radiation, additional chemotherapy and other future treatments will be discussed.
Catalina continues to have a great outlook and has been through a year that we would not wish on anyone. She has remained strong but faces many future financial challenges with her medical and living costs. Any kind words, contributions are very much appreciated and needed. We will continue to support and help her beat stage 4 pancreatic and liver cancer and will not stop until every trace of this horrible condition is gone. We again extend our heartfelt thank you to those who have written, contributed and supported Catalina and we ask for continued assistance and prayers.
Update October 2019:
After a year of excruciating chemotherapy Catalina's medical team decided to switch her to a trial medication called "lynparza" which is considered an form of oral chemotherapy. This is a unique drug that attacks bad cells but the side effects are terrible and the drug is expensive. Although the drug is not covered due to lack of FDA approval, we are appealing the decision through the hospital and her first doses were covered. Catalina is experiencing extreme nausea, fatigue, continued neuropathy and unable to fully function in her daily life but still continues her battle. She will be scheduled in the coming week for PET scans and other tests to determine what further treatments will be needed. She will be meeting with her Oncologist, Dr. Peter Hosein, next week to discuss test results, scans and future treatments. We, again, send our heartfelt thank you to this fine Doctor and his outstanding medical team.
As you can imagine Catalina needs continued support, and any kind words of encouragement are always appreciated. She continues to not be able to work or produce any income so we ask for continued contributions. We are optimistic that her fight will result in her beating this horrible condition and our heartfelt thanks to all those who have supported her during this difficult year.
Update January 2020
Catalina continued on the new "Lynparza" treatment during the months of October to January. This treatment is experimental and unfortunately right around Christmas Eve Catalina began to experience great pain internally in the area of her pancreas which caused great worry. The initial diagnosis at the emergency room was kidney stones but the problem persisted and her medical team immediately ordered a PET scan to further investigate the pain. Upon completion of the scan it was with great disappointment and sadness that we learned that the "Lynparza" treatment was not working and cancer cells had returned in the liver, stomach lining, pancreas and brain. This was a huge let down for all of us but Catalina remained strong and is continuing her fight. Although this set back was devastating to all of us, we remain optimistic and hopeful.
Catalina was immediately taken of this new treatment and returned back to the difficult IV chemotherapy treatments she was on originally in order to combat these new cells. She returned to the chemo treatments on January 17th where she had a difficult session. She is experiencing horrible side effects that come with this type of therapy but she remains strong. In addition to all of this, Catalina is scheduled for an MRI on her brain on January 5th to check on any activity there. We are greatly stressed and concerned over this but again we are optimistic her new treatment plan will take care of this. We will post updates shortly. Catalina is scheduled for another intense chemo treatment on February 11th and these will continue for some time and then she will be re-evaluated to check on the progress.
Catalina is still unable to work due to this horrible condition and in addition one of her numerous side effects is "Neuropathy" primarily in her hands and feet. This is a result of the chemo treatments that are essentially damaging nerve cells. This causes extreme and constant pain and numbness and it makes things like walking both painful and difficult for her. These cells will continue to be damaged during treatments but she is doing her best to deal with it. She has special socks and shoes to help deal with the pain as well as physical therapy. This is one of the many horrors of this condition and there are no cures for Neuropathy and doctors can only administer pain killers.
Again, despite these setbacks we remain focused and optimistic as Catalina has a strong desire to beat this and spend time with her grandchildren and watch them grow up. We ask for continued help and donations to help Catalina during this difficult time. Any kind words of encouragement are all read and very much appreciated as well. We will provide updates shortly of the test results and we thank everyone for their support during this difficult time. We are asking for continued help and all donations are appreciated and put to good use for her.
Update February - May 2020
We are sorry for the delayed update but this tragic pandemic that we are all dealing with has presented many challenges but we wanted to keep everyone informed. The difficulties during this pandemic are multiplied greatly for someone like Catalina who has to go to Chemo and treatments during this scary time and with a compromised immune system.
After the disappointing results of the Lynparza trials Catalina had to go back to Chemo again and she started more agonizing rounds from January 17 until April 7th. She had to endure (4) bi-weekly Chemo treatments, each taking one full day and requiring her to go home with a pump attached to her body to provide further Chemo for 46 hours and in addition then has to go back to the hospital to have the pump removed and all this during a pandemic. Once the chemo bag is removed she is then put on another injection for 24 hours. After the 4 treatments her blood levels showed improvement thankfully, so Dr. Peter Hosein scheduled a PET scan to check her progress. Her previous tests had shown the spread of cancer cells to her brain, lymph nodes, and lining of her stomach. The new test results were promising and showed there were no signs of the cancer in those vital organs anymore. Although promising, the test also indicated her liver still had a 1 CM active cancerous nodule and some cancerous activity still in her pancreas. Due to these findings Catalina has to continue her Chemo treatments every 2 weeks which will continue to the end of May. At this time Catalina will be re-evaluated and will have to at minimum continue Chemo on a maintenance schedule for an additional 6 months.
In addition to having to endure brutal Chemo treatments with horrible side effects, Catalina has to go to her treatments during the worst pandemic in modern history. This has added great stress on top of an already difficult situation. Cancer will compromise immune systems so you have to be double careful and imagine having to enter medical facilities and treatments with that added fear. As you can see in the new pictures provided we have done our best to provide her with a protective mask, face shield, gloves, sanitizers etc. but this is never a sure thing. The fear of the coronavirus has only added to the stress and difficulty but Catalina remains resilient, careful and strong during these trying times.
Catalina is unable to work and we ask for any help so she can survive during these difficult times. She needs further financial help and even a kind word of encouragement would be welcome. We are forever grateful to those who have helped and we ask for continued support.
Update June-Aug 2020
Catalina has continued on her brutal Chemo regime during these difficult times and her Neuropathy (pain and numbness in feet and hands) continues to get worse unfortunately. This is due to the chemo drug "oxaliplatin" and in many cases it can get so severe that patients have to be put in wheelchairs. Imagine trying to walk and every step is incredibly painful and burns due to nerves being damaged from these brutal drugs. Catalina has special compression socks and padded sneakers to help. The difficulty is that if this drug is taken out of her treatment the cancer cells will return so she is forced to deal with constant pain that gets worse after each chemo treatment.
September 2020
Catalina continues on with her brutal chemo treatments (2 years of chemo!!) and continues to battle this monster we call cancer. Catalina was featured in an article about her struggles and cancer battle recently that was published online and this has helped encourage others diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The feedback from other patients has been rewarding and we can only hope better treatments become available in the future for one of the worst forms of cancer. Check out the article here: https://letswinpc.org/my-treatment/2020/09/14/choosing-chemo-because-i-want-to-live/
Catalina needs continued help and support. She has endured more chemo than most patients can handle over the years and her battle continues. She is unable to work and needs financial support and words of encouragement. We appreciate every single person that has taken time to encourage Catalina and donate to her cause.
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