Nina's Breast Cancer Journey

As many of you know, Nina was diagnosed with breast cancer in March. Her journey has become much more complicated than thought when she was originally diagnosed. Nina is not currently able to work and needs further treatments. This fundraiser will allow Nina to receive emotional and physical treatments while she undergoes this journey, as well as support her family's day-to-day expenses since Nina is not receiving her full salary while on disability leave. Read on to learn more details about Nina's diagnosis and her journey over the past few months.

Nina underwent a mastectomy in May. At the time, her medical team was hopeful that she would only need to undergo this surgery and then move on with her life. Unfortunately, once the pathology reports came back, it became clear Nina's situation was much more complicated than the doctors originally thought.

Nina's cancer has metastasized. The cancer has spread to her abdominal area, which has resulted in a condition called ascites. Ascites is a buildup of fluid in the abdomen that can cause discomfort and difficulties digesting food. Medical staff can drain the fluid periodically, and at times they have drained nearly 3 liters of fluid from Nina.

Nina has a more rare form of breast cancer (invasive lobular carcinoma) that is generally chemo resistant, which means she requires a different treatment plan. Her cancer feeds on estrogen, and therefore her treatment plan includes estrogen-blocking medications and another surgery to remove her ovaries, along with a chemo-like cancer drug.

Nina was supposed to have the ovariectomy in July, but shortly after starting a cancer drug, she had a 3 night hospital stay when the abdominal fluid became infected. She was also incredibly anemic and had a blood tranfusion while there. Friends and family helped out with food and the children while Sergio and Nina were in the hospital. Nina handled the hospital stay with such grace and level headedness! Nina's team decided to stop giving her the cancer drug and to delay the ovariectomy to allow her body time to fully recover from the infection.

After her hospital stay, Nina was very fatigued and physically uncomfortable for some time. But she recently had another fluid drainage and has started a different cancer drug, and her physical state has improved dramatically. She looks and feels better, and is acting much more like the Nina we all cherish so much.

Nina has been doing lots of her own research to discover medical and alternative methods to help her on her journey. She has been under the care of Kaiser and a specialist at UCSF, and she and her father are flying to Houston to see a specialist at MD Anderson in August. She has been receiving regular craniosacral therapies that help her feel better, and she has been having appointments with a Radical Remission therapist who is a cancer survivor herself.

Nina is one of those kind souls that is always thinking of others. She has the biggest heart and just exudes love. It is now her time to receive everyone's support so that she can receive treatments and therapies that will help her thrive as she navigates this cancer journey. We all want to see her happy, healthy, and present with her two small children and husband. We all know our medical system is broken, and the costs associated with even standard treatments can be large. At one point Nina paid $1,500 out of pocket for a scan to determine whether the cancer had spread! And there is generally no coverage for the alternative therapies that relieve discomfort, which have been a huge help to Nina these past weeks. Nina deserves to feel healthy and happy and loved, and with everyone's financial support she will have the ability to pursue treatments that can keep her healthy and strong as she continues to navigate the unknown. Thank you for supporting this beautiful soul!