Help Andrea fight cancer

My name is Andrea and I was diagnosed in April 2024 with stage 4 colorectal cancer at the age of 31.

December 2023, I started having blood in my stool, and the doctors kept telling me not to worry as I was so young it was probably nothing serious. I had to advocate for myself to get a colonoscopy done. I was finally able to get one in April, and that's when everything changed. They found a tumor, it was Adenocarcinoma.

After a ton of testing and bloodwork, I had a colon resection surgery in May 2024. Surgery went smoothly. At that time, my cancer was an early stage 2, and testing showed that it was unlikely that it spread anywhere else, and I would have to repeat scans in August to be sure.

From may to August, I was focused on healing, and let me tell you, it was not easy. My whole GI system had to figure itself out and find a new rhythm. I always had to be near a bathroom. But I was glad that I was able to just heal and hopefully get back to normal life and start enjoying summer.

August came around, and I got a set of new scans done. The cancer had spread to my liver. It spread very quickly and very aggressively. I now had 4 mets in my liver, with one being 8.7 cm big and right on top of the major blood vessels. Surgery was and still is not an option at this time.

September 2024 is when i had to start chemotherapy treatments. Chemo is terrifying and it's unknown how it will affect you and which side effects you'll get. I've currently done 4 sessions out of the planned 6. Once i get results back from my latest scans we'll see if that plan needs to change or not.

So far, the symptoms I've had are extreme exhaustion, face, back and chest rash, constipation, diahhrea, mouth sores, stiff and cramping hands, sore scalp, sore calves, twitching face, extremely dry and cracking skin, tingling feet and hands and some difficulty talking. But not all the symptoms happen at the same time, and some are only brief.

The mouth sores I had were so bad that I couldn't eat, talk, or drink water for 4 days. It made me lose alot of weight. I am currently weighing in at 88 pounds. Now I've always been small but my regular weight was usually around 103 -105. It's always been tough for me to gain weight back but I'm definitely trying.

Now I'm greatful that Ohip and insurance covers a lot of my medical expenses but not everything. I am currently not working and haven't been since my surgery in May. Now I have had a ton of support through my fiance and parents but the expenses are adding up.

The money raised will be used to cover medical bills, over the counter medications, hospital parking (which is crazy expensive), weight gainers, supplements and food among other things.

I have had a ton of support from family and friends and cannot thank you all enough. It really takes a village. I am determined to beat this and get my life back. This is my story and it doesn't end here.

I am a warrior.