Aid for Chandrea’s battle against Cancer

My name is Cynthia & I am raising money on behalf of my sister Chandrea.

Her life was flipped upside down in March 2024 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Cervical cancer, at that point she was told that the cancer was not aggressive, and had a 10% chance of spreading. She went through 6 weeks of Radiation 5 days a week as well as 5 weeks of Chemotherapy, and completed all of that as expected.

She had a pet scan on September 23rd to hopefully clear her from the cancer, but on October 1st her life was flipped upside down again when she got the results of her pet scan, and was told instead of being cleared of cancer she was part of the 10% chance of it spreading. Her new diagnosis is Stage 3 metastatic cancer, which is far more aggressive and has a higher chance of spreading further.

Now the cancer remains in her cervix and also has spread to her uterus lining, l5 bone in her spine and is throughout her lymph nodes. The cancer in her spine has caused a hole in her L5 bone which prevents her from walking, so she has to use a wheelchair for longer distances and a cane for short distances.

The radiation closed her ureter in her right kidney which has prevented the kidney from draining properly and her kidney health is declining, right kidney is below 35% and left kidney is now below 65% in functionality,

She had to receive kidney draining bags and had that procedure done on 10/4 to try and help her kidneys from declining more, and will now be going through 5 additional days of radiation and a more aggressive treatment approach on her chemotherapy and treatment twice a month (8 hour days) for at least 6 months.

All of this has her out of work as she cannot work while in this condition, and her partner Gabrielle is the sole provider of her and my two nephews Josiah and Vinny who they took under their wing and adopted when they were 4 & 5.

Gabbie is missing quite a bit of work and losing money while trying to make sure that Chandrea is okay on days where she does not have anyone present with her as she needs help with doing normal things around the house while battling this cancer.

We are asking for help to support them during these tough times since Chandrea is out of work it puts a strain on Gabrielle and they are going to need the additional help with funds to pay bills and any other medical expenses that are not covered through insurance, as well as taking care of my 2 nephews which is why we are asking for help just to support them through these tough times.

Anyone who knows Chandrea, knows she’s a fighter and a really strong person. We appreciate anything you can do to help in this situation, even just a share.

Update (10/29/24)

Just updating with some current facts, there is still no update on her current progress. We should have another pet scan done in December which will tell us how the chemotherapy and radiation is working. We really appreciate all of the donations, and well wishes. It takes a huge burden off of Chandrea and Gabrielle’s shoulders. We are forever grateful for all donors ❤️

Update (12-2-24)

Approximately 2 weeks ago Chandrea's chemo treatment was delayed a week because she had to start steroids because she had an infection from radiation proctitis, and Pembrolizabam Toxicity. She was able to resume Chemo treatment last week on Tuesday 11/26.

Unfortunately, Chandrea was rushed to the hospital via ambulance after fainting in her home on 12/1 due to dehydration from vomiting continuously the night prior. A CT scan was done, and it was found that she has a distended intestine with possible ileus which is a tear in the intestine which is the root cause from the stomach pains/lack of appetite that she has been having for quite some time, and it was also found that she also has a stomach infection caused by this. She was started on antibiotics immediately to fight the infection.

The CT scan also discovered a hole in her rectum lining that has an infection, however the hole poses serious risk for infection in her entire body, not limited to Sepsis.

As of today 12/2, we do not know when chemo treatment will be able to resume as these issues pose a serious risk and are a setback for treatment.

She was given an NG tube that goes into her nose and down her throat into her stomach to suction out the air/fluids in her intestine to see if that helps with nausea/stomach pains. The doctors are also coming up with a plan to repair the rectum lining and are looking at various options including surgery to repair the lining which would force her to have an ostomy bag for at least 6 months, if not for life. Our choices are limited, but there are big decisions to be made.

As soon as I get more information, I will update the page with the information.

UPDATE - (12-21-24)

A pet scan was completed on 12/20, and it was discovered that the cancer has spread further, it is now in her liver and in the back part of her pelvic bone her right thigh and one of the lymph nodes that were infected have doubled in size.

The doctors advised that since the tumors have been unreactive to the chemo medication that they cannot continue further with chemotherapy and gave a life expectancy of 3-6 months without any treatment or she can try a new medication that is on the market which is an alternative to chemo medication and can give her up to a year in life.

Chandrea has chosen to attempt the alternative medication and will continue to fight hoping that it gives us a year, if not more.

The doctors also found that the hole in her rectum wall has grown more and turned into a fistula which creates risk for an infection.

She will go home Tuesday after being in the hospital for 3 weeks, and be fed via IV Nutrition until Friday where she will go into surgery and receive the ostomy bag and will be in the hospital for another 4-5 days while they wean her back into eating and drinking normal foods again and give the fistula time to heal and they may be able to hopefully reverse it within 6 months to a year.