AMY ASHWORTH’S CANCER FIGHT

AMY ASHWORTH’S CANCER FIGHT

 

Amy Ashworth is the daughter of the owner of Malee’s Thai Bistro, Deirdre Pain.  Amy’s cancer journey began in August 2016 when Amy began having terrible abdominal pain after work at Malee’s one night. Amy soon received the unthinkable news that she had a mass and had cancer.  Adrenal cortical carcinoma; a rare cancer that affects only 1 to 2 people out of 1 million, having a survival rate of only 50% if caught early. In January of 2017, Amy had surgery to remove her adrenal gland.  The surgeon that performed the surgery had never operated on this type of cancer before and removed the tumor laparoscopically. We later found out that this is NEVER used for ACC. It is believed that this is the reason the cancer returned as the tube disturbed tumor cells. But later, follow-up scans showed no signs of cancer.  Being the ugly beast that it is, adrenal cancer is aggressive, and tumors are arduous for doctors to remove. Adrenal cancer is such a rare disease that most doctors do not have any experience with it.

In July of 2017, the cancer had returned, and it was stage IV. The largest tumor was already 8 centimeters with many more tumors growing. So, Amy began three chemotherapy drugs, and another taken in pill form. She was hopeful when her cancer responded to the drugs, so the University of Michigan presented Amy with a surgery called HIPEC.  This was a complicated surgery followed by chemotherapy applied directly into the abdomen. The surgery cost $111,000 and this was NOT covered by insurance.  In October of 2018, Amy flew to Michigan and became the first ACC patient to have the HIPEC surgery performed at the University of Michigan.  UM has the only ACC research program in the country. They removed two large tumors and as much of the disease as possible After the surgery Amy followed it up with chemotherapy drugs to treat the microscopic parts of the disease that remained.  They soon gave her the wonderful news she was cancer-free once again. She doesn’t know how she’ll ever pay back that amount of money but, she didn’t care because she felt like she had a new lease on life. Amy was overjoyed just to be able to live and be here for her 7-year-old son, JJ and her 10-year-old daughter, Nyah.

Unfortunately, that good news didn’t last long. In May 2019 Amy received the devastating news that the cancer has returned. She began chemo but, she now has a 9cm tumor on her bladder and more nodules on her pelvis. The chemo has also now damaged her bone marrow. As well, she just found out in September 2019 that she also has breast cancer.

In Amy’s words, “I've struck the cancer lottery, again. I get to add another ribbon to my cancer collection. I officially have Breast Cancer! Yes, I have two types of active cancer and a rare form of anemia. So, no further chemo till UM can hopefully fix me. Fingers firmly crossed.”

With everything Amy has suffered, she remains in good spirits and hopeful.  She has a smile and a positive attitude that can light up any room.  She has been through so much already and still has a huge fight ahead.

Amy has a mastectomy scheduled to remove one of her breasts that has breast cancer tomorrow, Wednesday, December 4, 2019. Then on December 16th Amy heads to Michigan to meet with the specialists to see what can be done to fix her bone marrow issues and the cancer that has returned.   

This has not only emotionally hit the family hard but, financially has devasted them.  Amy is still working to pay on the $111,000 from the HIPEC surgery from October 2018.  Now she’s battling two types of cancers and a rare form of anemia and the bills are piling up for this family. Let’s join together and help support Amy’s cancer fight!

·      Give anything you can; every dollar counts and will help Amy so much!

·      Write Amy an encouraging note as she is fighting the BIG fight.