Support Joyce's Battle with Cancer
Donation protected
Our family is writing this campaign for one of the most loving and giving people we know, Joyce Crabtree. She has spent her life caring for others, including elderly, people with disabilities, and anyone with a need of any kind; it’s who she is, everything from stimulating their lives through learning and discussion groups to playing games, exercising, and praying for them.
In December 2017 Joyce suffered a hernia at work. During her doctor visit to have the hernia examined the doctor noticed a mass in the x-ray, in the bottom of her right lung behind the hernia; there was a 3 centimeter tumor. Being a non-smoker and with no history of working in an industrial setting her first question was “How would I get this”? The doctor did not have an answer; he said it is a rare form of cancer; in fact he could count on his two hands how many low to no risk cases he has seen in his twenty years of practice. She eats healthy and she’s active, so this was a real shock to her and her family. But as she always does, she stood up to the challenge with courage without complaining and kept a positive attitude.
In February 2018 Joyce had met with a team of doctors to plan her cancer treatments and began receiving them in March 2018 including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. By the time she had finished months of treatments she was left with a fried esophagus making it nearly impossible for her to drink enough water to stay hydrated. During this time she would need to go to the hospital almost every week for fluid infusions. Upon finally completing her treatments in June 2018, she then had to have a lobectomy removing one third of her right lung that contained the still 3 cm tumor. The treatments and surgery were successful. The cancer was gone. After three months of recovery she could not wait to return to work. Her family felt blessed that she had survived her battle with cancer.
Just four days back at work she realized something was wrong. Joyce started walking into walls; she could no longer do simple tasks like prepare food or even drive. She called her sister-in-law, a nurse and told her what was happening. She told her to go to the emergency room right away. At the emergency room they did a CT-Scan and to our surprise there was a metastatic brain tumor. This new tumor would require more radiation but this time on her brain. Over the next two months another metastatic brain tumor appeared. Her Oncologist told her there had to be a source somewhere in her body that was producing the cancer cells that were traveling through her blood stream to her brain. Sure enough, the cancer had returned and was extremely aggressive. The new tumor in her chest had grown to more than 6 centimeters (the size of a lime). Her cancer became so aggressive the doctors at the cancer center could barely keep up with it. In fact the doctor in Massachusetts told Joyce if another brain tumor materialized, she would not be able to treat it.
At this point Joyce and her husband Jim came to the conclusion they would need to find advanced care if she were going to survive. They found Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland Ohio. They had the advanced care she needed plus clinical trials in case the treatments were not successful. Joyce’s husband would have to stop working and cash out their retirement account. They left their home in Massachusetts to travel to Cleveland for the treatment she needed. Not exactly as planned, her first three days in Cleveland started with a trip to the emergency room followed by a week of hospitalization. Even before Joyce could discuss her options the doctors in Cleveland removed a liter of fluid from her lungs (as she could barely breathe) and inserted a chest tube for drainage. Joyce is strong but depression had started setting in. The doctors in Cleveland told Joyce she would have to start over again from the beginning, a whole new plan of therapy including chemotherapy with a new third medicine mixed in, and radiation therapy on her brain. Best case scenario, if all goes well, maintenance with possibly the same side effects as chemotherapy would be a part of her life every three weeks indefinitely. The cancer is no longer considered curable but treatable.
Joyce and Jim deeply miss their home, their family, and their Church in Massachusetts but feel blessed they have access to the medical treatment in Cleveland. These treatments have kept her nonfunctional for almost two years (either on her couch sick or in the hospital) but she keeps her head up and tries to move on.
Joyce needs financial help with the next stage of her battle with advanced stage 4 cancer. She also needs prayers. Please help her beat this cancer and finish a productive life with her husband by sharing with your Facebook network. They have been married for 37 years and would like to reach the finish line together. Any and all donations are sincerely appreciated.
In December 2017 Joyce suffered a hernia at work. During her doctor visit to have the hernia examined the doctor noticed a mass in the x-ray, in the bottom of her right lung behind the hernia; there was a 3 centimeter tumor. Being a non-smoker and with no history of working in an industrial setting her first question was “How would I get this”? The doctor did not have an answer; he said it is a rare form of cancer; in fact he could count on his two hands how many low to no risk cases he has seen in his twenty years of practice. She eats healthy and she’s active, so this was a real shock to her and her family. But as she always does, she stood up to the challenge with courage without complaining and kept a positive attitude.
In February 2018 Joyce had met with a team of doctors to plan her cancer treatments and began receiving them in March 2018 including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. By the time she had finished months of treatments she was left with a fried esophagus making it nearly impossible for her to drink enough water to stay hydrated. During this time she would need to go to the hospital almost every week for fluid infusions. Upon finally completing her treatments in June 2018, she then had to have a lobectomy removing one third of her right lung that contained the still 3 cm tumor. The treatments and surgery were successful. The cancer was gone. After three months of recovery she could not wait to return to work. Her family felt blessed that she had survived her battle with cancer.
Just four days back at work she realized something was wrong. Joyce started walking into walls; she could no longer do simple tasks like prepare food or even drive. She called her sister-in-law, a nurse and told her what was happening. She told her to go to the emergency room right away. At the emergency room they did a CT-Scan and to our surprise there was a metastatic brain tumor. This new tumor would require more radiation but this time on her brain. Over the next two months another metastatic brain tumor appeared. Her Oncologist told her there had to be a source somewhere in her body that was producing the cancer cells that were traveling through her blood stream to her brain. Sure enough, the cancer had returned and was extremely aggressive. The new tumor in her chest had grown to more than 6 centimeters (the size of a lime). Her cancer became so aggressive the doctors at the cancer center could barely keep up with it. In fact the doctor in Massachusetts told Joyce if another brain tumor materialized, she would not be able to treat it.
At this point Joyce and her husband Jim came to the conclusion they would need to find advanced care if she were going to survive. They found Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland Ohio. They had the advanced care she needed plus clinical trials in case the treatments were not successful. Joyce’s husband would have to stop working and cash out their retirement account. They left their home in Massachusetts to travel to Cleveland for the treatment she needed. Not exactly as planned, her first three days in Cleveland started with a trip to the emergency room followed by a week of hospitalization. Even before Joyce could discuss her options the doctors in Cleveland removed a liter of fluid from her lungs (as she could barely breathe) and inserted a chest tube for drainage. Joyce is strong but depression had started setting in. The doctors in Cleveland told Joyce she would have to start over again from the beginning, a whole new plan of therapy including chemotherapy with a new third medicine mixed in, and radiation therapy on her brain. Best case scenario, if all goes well, maintenance with possibly the same side effects as chemotherapy would be a part of her life every three weeks indefinitely. The cancer is no longer considered curable but treatable.
Joyce and Jim deeply miss their home, their family, and their Church in Massachusetts but feel blessed they have access to the medical treatment in Cleveland. These treatments have kept her nonfunctional for almost two years (either on her couch sick or in the hospital) but she keeps her head up and tries to move on.
Joyce needs financial help with the next stage of her battle with advanced stage 4 cancer. She also needs prayers. Please help her beat this cancer and finish a productive life with her husband by sharing with your Facebook network. They have been married for 37 years and would like to reach the finish line together. Any and all donations are sincerely appreciated.
Organizer
James Crabtree
Organizer
Chicopee, MA