Help Braden’s mom beat ovarian cancer

Hello, my name is Braden Lee Smith. 5 years ago my mother (named Son Smith) was diagnosed with Stage 1c ovarian cancer at age 54 after a large tumor in her pelvis was removed. At that time, both of her ovaries and appendix were removed as well. Since then she had blood tests 3 times a year and was doing fine up until 6 weeks ago when she started having complications going to the bathroom and keeping any food or liquid down. After visiting urgent care multiple times with no relief, she had a CT scan along with a new blood test and we learned that there was a recurrence of ovarian cancer and this time more severe at Stage 3c due to the situation. There are two sizable tumors: a small one near the entry of her stomach and the other in the middle of her abdomen that is about the size of a baseball and is pushing against her small intestine. This is what caused her to constantly feel full and nauseous as nothing could move down through her digestive system. Even though her ovaries are gone, this type of cancer’s cells mimic the peritoneum which is tissue that lines the abdominal wall and pelvic area.

 

She was admitted to Kaiser Hospital in LA on October 27 and the doctors immediately placed an NG (Nastrogastric Tube) to continuously pump out the contents of her stomach in hopes of alleviating inflammation and to see if her bowels would reset. Since the largest tumor is pushing against her small intestine and causing a blockage, she is not able to eat solid food and digest anything in order to receive nutrition. Without nutrition, she wasn’t able to receive chemo treatment. After 9 days there, all of the doctors and surgeons reviewed and decided that they were not able to help her with surgery or any other care and considered her compromised. She had a minor operation to place what’s called a G-tube which helps empty stomach contents and is for palliative care (for comfort only). They refused to give IV nutrition because they believe it doesn’t meaningfully prolong life and recommended hospice care. Basically, they gave up. I had a strong feeling any other hospital in LA or the US would give the same opinion.

 

I decided that I couldn’t just sit there and watch her starve to death when I knew there were other places that would receive and treat her. I did tons of research on alternative/integrative cancer treatment centers in Germany, Korea, and also Mexico. I landed on this place called Immunity Therapy Center located in Tijuana, Mexico – just a few miles south of San Diego and only 2.5 hours drive from LA. She was extremely weak at this point since she had zero nutrition so travel time was a factor. Fortunately, my mother’s siblings in Korea and in LA contributed the $30,000 that was needed to admit her for a 3 week program as her health insurance doesn’t cover this place. Admittedly, my mother’s family were initially hesitant because of all the assumptions that Tijuana is dangerous and that some of these centers might not be beneficial but the area that we are in is perfectly safe and the doctors and nurses here are amazing. They approach cancer care differently and honestly it should be more adopted in the US.

 

One of the main reasons we came here is because they provide nutrition, calories, and vitamins via IV along with a number of alternative cancer treatments that aren’t necessarily approved by the FDA yet. They also do low dose chemo here. She has had 2 rounds of low dose chemo (same chemo the hospital in LA recommended but a much lower dosage). In less than 3 weeks, her tumors have shrunk. The one near her stomach entry has reduced considerably more than the baseball sized one though. In the last couple of days she has finally been able to defecate on her own without an enema which means some contents are able to pass through. This is a great sign but what is most pertinent is to surgically remove the large growth in her abdomen. The surgeon checked her condition twice this week and feels comfortable performing the surgery which would allow her to eat solid food and improve the results of treatment. Depending on what he sees, there is a high chance that she might need an ostomy bag placed permanently. They are recommending that she stay here for at least 2 more weeks post-surgery to recover and continue treatment to kill the cancer cells.

 

This GoFundMe is to raise money to help cover the cost of the surgery which is $18,600 and to assist with the 2 additional weeks of in-patient 24/7 nurse/doctor care which is another $20,000 or a total of $38,600. Again, this is not covered by her insurance. On top of all this is the bill we are awaiting from Kaiser Hospital in LA. I’m not sure exactly what that will be yet but she was in that hospital for 9 days and it usually costs about $10,000 per day/night there. At least that portion will be covered by her insurance for the most part.

 

I want to thank everyone that has been supportive including my girlfriend, friends, family, and also my employer LOS YORK which has been incredibly gracious to give me some time off during this difficult time so that I can be with my mom and consult with the doctors every day. I appreciate it immensely. I am her only child so I’m doing all that I can. -Braden