Lisa's Life Saving Surgery
Donation protected
So many people know and love Lisa. She is one of the smiliest, happiest, funniest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Even over the past 4 years of dealing with the devastation that is Cancer, you can always feel the joy of the Lord spilling over from her precious heart. That is why I am asking you all to dig deep now, when she really needs our help to face the next major hurdle in her cancer journey, which is a MAJOR surgery at Mayo Clinic. Thank you!
For those who don't know Lisa's story:
She was diagnosed initially on August 15, 2016 with stage 3 colon cancer. Plans for treatment started fast- She Had 30 radiation treatments from September till October, then had her 1st Surgery in December 2016 to remove the tumor, which was followed by 6 months of chemo from January 2017-June 2017. During that treatment stint, she ended up with a Pulmonary Embolism and the 2nd Surgery had to be put off until December 2017, and that surgery was a success.
For 2018, life was actually fairly calm "cancer-wise" , she was "NED" (no evidence of disease), however during that time she was dealing with a painful kidney stone that she just couldn’t pass- She ended up having surgery to remove it and place a stint in her ureter to help ease discomfort. 6 weeks later as planned the stint was removed, but her left kidney still wasn’t functioning and there was severe swelling of that kidney. The urologist in Lynchburg talked of permanent damage to the ureter being the cause as there was scar tissue there, so he referred her to Duke to see another Urologist in case surgery was needed. The Urologist at Duke said no to surgery as the damage to the left kidney was done and it couldn't be reversed.
All this time mind you she was having CT scans every 3 months to keep an eye on possible new tumors.
In May 2019 in a routine CT scan, they noted a change in the size of the “scar tissue” on her left Ureter. At Lisa's husband Bobby's urging, a PET scan was done and it showed that the cancer was back, this time in her left pelvic area. Quickly after that she found out that the new tumor was her in her sciatic nerve root and in the sacrum (tail) bone.
In July 2019, back to Duke she went, moving into the their Caring House where she went through more intense Radiation treatments and Chemo for a few weeks. In September the next PET scan that showed the Cancer was still there and that the treatments did not get it all. At that point, Lisa was put on palliative care as they said she could not have any more Radiation, and there is no Chemo that will cure it once and for all.
After the surgeons at Duke and Memorial Sloan Kettering in NY both denied possible surgical options because they felt that the surgery 's morbidity rate was too high, Lisa's husband Bobby was determined to find another option! After researching and making calls, Lisa was on the way to The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in December 2019!
After speaking with the Colorectal Surgeon and the Oncologist it was decided she would come back in January 2020 for a Musculoskeletal MRI and to meet with the orthopedic surgeon. In February 2020 they approved her for surgery! Since it was such a major life decision ,she needed to have time to think about the alternatives- Then we all know what came next- Covid-19. So everything was put on HOLD!
She got the call from Mayo at the beginning of August to get the ball rolling again with the surgery. Zoom meetings with the Colorectal Surgeon and the Orthopedic Surgeon, as well as the Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist started. They told Lisa she would only have about 18 to 24 months to live without surgery as she is on the 3rd type chemo already. (The 1st one still showed growth of the cancer and the 2nd one made her so sick that it put her in the hospital- they thought maybe she was allergic to that one)
After much prayer talking with her loved ones, she has made the very hard decision to go ahead with the surgery to have a shot at being cancer free and have more time with her husband Bobby, her son Nick, and the rest of her family and friends.
Lisa is still waiting on a surgery date but will need to go to Mayo about 3 weeks before surgery for 3 weeks of radiation and chemo treatments. They are able to do more radiation now because they will be removing all of that damaged tissue during surgery. During surgery she will also have inter-operative radiation as well. This is where things get tough--- The surgery will remove the left side of the sacrum (tail) bone and the S1/S2 nerves which control her left leg/foot This means that she will have a brace on her foot to walk and most likely use a cane. These nerves also control bowel and bladder function so life will be very different for her when she returns.
The money we raise will help Lisa and Bobby cover the expenses involved with traveling to and from Mayo Clinic, as well as medical expenses that insurance won't cover, along with replacing the income Lisa will have to lose during this whole ordeal. Hotels, Food, Airfare, missed work, in ADDITION to normal expenses such as house payments, regular bills will certainly add up. The goad her is to relieve them of worrying about how they will make it all work to save Lisa.
Lisa, through it all, looks for God's hand in every twist and turn of her journey. Her faith is summed up by this sentence she gave me:
"I am very thankful that although this isn’t the road I would have chosen, I have the option. Some very Godly, wonderful people don’t have options like me"
Thank you for reading and GOD BLESS YOU!
For those who don't know Lisa's story:
She was diagnosed initially on August 15, 2016 with stage 3 colon cancer. Plans for treatment started fast- She Had 30 radiation treatments from September till October, then had her 1st Surgery in December 2016 to remove the tumor, which was followed by 6 months of chemo from January 2017-June 2017. During that treatment stint, she ended up with a Pulmonary Embolism and the 2nd Surgery had to be put off until December 2017, and that surgery was a success.
For 2018, life was actually fairly calm "cancer-wise" , she was "NED" (no evidence of disease), however during that time she was dealing with a painful kidney stone that she just couldn’t pass- She ended up having surgery to remove it and place a stint in her ureter to help ease discomfort. 6 weeks later as planned the stint was removed, but her left kidney still wasn’t functioning and there was severe swelling of that kidney. The urologist in Lynchburg talked of permanent damage to the ureter being the cause as there was scar tissue there, so he referred her to Duke to see another Urologist in case surgery was needed. The Urologist at Duke said no to surgery as the damage to the left kidney was done and it couldn't be reversed.
All this time mind you she was having CT scans every 3 months to keep an eye on possible new tumors.
In May 2019 in a routine CT scan, they noted a change in the size of the “scar tissue” on her left Ureter. At Lisa's husband Bobby's urging, a PET scan was done and it showed that the cancer was back, this time in her left pelvic area. Quickly after that she found out that the new tumor was her in her sciatic nerve root and in the sacrum (tail) bone.
In July 2019, back to Duke she went, moving into the their Caring House where she went through more intense Radiation treatments and Chemo for a few weeks. In September the next PET scan that showed the Cancer was still there and that the treatments did not get it all. At that point, Lisa was put on palliative care as they said she could not have any more Radiation, and there is no Chemo that will cure it once and for all.
After the surgeons at Duke and Memorial Sloan Kettering in NY both denied possible surgical options because they felt that the surgery 's morbidity rate was too high, Lisa's husband Bobby was determined to find another option! After researching and making calls, Lisa was on the way to The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in December 2019!
After speaking with the Colorectal Surgeon and the Oncologist it was decided she would come back in January 2020 for a Musculoskeletal MRI and to meet with the orthopedic surgeon. In February 2020 they approved her for surgery! Since it was such a major life decision ,she needed to have time to think about the alternatives- Then we all know what came next- Covid-19. So everything was put on HOLD!
She got the call from Mayo at the beginning of August to get the ball rolling again with the surgery. Zoom meetings with the Colorectal Surgeon and the Orthopedic Surgeon, as well as the Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist started. They told Lisa she would only have about 18 to 24 months to live without surgery as she is on the 3rd type chemo already. (The 1st one still showed growth of the cancer and the 2nd one made her so sick that it put her in the hospital- they thought maybe she was allergic to that one)
After much prayer talking with her loved ones, she has made the very hard decision to go ahead with the surgery to have a shot at being cancer free and have more time with her husband Bobby, her son Nick, and the rest of her family and friends.
Lisa is still waiting on a surgery date but will need to go to Mayo about 3 weeks before surgery for 3 weeks of radiation and chemo treatments. They are able to do more radiation now because they will be removing all of that damaged tissue during surgery. During surgery she will also have inter-operative radiation as well. This is where things get tough--- The surgery will remove the left side of the sacrum (tail) bone and the S1/S2 nerves which control her left leg/foot This means that she will have a brace on her foot to walk and most likely use a cane. These nerves also control bowel and bladder function so life will be very different for her when she returns.
The money we raise will help Lisa and Bobby cover the expenses involved with traveling to and from Mayo Clinic, as well as medical expenses that insurance won't cover, along with replacing the income Lisa will have to lose during this whole ordeal. Hotels, Food, Airfare, missed work, in ADDITION to normal expenses such as house payments, regular bills will certainly add up. The goad her is to relieve them of worrying about how they will make it all work to save Lisa.
Lisa, through it all, looks for God's hand in every twist and turn of her journey. Her faith is summed up by this sentence she gave me:
"I am very thankful that although this isn’t the road I would have chosen, I have the option. Some very Godly, wonderful people don’t have options like me"
Thank you for reading and GOD BLESS YOU!
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Campbell
Organizer
Lynchburg, VA
Lisa Stout
Beneficiary