Stand by Amanda in Her Cancer Journey

Hi everyone-

TLDR: Amanda has a rare, aggressive form of cancer, called spindle cell sarcoma. Her sarcoma has caused a large mass to form in her chest, which is leading to serious breathing issues. She had begun treatment, however, due to the rarity and aggressiveness of her cancer, she is unable to work. She has two beautiful babies (Tommy, 3y, and Allie, 8mo) to support at home. Her husband, Kevin, has taken her diagnosis in stride and picked up the pieces seamlessly. However, due to her frequent hospitalizations and childcare needs, he is unable to work at this time either.

Kevin and Amanda are anticipating at minimum deficit of $32,000 this year alone to cover their childcare costs, mortgage, and bills while they are experiencing lost wages.

While Amanda's prognosis is not what we hoped for, she's going to fight as hard as she can to shrink her tumor in the hopes for surgical removal to leave her cancer free.

Please help support this kind and loving family in their time of need.

With Love,

Faith

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Thank you for taking the time to read Amanda's story and consider supporting her family during her cancer journey.

My name is Faith and I met Amanda through the app Peanut, an app for mom's to make friends. However corny it is, we are so thankful the universe brought us together. We've gotten to share so many special moments together over the last year. Amanda and I each have a son and daughter, the same ages. We went through pregnancy and postpartum together, as primary local support system for one another after both having moved to San Diego, without much of a community.

Amanda's story-

Amanda went to her annual PCP appointment, feeling relatively fine, but having just recovered from a bout of the flu (kids, man). Her doctor identified a heart murmur, and thankfully, ordered additional testing. Her heart tests came back ok but a CT identified a large mediastinal (chest) mass. A few days later, Amanda experienced intense chest pain and went to her local Emergency Department (ED) for what she thought was a heart attack. Again, her heart function is thankfully, unaffected. A few days later, she was scheduled to meet with her (new) oncologist to review the CT findings of the chest mass. The oncologist could see that Amanda was struggling to breathe while explaining her story and sent her to the ED at UCSD (a level 1 trauma center, 40 minutes away), given his concern for her health and need for stat biopsy on March 28, 2025.

After three long days in the ED, Amanda's already poor breathing, due to one collapsed lung, worsened. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Jacob's Medical Center at UCSD on 3/30. On Monday, 3/31, Amanda's care team identified that both of her lungs had collapsed and she would need to undergo a bronchoscopy to place stents in her lungs to hold them open, against the pressure of her chest mass. Due to the nature of her mass, she was put on a life saving machine called ECMO. This machine oxygenated her blood outside of her body from Monday to Friday when she was finally decannulated from the machine due to her stents working well. While in the ICU Amanda underwent several breathing treatments and other testing which would eventually lead to her diagnosis.

On April 3, she was told she has sarcoma, but that more specific testing was needed to identify exactly what type of sarcoma, to individualize her treatment plan. Given the size and aggressive growth of her tumor, she was told there was little time to wait on starting treatment.

She would eventually be moved from the ICU to an oncology floor for the next week. She continued to need breathing treatments several times a day, underwent tumor mapping on 4/7, and started radiation on Tuesday 4/8. She was required to undergo another bronchoscopy to obtain more tissue, as the first one did not yield enough tissue for diagnosis. The initial plan was to undergo 10 radiation treatments and two rounds of chemotherapy to determine if the mass had shrunk. Amanda began to eat a little more and regain some strength. She was eventually discharged from the hospital on Friday 4/11, after two weeks, with a PICC line and daily radiation orders.

She had not been able to see, hug, or kiss her kids for two weeks.

Amanda and Kevin drove 40 minutes each way to her radiation appointments every day. Every evening Amanda got to spend time with Tommy and Allie, but it wasn't the same. She struggled to read Tommy his bedtime story, and couldn't participate in bath time play due to her PICC line.

On Wednesday 4/16, Amanda was sent again to the ED by her PCP. She had a visit with her PCP for a check in after discharge from her hospitalization. Her PCP identified that her heart rate was incredibly elevated and her breathing worsened. She again, spent 3 days in the overcrowded ED, in a room with a curtain for a door, allowing her virtually no rest. She has a double (viral and bacterial) pneumonia infection. She was treated with IV antibiotics and discharged on additional oral antibiotics on Friday 4/18.

Just before discharge, her oncologist visited her at her bedside. He informed her and Kevin, that she has a very rare and aggressive type of sarcoma, spindle cell carcinoma, in advanced stages.

We remain hopeful that Amanda can stay strong and well nourished to finish out her radiation treatments and begin targeted chemotherapy to shrink her mass. If she responds well to chemotherapy, the hope is that the mass can be surgically removed with negative margins (no additional cancer cells at the edges --the best outcome), leaving her cancer free.

If her body does not respond and the chemotherapy only prevents further growth, her oncologist has given her a prognosis of 1-2 years.

Her kids are still just babies.

Amanda and Kevin have a beautiful home in San Marcos which they purchased in 2021 after moving to San Diego for work, away from all family and friends. Child care costs for the Coakleys is around $4000/mo, which I can attest to, is very standard for this area of the country. Both Amanda and Kevin will receive some federal and state assistance through disability, however this will not cover all of their monthly expenses, not to mention the increased medical expenses for her care. Amanda had just started a new job 2 weeks before her hospitalization, after having been laid off during maternity leave.

Today, 4/23 Amanda is currently admitted to her local hospital after difficulty breathing worsened overnight on 4/21, prompting her to seek emergency care. She is on BiPAP and awaiting transfer to UCSD Jacobs Medical Center. Her radiation treatment is currently on hold until her breathing is stabilized. She remains in good spirits but the future is unknown.

As you can see, the last 4 weeks have been utterly life changing for the Coakley's. I will continue to share updates regarding Amanda's journey, with her permission of course. The Coakley's are not ones to ask for help, instead they are often the ones giving their time and energy to others.

Please consider supporting Amanda and her family through this process.

With love,

Faith