#STSTRONG for Katie Fagan
The Raincity Athletics & Vega Families have been helping and supporting Katie physically & emotionally, but it's time we took it one step further to help her out financially.
So far between paying for a private MRI, her family flying in from Ontario, as well as the extra medications & treatments that aren't covered Katie is out about $5,000+ (so far). The bills are still coming in, and extended benefits are not, and the last thing we'd want is to finally recover from this (expected to be upwards of 6 months - but they Drs have no idea yet) and be stuck in a lifetime of debt.
Any kind of support helps. If you haven't heard what happened you can read below, or follow her story #STSTRONG.
• 10.20.2015 •
About 8 weeks ago I began treatment for an L5-S1 disc injury. Eager to recover and return back to exercise I began weekly visits to the chiropractor and massage therapist. As the weeks went on, more doctors and treatments were added but the pain & discomfort began to take its toll.
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On Wednesday I went in for an MRI to not only see the severity of the disc injury but to also give myself some peace of mind. To everyone's surprise, there was no disc injury. A tumour had formed on my sacrum (tail bone). At this time the doctors believe they know what kind of a tumour we are dealing with but until a biopsy is completed we will not know for sure.
[...]
2 weeks later...
•• IT'S A LONG ROAD •• •
Monday, the condition of my legs started to go downhill. My muscles were getting tighter in my right leg (this was causing me the most pain to begin with), muscles weren't responding normally and similar issue began to appear in my left foot. By Tuesday I was needing assistance standing up, getting around my apartment and simply taking my medication. Wednesday morning I called my contacts in the spinal ward and they recommended I get my butt back into the hospital. •
BIOPSY RESULTS
Wednesday afternoon rolled around and I was faced with a fairly hard choice. Biopsy results were available and I could speak to the doctors later that evening, or I could wait until my dad got out here. I knew my dad really wanted to be here, but I knew I didn't want to wait one more hour let alone 1 more day. Cancer or not, I needed the answers.
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Then we got the word...
Giant Cell Tumor or GCT. A rare, aggressive, non-cancerous BENIGN Tumor. (I won't lie, the announcement didn't make me anymore comfortable, I knew I had more questions and concerns about the months to come and my return to fitness)
Following this explanation we then went into discussing the go forward program. I'd start on doses of steroids to hopefully begin shrinking the tumour followed by immediate injections (administered by myself) of Denosumab.
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Denosumab is a drug that I used to reduce risk of broken bones or bone pain related to cancer. It is a monoclonal antibody, a type of protein designed to target and interfere with the growth of cancer cells. This injection is said to not bring on any side effects and is mainly used in osteoporosis patients.
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It's going to be a long road, a very long road. Injections will last for a few months, and surgery may still be on the table. Each month we will monitor the size of the tumor and how effective the Denosumab injections & steroids are.
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Keep following and get the whole story: