my story
my story
my story
"things were going pretty well
until..."
I was 35 and balancing motherhood with a career in healthcare I loved. And then my whole life changed in one day. My younger son (Emmett) was diagnosed with a chromosome disorder at 8 months of age. I didn’t know what that meant until a doctor spelled it out for me.
It is a “syndrome” so rare that Emmett is only 1 of 3 known cases in the world. He will be dependent on us for the rest of his life.
Emmett is expected to never walk, talk, feed himself, toilet by himself, or care for himself independently in any manner. He requires several medications a day, sleeps irregularly through the night, and functions as a 6 month old baby. Caregiving for Emmett is a full-time job.
fast
forward...
Age 43, figuring out life the best I could; now balancing special needs motherhood with a career as head of training and development for a pharmaceutical company.
I heard the 3 scariest words that no one every wants to hear: “You have cancer.” Not only cancer, but stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer in 27 places (rectum, liver, lungs lymph nodes) in my body with an 8% chance of surviving five years. The full diagnosis came on my 44th birthday: September 17th, 2014. The genetic makeup of my tumor was MSS, BRAF wild, NRAS wild, KRAS mutant. After 55 chemotherapies (FOLFOX + Avastin), cyber knife radiation to my lung, and 2 surgeries (one unplanned), I am NED (no evidence of disease) since October, 2015. I am known by scientists as an “exceptional responder” to treatment and did not even require a colostomy. How I did it is under “My Program.”
Stacy’s entire miraculous story of overcoming stage IV cancer while raising an intellectually and developmentally disabled child should be heard live. Her unique patient/caregiver perspective is a true testament to the power of love and resilience.
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