How it All Started

Dear Friends,

This Blog was created as a way to share the health story of Liz Anderson and provide updates.

The short story is in February she started feeling unwell with abdominal pain. On March 11^th they discovered cancer when removing her gallbladder.  March 24^th the doctors received test results determining she has Gallbladder Cancer and it’s everywhere.  March 29^th the City of Hope gave her about a year and half to live.

To find out how all of this news developed, please read the timeline below.

October 2015

In late October Liz made an appointment to see her doctor for some stomach pain she was having. She thought it might be her gallbladder.  The doctor put her on the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) to see if that alleviated any of the pain and it did help a bit. They referred her to a gastroenterologist who did a CT scan and an endoscopy and they couldn’t find anything wrong with her.

So from there on out she would put herself back on the BRAT diet if her stomach started acting up.

February

February 7^th She was still getting occasional pains, but it was the Super Bowl so she threw the BRAT diet out the window and enjoyed the spread of Super Bowl goodies.  The following week she was in an immense amount of pain.

February 13^th Liz was moving into her new apartment and the pain wouldn’t subside. Noel took her to the ER.  They did another CT scan, discovered gallstones and told her to go talk to her doctor about getting the gallbladder out.

February 20^th We had choir practice for our choir reunion concert. When I arrived Liz looked at me and said “Do my eyes look yellow?”  I said “Yes.” Her eyes were very yellow and her skin was itchy. It was clear that she was jaundiced but neither of us knew if that was normal or bad so we continued to sing.  By the end of the rehearsal she seemed really exhausted.

That evening she went back to the ER.  They admitted her.

February 21^st The doctor performed an endoscopy and placed a stent in a bile duct that had been blocked. This allowed the bile to flow and relieved her jaundice.

February 22^nd The doctors had concerns about something they saw during the endoscopy. They gave us two big words and said they believe she had one of these things: Sclerosing Cholangitis or Cholangiocarcinoma.  We were terrified.  They said she would be moved to UCI for further tests and treatment.  They also confessed that during the endoscopy they nicked her small intestine.

February 23^rd Liz was moved to the ICU because her white blood cell count jumped up which indicated an infection.  The nick in the small intestine was infected. A doctor from UCI came to Placentia-Linda to consult.  They kept saying they were going to get her over there as soon as they had a bed. Then based on the direction of the UCI doctor they ended up finding a place for her at USC instead.  Liz was carted off to USC.

February 24^th They attempted another endoscopy but it didn’t happen.  USC performed another CT scan and reviewed the records from the ER. They believed a gallstone was blocking a bile duct and causing all of her discomfort. They ruled out both of the big scary words, said they’d keep her for a bit longer to let the infection get under control, then they’d release her and when the infection calmed down they’d schedule the gallbladder removal. They were thinking April would be a good time

February 27^th She came home, Noel and I stocked her house with low-fat, no-fat food for her to eat until the gallbladder surgery could happen. 

March 7^th Liz hadn’t been able to eat much since she was released from the hospital. On March 3^rd she was running a slight temperature but didn’t go to the doctor because it went away rather quickly. She was still incredibly weak, couldn’t keep food down well and her antibiotics ran out.  She went to the UCI emergency room that night. They did a CT scan and wanted to admit her.  She refused and instead went home with the intention of calling her USC doctor.

March 8^th she called her USC doctor and they said they would be admitting her.

March 9^th A bed opened up in the afternoon and she was admitted.

March 10^th USC did another CT scan to check her out and scheduled her surgery for the next day.

March 11^th When they tried to remove her gallbladder laparoscopically they saw something and switched to cutting her open.  What they saw was a tumor the size of a “Cutie” orange in the area where the liver, pancreas, small intestine and gallbladder all meet up. This was what was causing her discomfort and the inability to digest her food so they attached her large intestine directly to her stomach, bypassing this blockage.  They also discovered nodules in her stomach lining, her small intestine, large intestine, one on her liver and a small tumor on her colon. An onsite test indicated the “cutie” mass was cancerous. Biopsies were done of all of the other pieces and were sent to the lab for analysis.  They did not remove either of the tumors as both of them would have been considered major surgeries.

March 17^th The labs came back with a little information. All samples taken were cancerous.

March 18^th Liz was discharged and scheduled an appointment with the oncology team for the 24^th to get an idea of what the treatment plan would be.  She began eating more, and was feeling really well and perky for someone recently having undergone surgery.

March 24^th  Oncology appointment with USC doctors. Cancer was confirmed as originating in the gallbladder. The doctors were optimistic about treatment and recommended an aggressive course of 1 chemo treatment per week for 2 weeks then 1 week off, and repeat.

March 29^th Liz had a second opinion appointment with City of Hope. Here she asked more 

questions.  How long do I have if I don’t do Chemo?  6months to a year, was the answer.  How long do I have if I do chemo? A year and half, was the answer.   How many treatments? Indefinite, was the answer. The chemo wouldn’t cure her but could buy her time.

She will start chemo in about 2 weeks at City of Hope. Should the chemo reduce her quality of life too much she may re-evaluate continuing with chemo in order to be able to enjoy the time she has left.

We are all in shock and disbelief.  If you wish to support her in this crazy, awful, time, you can donate to her medical expenses and adventure fund here:

www.GoFundMe.com/Life4Liz

You can also reach out to her to let her know you’re there.  She may not respond, she may not have the opportunity to say thank you for the love and support but please know that she appreciates all of it.

Feel free to post any questions you have and I’ll try to answer when I can.

Much love to you and yours from all of us,