By Amber H.

Well…like every roller coaster ride, what goes up, must certainly come down. It's been a ride with as many twist and turns imaginable.

After we came home from the hospital, everything seemed good in the world, synergistic. Unbelievably happy after surgery. Then, the Anastasia wore off. Her right leg swelled up and the doctors feared we'd be rushing her right back to the hospital in fear of a blood clot.

Of course, this was midnight after an exhausting hospital stay so we were both operating on fumes. It turned out, that one of the resident doctors didn't add two prescriptions that were crucial for Cristal. So I found a 24 hour pharmacy and she was back, and so we thought until the next morning when her head started to feel like it was going to explode.

Her back pain returned and the nausea settled in. All she could taste and smell were chemicals from the surgery. The doctors wanted Cristal to come in for lab work on Monday which meant she couldn't eat. But first we were going to the back doctor, the orthopedist we were dieing all week to get to. When we got there we were greeted by a rude male receptionist who clearly hated his job and people. He told her she wasn't on the schedule for Monday. She was on the schedule for Tuesday. Cristal pleaded her case. He didn't care or pretend to care. It turned out, the oncologist cancelled her appointment and rescheduled her without telling Cristal. But Cristal was able to talk to the orthopedist and they squeezed her in. We wanted to stick our tongue out to the rude receptionist but then we remembered that there we would be follow up appointments. =)

I spoke to you all about a vertebralplasty where they cement one of your vertebrae to stabilize your back. Well the Orthopedist didn't want to do the procedure yet because Cristal had been under so much Anastasia. He suggested a lumbar epidural instead. We were like, fine. We'll take it.

So afterward we headed to St. John's to get our labs done. Come to find out, the lab was closed. So the nurse practitioner sent us next door. Yes, Cristal was still fasting and about to fall over. So we drive to the next lab only to find out that no one there knows how to draw blood from her porticath. You need a RN or an Oncology nurse to do it because there are special instructions. They advise us to come back tomorrow. We were like, NO! We don't want to come back tomorrow. We are hangry, (hungry plus angry) exhausted and beat up!

We went home and thankfully, one of our good friends made Cristal some Chicken Vegetable Soup. There was no time to figure out dinner. Cristal was feeling worse. That evening, her nose started draining and bleeding. The tissue in her head was coming out of her and she was miserable. Nothing made her feel better. I felt worse than helpless.

On Wednesday, we took her to get her lumbar epidural which meant she was FASTING again, always hungry. The earliest they could get her in was 1:30PM. So I took the morning off of work and waited with her but the ER was backed up at St. John's and she didn't get her procedure done until 3:30PM. So again, she was hungry and feeling awful. I had to leave and another friend came and waited with her. Timing was everything that day because Cristal still had to hit UCLA Westwood to see her Ear Note and Throat Specialist who assisted the neurosurgeon during the surgery. He needed to scope her nose to relieve the pressure Cristal was feeling.

Well they got to Westwood around 4:30. Cristal described the pain of being scoped as being internally tortured. The doctor had a table of long instruments that he used to go up her nose and beyond to clean out scabs and scrape other nasal obstructions. What was worse was he had to do it three times. Finally Cristal said she couldn't take it anymore. He assured her he was done. He patched her up and left the room. Cristal stood up, took three steps and the blood poured from her nose. She couldn't catch it. She aimlessly looked for Kleenex, anything, considered the paper towels and the discomfort that would follow and finally found the tissue but she had lost a lot of blood. The nurse called for the doctor and they laid her out on the bed again. Of course, she was still starving. An hour later, now 6PM, she was on her way home. Another exhausting day.

Thursday, was a better day. Her back felt a little better. She could breathe though she was still nauseous. We went to the Oncologist and got her labs taken care of trouble free.

Friday was another challenge. The smell that had been plaguing her was still there. She threw up and it about paralyzed her with a burning pain. Then the headaches followed. I gave her an ice pack and that felt better. We paged her doctor and they had her take a whole pain killer which Cris never does, but she felt better.

So that's the story for this week. It was a challenge. Tomorrow she starts chemotherapy. She's been eating foods to boost her red and white blood cells. She's napping right now. She still has a headache but one moment at a time, right?

Cristal wanted me to tell you thank you for sending her love, cards and gifts. She hasn't had a chance to write thank you cards but they're coming. After reading about this week, you know why.

I forgot to tell you that we're going to meet with another doctor specializing in the brain so that she can start radiation as well. Thanks for all of your support everyone.

Love, Amber

Our first grantee and board member Cristal Rivera-Mitchel has had some setbacks in her health this past holiday.  I hope you are all sitting down for this one before you begin to read below.  As a result of her current condition, I am going to create a blog page for updates on AJCF website and a separate PayPal account for those seeking to make a donation to help sustain Cristal’s quality of living.   Cristal is very strong and an inspiration to everyone who has the divine pleasure of crossing her path. 

Cristal Rivera-Mitchel

Here’s an update from Cristal’s partner Amber:

It's been a year since I've sent you an update. So much has happened between then but I just didn't feel like writing about it. Cristal was getting better and we were planning our lives again. She had reconstruction surgery last October where they took the expanders out and put the implants in. It was so much more comfortable for her. They had been in so long to stretch the skin.

It was immediately after that, that Cristal began to feel a deep mid-back pain that radiated to her right side. Massage didn't help and you know I tried. She had chiropractic care, acupuncture which alleviated her pain short term, physical therapy, but the pain returned. She fought with the insurance company to get her an MRI and they denied her. I couldn't believe it. How do they deny someone who has had cancer?

At Christmas, Cristal was at her worst. She couldn't finish participating in the festivities and went to lay down. Two days later, she checked herself into the hospital. We pleaded our case to a doctor and she shared our frustration. She said that Cristal would not leave the hospital until she got all her scans done. We were elated.

We just knew that there was some muscular issue that needed to be addressed. We weren't prepared for what came next. The radiology report saw two tumors in the liver. One was 9.5cm by 3.5 cm. The doctor suggested we see our Oncologist. Of course it was during the holidays so everyone was on vacation either physically or mentally. Fast forward to a week later, we saw our Oncologist. He found another tumor in the pancreas, two more tumors on the outside of her stomach and that pain she had in the back….bone cancer that collasped the vertebral body of her lumbar vertebrae. I lost it. I cried first and Cristal was more worried about me than her diagnosis. Un..fucking..believable. Here we go again, I thought. Why, I thought? We were so careful, we ate right. It just wasn't fair. Cristal and I had taken separate cars that day. I cried all the way home. Thank you mom for being on the other side of the phone to hear me sob and wipe away my tears and for praying out loud with me.

The oncologist told us that he did not believe in telling someone how long they had to live. I was pretty cynical at that moment. He didn't have to say anything. All I heard was Pancreas and Liver. But then something he said, shed a beautiful ray of hope.

Cristal did not have pancreatic cancer or liver cancer; it was still breast cancer that had metastasized into other organs which isn't as bad. It was all I could hang onto and I still hang on. Cristal's cancer is triple negative which is the most aggressive. There have been cases where one of the receptors can be positive which is better because there are surer ways to fight it. Killing triple negative cancer is both and art and a science.

I'm sorry to have to lay this all out to you. I've been waiting for answers and I didn't want all of you to have to worry and wait with me. I found out the biopsy report today and so that is why I'm giving you the news now.

So what's next, right? Dr. Glaspy, our oncologist said that "Cristal will be on chemotherapy for the rest of her life however long or however short that is." Those were his words. She is going to lose her hair and this chemotherapy will be stonger than the time before. Apparently pre-operative chemo is not as strong as other chemotherapy drugs. So this is where we are at.

They are going to radiate the bone cancer in her back and give her bone hardening drugs which doesn't carry side effects. She will have chemo, one day a week through her veins which is worrisome since she has so much scar tissue in her veins from previously. The porticath didn't work last time because her veins are too small so there are some issues that may arise. Next week she will have another MRI for her back. She's had two CT scans, an MRI. X-ray and a liver biopsy.

Cristal is scared but strong. She is still ready to fight. I have my armour on standby for when I need it. There are so many things to take care of and we are trying to sort through her affairs. We don't know what the future holds but we will fight to keep Cristal here.

I am asking for everyone's prayers and if you can afford to help her out financially in any aspect, that would be extremely helpful. We are finding out the costs of living trusts and therapies not covered by insurance. We didn't have to ask last time and I was happy about that. We figured it out, but this time anything would be helpful. We spoke to a CPA to find out if there was a way to make it tax deductible but we are not a foundation. If you are in a certain tax bracket, the government will let you deduct 10 percent of your donation. It will just have to be from the goodness of your heart. Please don't worry if you can't help. Keep the love, hope and light coming our way. We love you and I will keep you updated as soon as I learn more. Thank you.

 Most Sincerely,

Amber

P.S. Make checks payable to

Cristal Rivera-Mitchel

C/O The Alma J. Cameron Foundation

5424 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Ste F125

 Valley Village, Ca 91607

The AJCF Team is – “bridging the gap between conventional and integrative cancer treatments, one person at a time.”

I hope you and your family have a blessed and Happy Holiday Season!

With gratitude and love,

Regina S. Cameron

Founder/President

The Alma J. Cameron Foundaton

for Cancer Awareness

Continue reading on Examiner.com : http://www.examiner.com/health-in-los-angeles/fashion-icon-donna-karan-launches-urban-zen-integrative-therapy-program-at-ucla

By Matt McMillen
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Oct. 21, 2011 — A cancer vaccine shows potential to slow the spread of cancer among lung cancer patients, a study shows.

The experimental vaccine targets a protein linked to more than half of all cases of non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

The study is published in The Lancet Oncology.

Read more at MedicineNet.com

But they do. Two-thirds of lung cancer's female victims quit at least a decade earlier or never smoked at all.

Yet the stigma of smoking and the shame people feel for bringing on their illness has caused women to delay seeking medical attention in the early stages of lung cancer. As a result, lung cancer rates have continued to rise, and 23 years ago the disease overtook breast cancer as the leading cause of death in women. Yet who knew?

A very special thank you for your generous gift to our foundation in honor of David and Renee's wedding celebration.

We are pleased to announce that the Alma J. Cameron Foundation has extended Cristal River-Mitchel’s Grant for services at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology an two additional months.