So many people have asked me the question about how Traci contracted cancer, and how it came to pass. The easy answer is, we will never know.
Traci's family has no history of cancer on either side. And it was by some stroke of just pure rotten luck that her diagnosis pointed to cancer in the first place. Here's how it all began:
Traci was married mother of one, and pregnant with her second child. Towards the end of her pregnancy, she developed a nagging cough and had a difficult time breathing. The cough worsened as her pregnancy came to a close, and even after Nikki was born (healthy), Traci had a difficult time breathing and still had this nagging cough. It was amplified when she laid in certain positions.
Tests confirmed that the reason for the cough and the shortness in breath was from a softball sized mass that had grown near her lungs, and that when lay in certain positions, the mass would crush her lungs, keeping her from breathing properly. A biopsy on the mass determined that it was indeed cancer, and Traci was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Further testing would reveal even more bleak news as it was revealed that the cancer was also in her Bone marrow, and she would require a bone marrow transplant. Traci's condition was upgraded to be called Leukemia.
Before the BMT could take place, aggressive action needed to be taken on the tumor. Traci was set to undergo Chemotherapy to attack the cancer, and the search began on the Bone Marrow Transplant list for a donor. While undergoing Chemo, Traci found many of the same side effects that others do, with nausea, chronic fatigue, and physical loss of her hair. It was a humbling experience.
Her situation grew even more bleak as her friends and family were determined to be "NOT a match" for the Bone Marrow that she needed, and eyes were turned to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Fortunately, a match was found in a rural area of Pennsylvania.
Traci survived the Chemo treatments and the tumor was shrunken to the point of non-existence, and Traci underwent the procedure for a Bone Marrow Transplant. Despite fighting for her life, it appeared as though Traci was going to come out of this all alive, and beat this dreaded disease.
In the middle of the treatment, Traci's home life became shattered. While having difficulties in fighting this disease, Traci's marriage crumbled, resulting in a very difficult divorce. She would now be a single mom of two young girls, struggling to stay alive both physically and financially. But Traci stood tall, and rebounded well from her BMT and fought very hard to get healthy. A few years removed from her BMT, Traci developed some side effects from the BMT.
It turns out that the transplant didn't take in one area completely, her skin. A common side effect known as Graph vs. Host disease arose, whereby Traci's host cells were battling with the brand new Graph cells, and it became prevalent in her skin. Conditional side effects included the loss of elasticity in her skin, primarily at the joints. Her skin grew tight in all areas and especially at her right arm at the elbow joint which eventually locked due to the tightness in skin, resulting in a paralysis at her elbow joint. Slowly, the disease began to take away the elasticity in her right hand as well at the finger joints, causing some paralysis there as well.
Traci and I met through an online dating service some years after her divorce, and at the time, it appeared as though she had made a complete recovery. Our relationship continued to thrive as Traci showed very minor regressions, but to some degree, it was expected. GVHD (Graph vs. Host Disease) often is a condition that after the body has had some time, will burn itself out as the body begins to accept the new cells. In Traci's case, her body never really fully did. And the regression took place ever so slightly, that it went virtually undetected.
In February of 2008, we noticed that there was a deterioration of the skin in her right leg at the knee and ankle joints. There was progressive tightening that made for limited mobility. By April of 2008, the GVHD had ramped up to the point of not allowing Traci the ability to flex her legs at the knees, and making it difficult for her to stand. And by the middle of May, Traci could only walk a few short steps with the assistance of a walker. By June, Traci had completely lost the ability to stand on her feet, and could no longer walk.
Things worsened on her legs as the skin wrapped so tightly that her skin below her knees began to crack, and open wounds would appear on her lower legs. Slowly, the GVHD was eroding her skin. By the end of the Summer of 2008, Traci was needing to go in to the City of Hope twice a week to be placed under conscious sedation to have the dressings on the wounds on her legs changed. Doctors were baffled at how quickly the GVHD had taken over Traci's body, and were at a loss for a treatment for her condition. At this stage, the best that they could do was apply the best wound care possible, and make her as comfortable as possible.
In December of 2008, Traci's care was overseen completely by her Bone Marrow Transplant team of Doctors at Kaiser Sunset, in Los Angeles, and her dressing changes would take place there under the supervision of one of the best Vascular Surgeons in all of LA. And the healing process was something that the doctors said would be a slow one, and they've been correct.
In June of 2009, Traci and I were married in a celebration with our friends and family in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles. It was a lovely ceremony and one of the happiest moments of my life.
Today, Traci still goes into Kaiser Sunset every Monday for regular dressing changes under conscious sedation in order to keep the wounds clean and free of infection. And the hope remains that the GVHD will begin to slow down to the point of burning itself out, and the healing process can begin at a more rapid rate.
Traci's family has no history of cancer on either side. And it was by some stroke of just pure rotten luck that her diagnosis pointed to cancer in the first place. Here's how it all began:
Traci was married mother of one, and pregnant with her second child. Towards the end of her pregnancy, she developed a nagging cough and had a difficult time breathing. The cough worsened as her pregnancy came to a close, and even after Nikki was born (healthy), Traci had a difficult time breathing and still had this nagging cough. It was amplified when she laid in certain positions.
Tests confirmed that the reason for the cough and the shortness in breath was from a softball sized mass that had grown near her lungs, and that when lay in certain positions, the mass would crush her lungs, keeping her from breathing properly. A biopsy on the mass determined that it was indeed cancer, and Traci was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Further testing would reveal even more bleak news as it was revealed that the cancer was also in her Bone marrow, and she would require a bone marrow transplant. Traci's condition was upgraded to be called Leukemia.
Before the BMT could take place, aggressive action needed to be taken on the tumor. Traci was set to undergo Chemotherapy to attack the cancer, and the search began on the Bone Marrow Transplant list for a donor. While undergoing Chemo, Traci found many of the same side effects that others do, with nausea, chronic fatigue, and physical loss of her hair. It was a humbling experience.
Her situation grew even more bleak as her friends and family were determined to be "NOT a match" for the Bone Marrow that she needed, and eyes were turned to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Fortunately, a match was found in a rural area of Pennsylvania.
Traci survived the Chemo treatments and the tumor was shrunken to the point of non-existence, and Traci underwent the procedure for a Bone Marrow Transplant. Despite fighting for her life, it appeared as though Traci was going to come out of this all alive, and beat this dreaded disease.
In the middle of the treatment, Traci's home life became shattered. While having difficulties in fighting this disease, Traci's marriage crumbled, resulting in a very difficult divorce. She would now be a single mom of two young girls, struggling to stay alive both physically and financially. But Traci stood tall, and rebounded well from her BMT and fought very hard to get healthy. A few years removed from her BMT, Traci developed some side effects from the BMT.
It turns out that the transplant didn't take in one area completely, her skin. A common side effect known as Graph vs. Host disease arose, whereby Traci's host cells were battling with the brand new Graph cells, and it became prevalent in her skin. Conditional side effects included the loss of elasticity in her skin, primarily at the joints. Her skin grew tight in all areas and especially at her right arm at the elbow joint which eventually locked due to the tightness in skin, resulting in a paralysis at her elbow joint. Slowly, the disease began to take away the elasticity in her right hand as well at the finger joints, causing some paralysis there as well.
Traci and I met through an online dating service some years after her divorce, and at the time, it appeared as though she had made a complete recovery. Our relationship continued to thrive as Traci showed very minor regressions, but to some degree, it was expected. GVHD (Graph vs. Host Disease) often is a condition that after the body has had some time, will burn itself out as the body begins to accept the new cells. In Traci's case, her body never really fully did. And the regression took place ever so slightly, that it went virtually undetected.
In February of 2008, we noticed that there was a deterioration of the skin in her right leg at the knee and ankle joints. There was progressive tightening that made for limited mobility. By April of 2008, the GVHD had ramped up to the point of not allowing Traci the ability to flex her legs at the knees, and making it difficult for her to stand. And by the middle of May, Traci could only walk a few short steps with the assistance of a walker. By June, Traci had completely lost the ability to stand on her feet, and could no longer walk.
Things worsened on her legs as the skin wrapped so tightly that her skin below her knees began to crack, and open wounds would appear on her lower legs. Slowly, the GVHD was eroding her skin. By the end of the Summer of 2008, Traci was needing to go in to the City of Hope twice a week to be placed under conscious sedation to have the dressings on the wounds on her legs changed. Doctors were baffled at how quickly the GVHD had taken over Traci's body, and were at a loss for a treatment for her condition. At this stage, the best that they could do was apply the best wound care possible, and make her as comfortable as possible.
In December of 2008, Traci's care was overseen completely by her Bone Marrow Transplant team of Doctors at Kaiser Sunset, in Los Angeles, and her dressing changes would take place there under the supervision of one of the best Vascular Surgeons in all of LA. And the healing process was something that the doctors said would be a slow one, and they've been correct.
In June of 2009, Traci and I were married in a celebration with our friends and family in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles. It was a lovely ceremony and one of the happiest moments of my life.
Today, Traci still goes into Kaiser Sunset every Monday for regular dressing changes under conscious sedation in order to keep the wounds clean and free of infection. And the hope remains that the GVHD will begin to slow down to the point of burning itself out, and the healing process can begin at a more rapid rate.
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