Sharing my story and the legacy of my late sister
My name is Gabrielle, I am currently 26 years old and was born and raised in Indiana. I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism with a Political Science concentration, and am currently studying for the LSAT. One year and six months after losing my older sister, Jillien, to Stage 4 Kidney Cancer, I got diagnosed with Stage 2 Osteosarcoma. We were both diagnosed at the very same age, 24 years old. The odds were/are incredible.
To keep my chances of living high, I received a total hip and femur replacement on the left side of my body at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in 2015. I spent five weeks in the hospital learning how to walk again and do every day activities. Once I was released from the hospital, it was time for me to begin my journey with chemotherapy.
The Lord answered our prayers with the scans that came after. The scans showed no sign of spreading and caused my chemotherapy journey to only be a preventative one. In April 2015, I started my three drugs of Methotrexate, Cisplatin and what Oncologists call “The Red Devil” drug. The regime was very harsh, due to my very rare and aggressive type of cancer, and caused me to be a three day inpatient in the downtown hospital. With my family having to travel from the Midwest to California to help me through treatments, the financial burden became too much. It was a better option for me to gather my newly started life and move back home with my parents.
On crutches and sometimes in a wheelchair, I began treatment and physical therapy at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis. With a shorter chemotherapy schedule and my aggressive determination to get better, I finished treatment and receiving clear scans by August 2015. With another shot at life, I decided to start out fresh in Phoenix, Arizona where my healing was able to occur easily. By July 2016, I had my own apartment and was living on my own with a new perspective on life and a closer relationship with God.
Things got very confusing in August 2016 when another tumor was found in my lower spine. By September 2016, I was back in Indiana living with my parents and going through chemotherapy for the second time. Though my Stage 2 Osteosarcoma had gone up to Stage 4, my new chemo drugs were softer and allowed me to receive them as an outpatient.
As a recent cancer survivor, I knew another lifestyle change needed to be made. I became much more intense with what I was doing, besides chemotherapy, and even chose to go vegan. The odds of my condition were extremely confusing for my doctors, as they scrambled for ways to treat me. In an attempt to put this behind me once more, my parents and I decided to take more drastic measures by doing Precision Genomics Testing and Proton Therapy Radiation, which caused constant headaches with insurance companies.
Currently, I am awaiting the results from my radiation and consuming an anti-cancer drug that was specially picked out for me from my Precision Genomics Testing. Though I continue to have my aches and pains and find myself in a great financial drought, I am confident that my faith will continue to keep me standing. To me, that is what Livestrong is all about. It has become my hobby, job and calling to continue motivating other cancer survivors and passing on my story and the legacy of my late sister, Jillien.
Gabrielle, Osteosarcoma Survivor
Sharing my story and the legacy of my late sister was originally published in Livestrong Voices on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.