En Junio de 2023, mi tía Katy descubrió un bulto en su seno izquierdo. El primer diagnóstico no era certero, requirió un segundo examen para entender el problema al que llaman “Fish positividad”. Esta segunda prueba indicó que las proteínas Her2/neu pertenecientes a las células cancerígenas de su mama habían alcanzado tres positivos, es decir, que Katy tenía cáncer de mama con Her2/neu +++ y este nivel de “positividad” hace que las células afectadas tiendan a crecer y propagarse más rápido de lo normal.
Pasó lo inimaginable, a veces estas situaciones no llegan en el mejor momento. Katy vive actualmente en Caracas, Venezuela, su esposo viajó meses antes para trabajar y resolver temas familiares, así que se encontró sola enfrentando esta nueva condición y sin mucho conocimiento sobre lo que implica. Katy es el primer caso de cáncer en la familia.
A Katy, por suerte, no se le cayó el espíritu. Se dio cuenta al poco tiempo que algunas amigas y vecinas cercanas pasaron por la enfermedad o tuvieron a alguien cercano en la misma situación. Hoy sabemos que hay muchas probabilidades de sanar y sobrevivir al cáncer mamario.
Ella comenzó con los tratamientos al poco tiempo, no podía hacer esperar a la enfermedad, el carcinoma crecía con rapidez. Mi madre, que ha sido su principal apoyo, estuvo muy presente desde el principio. El cáncer además de ser una enfermedad costosa, también requiere de mucho apoyo familiar y de amistades. Es clave no estar solos frente a este tipo de situación, Katy necesitó ayuda para la preparación de comidas, conseguir medicamentos a buen precio, traslados, apoyo emocional, entre otros. La colaboración en su trabajo también fue importante, le permitieron trabajar a distancia y tomar el tiempo necesario para hacerse los tratamientos.
Todos aprendimos sobre la enfermedad, pero por supuesto, Katy y mis padres son los que cargan con todo el peso emocional y logístico que implica cuidar a una persona con este padecimiento.
Desde 2023, Katy ha pasado por todos estos procedimientos:
6 ciclos de quimioterapia con dosis de Taxotere y Carboplatino cada 21 días. Luego se le sumaron dosis de carga de Trastuzumab y Pertuzumab.
Al 4to y 5to ciclo tuvieron que hospitalizarla porque se descubrió que era alérgica a componentes del Trastuzumab y Pertuzumab. Eliminaron estos medicamentos del tratamiento y cuando se normalizó su estado continuó con la quimioterapia.
Al 6to ciclo los médicos indicaron que el tumor había disminuido a la mitad.
Una operación localizada para retirar restos del tumor en enero de 2024.
19 sesiones de Radioterapia.
Consumo de Zometa cada 28 días.
Chequeos trimestrales: ecocardiograma, tomografías de tórax, abdomen y pelvis; y exámenes de sangre semanales.
Todos estos procedimientos costaron aproximadamente USD $80.000. Katy se ha apoyado de su sueldo y del uso de su seguro, pero el monto de su póliza no es suficiente para cubrir los tratamientos restantes. Aún necesita ayuda para realizar el pago de su tratamiento sistémico, ya que el costo de estos medicamentos, en particular el de la Kadcyla, es el elevado, cada dosis cuesta alrededor de USD $3.300.
En el siguiente listado detallamos lo poco que falta para que Katy pueda sanar:
18 sesiones de tratamiento sistémico de 200 mg de T-DMI Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine (Kadcyla) cada 21 días.
Continuación del consumo de Zometa cada 28 días.
Continuación de los chequeos trimestrales: ecocardiograma, tomografías de tórax, abdomen y pelvis; y exámenes de sangre semanales.
¡Ayúdanos a lograr esta meta para que mi tía pueda sobrevivir al cáncer!
En el caso de que no puedas donar a través de esta plataforma, puedes transferir a Katy:
In case you're unable to donate through this platform, you can transfer to Katy.
Katia Cueva Yzu
Dirección domicilio/Home Adress:
10979 SW 236th Terrace Homestead, FL USA 33032
Nº de Cuenta/Account number:
7271392628
Nombre del banco/Name of Bank:
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Dirección del banco/Bank Adress:
420 Montgomery San Francisco, CA 94104
ABA: 121000248
SWIFT / BIC: WFBIUS6S
Zelle: Katia Cueva Yzu
k_cueva[arroba]hotmail.com
***
Un poquito sobre Katy y su familia
Empecemos con un poco de contexto: somos una familia de migrantes.
Katy es de Lima, Perú. Se mudó a Venezuela con sus hermanos en 1990. De cinco hermanos por parte de madre, ella es la penúltima, la más bajita y la acuariana de la familia. Katy estudió Administración y aún trabaja en ello, pero no duda en plantearse proyectos creativos, aprendió a coser y a tejer como su madre, siempre está haciendo alguna manualidad.
De alguna manera estamos acostumbrados a resolver las cosas por nuestra cuenta, aprendimos a solucionar porque todos estamos en diferentes lugares, pero la realidad es que ser migrante es una decisión que incluye nuevos desafíos, entre ellos, estar lejos cuando los tuyos más te necesitan. Si llegaste hasta acá, muchísimas gracias por leer la historía de mi tía. Te agradezco por adelantado, tu aporte o la difusión entre tus cercanos será de mucha ayuda para ayudarla a recuperarse. ¡Vamos que falta poco!
***
English version:
In June 2023, my Aunt Katy discovered a lump in her left breast. The first diagnosis wasn’t accurate, requiring a second test to understand the problem they call “Fish positivity”. This second test indicated that the Her2/neu proteins belonging to the cancer cells in her breast had reached three positives, meaning that Katy had breast cancer with Her2/neu +++ and this level of “positivity” makes the affected cells tend to grow and spread faster than normal.
The unimaginable happens, sometimes these situations do not come at the best time. Katy currently lives in Caracas, Venezuela, her husband traveled months earlier to work and resolve family issues, so she found herself alone facing this new condition, and without knowledge about what it entails. Katy is the first cancer case in the family.
Katy, fortunately, didn’t lose her spirit. She realized soon after that some close friends and neighbors had gone through the disease or had someone close to them in the same situation. Today we know that there is a good chance of healing and surviving breast cancer.
She started with the treatments soon after, but she could not make the disease wait, the carcinoma was multiplying. My mother, who has been her main support, was very present from the beginning. Cancer, besides being a costly disease, also requires a lot of support from family and friends. It’s key not to be alone in this type of situation. Katy needed help in preparing meals, obtaining affordable medications, transportation, and emotional support, among other things. The collaboration at work was also important, allowing her to work remotely and take the necessary time to undergo treatments.
We all learned about the disease, but of course, Katy and my parents are the ones who carry all the emotional and logistical burden of caring for a person with this condition. Since 2023, Katy has gone through all of these procedures:
6 cycles of chemotherapy with doses of Taxotere and Carboplatin every 21 days. Then loading doses of Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab were added.
On the 4th and 5th cycles, she had to be hospitalized because she was found to be allergic to components of Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab. They eliminated these drugs from the treatment and when her condition normalized she continued with chemotherapy.
By the 6th cycle, the doctors indicated that the tumor had shrunk by half.
A localized operation to remove remnants of the tumor in January 2024.
19 sessions of Radiotherapy.
Zometa intake every 28 days.
Quarterly check-ups: echocardiogram, chest, abdomen, and pelvis tomographies; and weekly blood tests.
All of these procedures cost approximately USD 80,000. Katy is supported by her salary and the use of her insurance, but the amount of her policy is not enough to cover the remaining treatments. She still needs help paying for her systemic therapy, as the cost of these drugs, particularly Kadcyla, is high, with each dose costing about USD 3,300.
In the following list we detail how little is left for Katy to heal:
18 systemic treatment sessions of 200 mg of T-DMI Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine (Kadcyla) 200 mg every 21 days.
Continuation of Zometa every 28 days.
Continuation of quarterly check-ups: echocardiogram; chest, abdominal, and pelvic CT scans; and weekly blood tests.
Help us achieve this goal so that my aunt can survive cancer!
A little bit about Katy and her family
Let's start with some context: we are a family of migrants.
Katy is from Lima, Peru. She moved to Venezuela with her siblings in 1990. Out of five siblings on her mother's side, she is the second to last, the shortest, and the Aquarian of the family. Katy studied Administration and is still working on it, but she doesn't hesitate to come up with creative projects, she learned to sew and knit like her mother, and she’s always making crafts.
Somehow we are used to solving things on our own, we learned to solve things because we are all in different places, but the reality is that being a migrant is a decision that includes new challenges, among them, being far away when your loved ones need you the most. If you made it this far, thank you for reading my aunt's story. Thank you in advance, your contribution or the diffusion among your close ones will be of great help to help her recover. Come on, it won't be long!
In case you can not donate through this platform, you can transfer to Katy:
Katia Cueva Yzu
Home Address: 10979 SW 236th Terrace Homestead, FL USA 33032
Account number: 7271392628
Name of Bank: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Bank Address: 420 Montgomery San Francisco, CA 94104
ABA: 121000248
SWIFT / BIC: WFBIUS6S
Zelle: Katia Cueva Yzu
k_cueva[arroba]hotmail.com
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