My name is Kelsie, I am 31 years old and was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma on December 26th, 2022. Up until my initial ER visit I was a healthy, independent woman, beginning to make a life for myself, alone in a new city for the first time. On December 6th, 2022 I suddenly started to experience excruciating chest pains and got myself to a local hospital for examination. After 16 hours of scans and waiting, I was told there was an 8cm mass in my chest and they believed it to be cancerous. The tumor lies in the center of my chest between my lungs and presses against major blood vessels, my trachea and esophagus, which disqualifies me as a candidate for surgical removal. From January to May of 2023 I have undergone 30 rounds of radiation and 6 cycles of chemotherapy.
While treatments have yielded some progress, the tumor is still present and continues to affect my daily life. I am currently waiting on a response from my thoracic surgeon to determine whether an operation is yet feasible. If it is still not, my oncologist and I will explore further treatment options.
Kelsie’s LifeList:
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A travel group trip to Southeast Asia for young adults
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A ticket to DisneyWorld to go with my family back in FL
- A Litter Robot to help care for my cats while I’m in treatments