Evie discovered a lump in her right breast in early March, and after a Mammogram/Ultrasound and follow up biopsy, was diagnosed on April 20th with Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma… a certain kind of breast cancer that is typically known to be aggressive. She also has a small tumor in a nearby lymph node as well, bumping it to Stage 2. However, within one week, and through the help of family and friends, she and Bob were able access an impressive UCLA oncology team headed up by Dr. Frederick Kass, who is known as the godfather of medical oncology in Santa Barbara and is as kind and compassionate and skilled as they come. The progress has been shockingly fast and efficient, and includes multiple opinions from Santa Barbara to LA.

MRI results came back yesterday, and they found some additional activity around the malignant lymph as well as a tiny “something” in the other breast. The PET scan (which will tell us if it is elsewhere in her body), is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, May 4th). The additional activity does not affect treatment plans, and Evie will begin a chemo/immunotherapy treatment next Monday (May 8) that will last 4-6 months, followed by surgery and likely also radiation.

While Triple Negative is an aggressive cancer, it is also the most responsive to chemo. So that’s the good side of the coin. The team is highly confident they can conquer this cancer, and we are too. Triple Negative is one of the types of breast cancer with the highest recurrence rates. Therefore creating a scenario that eliminates this risk as much as possible is an equal goal to Evie, as much as treating the current cancer. She is layering on a whole-body health and wellness approach with the help of Dr. Heidi Lucas, a well-respected Naturopath Oncology Nutritionist, to help her with supplements, herbs, and nutrition for pre-, during-, and post-chemo, and it will likely result in some permanent lifestyle changes to keep it at bay for good.

We will continue to provide updates here. Some will be from me, and some from Evie. And we encourage you to check it often. You can even sign up for notifications when there is a new update posted.

Here are three ways you can support Evie, Bob, and Henry on this journey:

1. Truly the best way you can support her is through your love and prayers, first and foremost. As well as for Bob and especially Henry, who is handling it all fairly well, but is still scared, as you could expect.

2. For local friends here in Santa Ynez Valley who are wondering about how to support the family with meals, we're using Meal Train to create a JUICE TRAIN! Evie is getting a strict set of guidelines from her nutritionist for the time being. Coupled with changing abilities to keep food down through chemo and Henry’s picky eating, it leaves only Bob, who can fend for himself. (Just kidding, Bob! We love you! Haha.)

3. You can also support her with small gifts on GoFundMe that fund her multi-layered fight to kick this to buy them a meal, assist in covering integrative oncology supplements, and help bridge the small income gap they will encounter as Evie decreases her work load to concentrate on healing.

Thanks for joining us on this ride, and feel free to reach out to me any time if you have any questions at EvieOnAnAdventure@gmail.com.

Love,

Jamie (Evie’s little sister)