Funeral information

Funeral information:

Rosary will be at Autumn Funeral Home - Bend 61555 Parrell Road, Bend, OR 97702 Thursday evening at 7pm.

Friday, October 28th at 10am St. Francis of Assisi Historic Catholic Church downtown Bend. Address is: Corner of Lava and Franklin

Holly will be buried at Deschutes where her grandparents were buried.

Donation box will be at funeral and also at the celebration of life. You can also still donate money at the US Bank account under Holly A. Gordon.


Celebration of Life will be held from 1pm to 4pm on Friday, Oct. 28th at Karen Wallace's Ranch.

Address for celebration of life: 66295 Highway 20 (1/2 way between Tumalo and Sisters)

Holly passed this morning

Today we all lost a best friend, sister, mother, or amazing woman. Holly passed this morning peacefully and as if Evan would say she was hiding under the covers and comfortable.

Holly is finally in heaven and watching over all of us!

Funeral information:
Friday, October 28th at 10am St. Francis Catholic Church downtown Bend.
Holly will be buried at Deschutes where her grandparents were buried.

Thank you all so much for your support and fight throughout Holly's journey. She loved each and everyone of you! The Greene & Gordon family would like to keep in touch with each and everyone of you, Holly would want that!

Cheers to Holly!

Last hope.....

Praying for our last hope...A Miracle

Alot has been happening on the front lines. Holly's health took a drastic turn. She has been in the hospital for around 10 days now battling for her life. She has all doctors and medical staff in awe of her will to live. Holly was first admitted because of a problem eliminating her stool and intense pain. We soon found out she had an obstructed colon and doctors performed a colostomy with 2 stomas. Unfortunately pain and difficulty continued and doctors discovered another obstruction with the small intestine. Over CT scans and testing Holly's current health, doctors came to the conclusion that a second surgery would be fatal. They want Holly's remaining time to be as much quality and pain free as possible. Surgery in their mind would be too harmful. We pleaded for the surgery but doctors replied that it would be immoral. We simply believe Holly's amazing heart and will to live would pull her through. Now we are continuing the fight with IV fluids(TPN),  pain medications, symptom relief strategies, a lot of love and continuous prayers for a miraculous clearing of her bowel obstruction. Doctors forgot to measure Holly's HEART! She is a fighter and she will not quite! We will not quit! And we know you will not quit.
You are welcome to visit but please be mindful of overwhelming her. If the room is crowded we have a family waiting room for anyone to gather and wait for an appropriate turn. Be advised also we are looking into transfering Holly to either the Hospice facility or possible in home hospice in the near future.
Thank you for your continued support during this crucial time.

Please pray for a miracle! It is all Holly has left.

Holly loves you all!

Couple days of set backs

Holly has had a few good days and a few bad days.

This weekend was probably her worst weekend yet.  Saturday, Holly had CT scan and some x rays to see why she continues to have so much pain and bowel movement problems.  Sunday, the doctor thinks that Holly has another obstruction. Holly has been in so much pain, right now we are comforting her and supporting her at her bedside.

Holly will remain in the hospital probably for this week. We are taking 1 day at a time.

Doctors think possibly another surgery this week. We will get another update today and see what route Holly would like to take. 

Holly you are such an amazing fighter and our families role model.

Holly in ICU

Holly has had a rough week, but remaining strong!

Holly has been in a lot of pain for awhile, we were trying to maintain her pain. Holly went to the ER on Sunday, they found that her urethra was blocked by part of her cancer tumor. Her WBC count has been low, she has been on TPN, and getting blood as well.

Wednesday the doctors decided to take her into surgery at 4pm, surgery went well and Holly now has a Colostomy.

She remains in ICU now for monitoring. Keep pushing Holly, you are doing amazing!

Chemo update

Holly received her last chemotherapy today, next week they are going to reevaluate her CT scan and tumor markers.

She also received 2 units of blood today, which we figured due to Holly being short of breath.

Holly is thanking everyone for participating in the run, she is so amazed by all the support!

Thank you

Holly & TEAM HOLLY,

Would like to thank the following people for helping out with the 5k Run:
Brenda & Jim Stroup, Meghan & Cale Pearson, Richard Logan, Annette Rockow, and Janice Pendroy.

You did an amazing job on the 5k Run, it has truly lifted Holly's spirits!

You are amazing. Thank you so much!

5k Run tomorrow

You can register the same day of Holly's 5k Run!

Don't forget to pick up your run package today at Foot Zone from 12-6(Bend) or the day of the race.

Holly is looking forward to seeing everyone!

Chemo today

Holly woke up feeling better today and received Chemotherapy!

She had a little more pain last night, but over all better.

She has an amazing spirit and has been preparing for her friend Tamara's garage sale this weekend.

GO HOLLY!

3rd week in Bend

Holly's Hematocrit & Hemoglobin are great this week after receiving blood.

Although, Holly has been not feeling well due to trying to possibly fight a bug. She has been to the doctor a couple of times this week. She received some fluids due to dehydration.

They are going to hold off until the end of the week with Chemotherapy, to see how she feels.

Holly has been looking forward to the 5k Run next week, which will hopefully give her a second wind.

Keep it up Holly! We are all behind you.

2nd Chemo in Bend + Blood transfusion

Holly's had her chemotherapy treatment yesterday, followed by a blood transfusion. Her hematocrit & Hemoglobin continued to drop from last week, therefore she received 2 units of blood.

She was very thankful that her treatment was in Bend after a long day.

Holly also lost 4 lbs. this week.

Her spirits still remain high, just a little tired from her long day yesterday!

Keep sending prayers and positive energy her way! 

Chemo yesterday in Bend

Holly gained 2 lbs yesterday and had her chemotherapy in Bend. 

Her Hematocrit and Hemoglobin dropped again, possibly another blood transfusion this week. Doctors are going to recheck later this week!

Holly is happy to be closer to home doing chemotherapy, especially since Evan started school this week!   

Chemotherapy next week will be in Bend on Tuesday! 

Holly is looking forward to the Run/Walk in Redmond on October 1st.

Thanks for the continued support, thoughts, and prayers!

Love, Holly & family

Pledge now for "Finish for Holly"

Hello everyone,

Holly's Bend treatments are still in the process of getting setup so they will hopefully begin the end of this week and we will let you know the results. We do know she is very happy to stay close to home because the Seattle trips were very exhausting.
 
We are taking pledges for "Finish For Holly" benefit for the Portland Marathon Oct. 9th.

You can write checks out to Alpine Mortgage Planning Community Cares Foundation &
Mail to: 16520 Upper Boones Ferry Rd. Suite 250, Portland, OR 97224.
Write on the check: "Finish For Holly" in the for area.

Also if you could communicate to us by texting or calling 602-568-5692 just so we can keep track of pledges.

Also if you could communicate to us by texting or calling 602-568-5692 just so we can keep track of pledges.

Lastly, if you or someone you know missed out on the opportunity to support Holly by buying a t-shirt, bracelet or ring we still have some and can order more. So if interested call or text 602-568-5692 to place an order.

Thanks for all your continued support and see you in Oct for Holly's Hope Run!

TEAM HOLLY

No One Fights Alone
Hope

For what you do today will echo in eternity

Seattle visit #7

Holly went to Seattle this week and her H & H counts are back up and she is no longer neutropenic (WBC are up again).

The doctor's decided not to change any of the Chemotherapy dosages, but want to add Avastin to the plan. We need the insurance to approve of this drug before the doctors start it. They are glad that cancer is not growing as fast.

The Seattle doctors are going to allow Holly to do her next six treatments in Bend, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holly is looking forward to that!

One step at time...GO HOLLY!

CT Scan & Blood Barrier Markers Results

Holly received her CT scan and blood barrier markers today!

The cancer has grew about 1 inch, instead of doubling in size. The cancer has stopped growing so rapidly, therefore, something must be working in the treatments.

Holly will be going to Seattle on Tuesday to discuss her next step or direction she will take with the doctors.

THE POSITIVES:
-Holly feels good
-Holly has maintained her weight all week
-Holly's cancer is not growing actively, it has slowed
-Holly's spirits are remaining high

NICE WORK Hols, Kung Foo Fighter, HONNNEY, and Soul Sista!

Go TEAM HOLLY!

6th trip to Seattle

Holly's trip to Seattle was good and taking the treatments like a pro!

Holly's pain is better managed and resting as much as she can.
 She has maintained her weight all week, since the beginning of all of this!

Her spirits are still remaining high, since the golf benefit & dinner/auction! 

Thank you everyone!

GO TEAM HOLLY!

Holly's 5th Treatment in Seattle

Holly had some pain last nite but feels better today.  

Chemotherapy went well!  Do to Holly's H & H being all up and down, Seattle doctors want to stimulate the bone marrow to produce WBC with neuprogen shots x3, she will be getting those in Bend.  Cancer blood markers were drawn on Tuesday, therefore we may possibly get the results tomorrow. (A way to track if the chemotherapy has been working without checking it with ct scan.)

Holly is still on track for her 6th chemotherapy treatment next Tuesday in Seattle.  Later in the week Holly will receive a ct scan in Bend .

Holly's 7th chemotherapy trip to Seattle, in two weeks, will hopefully be able to tell if the chemotherapy is working or we need to do a different protocol. 

Thanks to everyone in the past week, Holly has definitely been showing more signs of happiness, energy, and even taking Evan to the library.

Go TEAM HOLLY

Golf Benefit / Dinner Auction = Success

 Sorry everyone, it has been a while since the last post due to Holly's benefits preparations but we can now get everyone up to date.Holly and TEAM Holly wanted to thank everyone for their support and donations during the golf benefit and dinner/auction.

It was so breath taking and amazing to see the love & support! Holly was truly touched by all of you especially with the group hug on the dance floor during the dinner/auction and concert. It is one thing to read about everyone's support but she really felt your support in person that night. It was awesome!!

 

We have many to thank and we will do so appropriately at a later date but right now we need to immediately thank Jeff Greene and Aspen Lakes Golf for a tremendous day of golf and fun. Special thanks goes out to Karen and Wayne Wallace for offering their home and hard work preparing for the amazing dinner benefit along with Yvonne Tillman, Yvonne Houser, and Debbie Ritzenthaler.  I now there was a huge crew that helped prepare and cleanup the site so thank you, thank you, thank you, to you all. Special thanks also goes out to the woman behind the scenes, Shelly Greene, for her endless hours of communicating and preparing and finalizing the benefits through emails. And of course all of you who donated, participated and attending the events. The events would not have been a success without you! 

 

Holly's health update: she received 1 unit of blood yesterday and is ready for her next treatment in Seattle on Tuesday. She will also be getting her cancer markers checked to see how the specific drugs are reacting with the cancer. We will not know the results for a few days after her Seattle visit. Holly has high spirits right now due to everyones love and support the last couple of days. Way to go everyone! Just what we were hoping for!

She thanks everyone for their support and endless flow of cards.

We will now switch gears and get in running or walking shape to now help Holly with:
Holly's Hope 5k Run/ Walk Registration -Oct. 1, 2011 at 10am

Please Register for Holly's Hope 5k Run at:

http://triumphfit.com/Holly_s_Hope.html

 

Pre-Register by 9/20/11,otherwise no T-shirts with the Run.

100% of the proceeds benefit Holly as she battle's cancer.

 

TEAM HOLLY

No One Fight Alone

Thank you for all your support

Holly and TEAM Holly wanted to thank everyone for their support and donations during the golf benefit and dinner/auction.

It was so breath taking and amazing to see the love & support!

Holly received 1 unit of blood today and is ready for her next treatment in Seattle on Tuesday!

Holly's Hope 5k Run/ Walk Registration -Oct. 1, 2011 at 10am

Please Register for Holly's Hope 5k Run at:

http://triumphfit.com/Holly_s_Hope.html

Pre-Register by 9/20/11

100% of the proceeds benefit the Gordon family as they battle Holly's cancer.

Golf Benefit Success

Thank you all for attending the 2011 Holly (Greene) Gordon Golf Benefit.

We had an amazing success, tons of fun, everyone got a raffle at the end, and most of all raised a great amount of money.

Thank you to you all for making this happen!

-TEAM HOLLY

3rd Treatment in Seattle

Sorry guys forgot to update!

Holly had her 3rd treatment in Seattle last week! 
This last week was a big struggle for Holly emotionally and having pain again. Finally figuring all of this out ;)

She thanks everyone for their support and endless flow of cards.

We are off to Seattle tomorrow for the 4th treatment of low dose Chemotherapy and Vitamin C infusions.

She is looking forward to seeing everyone this week at all the benefits!

AUCTION DONATION ONLINE NOW

Go to the following website to bid on auction donations:

http://www.webstore.com/73491,user_id,shop

They are listing the auction items in a live auction house and will continue to add things as they get them. 

The auction items will close down online Aug. 12^th at noon time and then continue that same day at the fundraiser dinner/dance on Friday, August 12th.

Check back in on August 13^th for remaining auction items.

TEAM HOLLY

5k Run Fundraiser for Holly October 1st

 5k FUN run/walk in Redmond, Oregon on October 1st.

We will be asking all health care workers to run/walk in scrub tops and of course emergency response employees to were something related.
 
We will be selling hope (teal and white) bracelets to support Holly.

We will be speaking to the media after all the details are worked out and we will also create a facebook event page!

To be continued....stay tuned!

-TEAM HOLLY

AUCTION DONATION ONLINE NOW

Go to the following website to bid on auction donations:

http://www.webstore.com/73491,user_id,shop

They are listing the auction items in a live auction house and will continue to add things as they get them. 

The auction items will close down online Aug. 12^th at noon time and then continue that same day at the fundraiser dinner/dance on Friday, August 12th.

Check back in on August 13^th for remaining auction items.

TEAM HOLLY

Holly's 2nd Seattle treatment

Hello everyone,

Holly's treatment last week went a little better mainly because they were able to prescribe her more effective pain medication. Her days are much better when she can control it but doctors have said the next two weeks she will be in a lot of pain. Two more weeks and they will be able to test the cancer markers and see if the treatment is working or not. Her next visit is next Tuesday.

The local papers up here are starting to respond to our request for a story about Holly and her journey. The Sisters Nugget and Redmond Spokesman have all printed articles. The Bend Bulletin is also on board and their article will be out any day now.

We continue to receive tremendous support for Holly's benefit events in regards to donations for the silent auction and for the golf benefit. We still have a lot of spots left for anyone interested in playing golf. Remember it's for the cause and you don't even need to know how to play just come out and have some fun and you might even when a prize in the raffle. Also we are going to have t-shirts on sale at the benefits to further support Holly along with her bracelets and rings.

We are getting excited to see everyone.

Tax ID & Make Checks to:

We just wanted make sure everyone is informed to make your checks payable to:

Alpine Mortgage Planning Community Cares Foundation

 

In order to ensure the contributions we are receiving are tax deductible and everything is completely valid, it will be best if many of the donations get funneled through the Alpine Mortgage Planning Community Cares Foundation versus the US Bank account as much as possible.

The foundation can accept funds coming from Eventbrite as well, which is what we are using for the Golf benefit.Therefore, for golf benefit sign up through the Event brite website.

 If you want a Tax break, you must write your check out or pay to the Alpine Mortgage Planning Community Cares Foundation.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE & SUPPORT!

 

-TEAM Holly 

Donate miles to Holly for trip Seattle

Holly is having to fly to Seattle once a week for treatments.  As you can imagine this is going to continue to get quite expensive. Her first flight due to flight availability and time, was $800. If you know of any flight deals or would like to donate airplane miles let us know.


TEAM HOLLY

Seattle Treatment

Holly, Colleen and Rick returned Monday night from Cancer Center of America in Seattle. The Systemic Chemo treatment was ok but she is extremely tired and in a lot of pain. They just found out the center wants Holly to go back to Seattle at least 3 more times instead of just 1 more. She was hoping to do some of the treatments near home but we will have to wait and see. At the end of the 4th treatment they will check her cancer markers to see if the type of drugs they are using is working. 
A local newspaper (The Sisters Nugget) did a story on Holly to help us spread the word of her needs. It should hit the news stands Wednesday the 20th. The Redmond newspaper is also putting out a story on the 27th.

You can now register for Holly's Golf Benefit online now. Spots are filling up fast. http://teamholly.eventbrite.com

Holly (Greene) Gordon Golf Tournament

Golf: Thursday,August 11, 2011 Aspen Lakes Golf Course 16900 Aspen Lakes Drive Sisters, Oregon 97759  Check in: 2:00-2:45pm   (Tentative due to increase amt. of golfers) Shotgun Start:   3:00 p.m. (Tentative due to increase amt. of golfers) 

 

Old fashioned bbq included by Aspen Lakes 

 

Many fun hole events with lots of donated prizes to win.

 

Keep Praying,

Register for Golf Benefit for Holly on Website

Register for Holly Golf Benefi:

Holly (Greene) Gordon Golf Tournament

www.eventbrite.com

Golf: Thursday,August 11, 2011 Aspen Lakes Golf Course 16900 Aspen Lakes Drive Sisters, Oregon 97759  Check in: 2:00-2:45pm   (Tentative due to increase amt. of golfers) Shotgun Start:   3:00 p.m. (Tentative due to increase amt. of golfers)

CT scan results

We just got the CT Scan results back and we are sorry to inform everyone it is more bad news.

Her doctors reported her tumors have doubled in size and it could possibly be in the liver.

She is also flying to Seattle on Sunday night to start Systemic Chemotherapy Monday morning which is a
5 hour procedure then she wants to return home Monday night.

Holly will have another flight to Seattle the following week for another Systemic Chemotherapy treatment then she hopes to return home to continue the treatments locally.
Her flight costed her $800.00 which is just a sample to why we need everyone's support at the upcoming benefits.
Holly needs are prayers more than ever now to help slow this aggressive cancer.

Team Holly

More participants and sponsors and hotels to stay

Thank you to Scott and Kimberley Ethridge for participating and sponsoring a hole. Kimberley is also looking into donating 50k miles with continental/united airlines for the auction.


Some of you have been requesting hotel info in the area. Basically Sisters hotels are about 5-10 minutes from both benefits. Redmond and Bend are located about 15-20 minutes away. So I will start with Sisters area hotels. Sisters is a real small but popular town. Hotels are FivePine Lodge (a favorite), Best Western Ponderosa Lodge, Sisters Inn and Suites, 2 beautiful lodging destinations but 15-20 minutes from Sisters are Black Butte Ranch for those wanting more tee times and The Lodge at Suttle Lake for the watersport and very tranquil types. Bend has many beautiful resorts and much larger town. The Riverhouse hotel is 1 minute from Holly's house but a 15-20minute drive to the benefits. Redmond is also larger than Sisters and their best hotel is hands down Eagle Crest Resort.

Hope that helps.

Team Holly

Update

Reminder of Aug. 12th  the dinner/silent auction/concert will be held from 5pm-10pm. Anyone with auction items can contact the dinner benefit organizer Yvonne Houser email irnursie@aol.com  or Debbie Ritzenthaler ritzco@bendbroadband.com We will eventually display pictures of the auction items for review on Holly's blogspot http://hollybeatscancer.blogspot.com/
Another great announcement is we have an amazing foundation on Holly's team now as of yesterday. Alpine Mortgage Planning Community Cares Foundation. As of now they will be providing a tax ID # and help us process donations. They also are researching other ways to help Holly. Special thanks goes to Owner Patrick Palmer and his wonderful secretary Holli Jensen.
The Redmond Fire Dept. continues to shine for Holly. They have sponsored a hole and are taking a head count in their department for golf participants. They have also given Holly the gift of a professional photographer to take special keepsake pictures. And last but not least, the department has announced their willingness to help with hotel accommodations for Holly in Seattle if she chooses to seek treatment there. God bless Captain Steve Pengra and his team of firefighters. Just so you know Holly worked closely with these individuals when she worked in the Emergency Room at St. Charles Hospital in Redmond, OR.

Bye for now
Team Holly Loves You!!!

Holly's progress/golf benefit

Thanks Cindy and RJ for commiting to play in the golf benefit and sponsoring a hole!
Thank you, Dick and Arlene for playing and sponsoring a hole!
Thank you, Redmond Fire Dept. for sponsoring a hole and maybe a few could also play, we will see.
Thank you to Rich and Caroline for also playing and sponsoring.
Holly had a long day of appointments yesterday including a CT Scan we will let everyone know the results when we get them. A bright spot in her day was taking her son to a local baseball game and jogging the bases after the game with him. They even managed to attempt to slide at home plate. I think Cindy got it all on video.
As far as the golf benefit if you could just let us know yes or no it would be a lot of help so we can plan accordingly with some sort of head count for the golf course.
Thank you
Team Holly

Aspen Lakes Golf Benefit

Hello everyone,

Good news, we convinced Aspen Lakes Golf Course to host a golf benefit for Holly on August 11th the day before her concert/dinner/silent auction benefit. So we need a "show of hands" of who is interested in participating ASAP so we can inform the course manager. Also we are looking for hole sponorship. So anyone interested in that let us know too. Furthermore, we are recruiting silent auction items for the August 12th benefit at an amazing horse ranch.
Please respond back within the next day as requested by the golf course manager/head pro Josh McKinnley. The golf course address is www.aspenlakes.com if you want to see in advance the beautiful course. Right now our tentative registration fee will start at $75 for early registration. Our cap is 72 players so get on it with a simple journal entry here or call me at 503-702-9177 or 602-568-5692.
Team Holly
"Unleash Hell on Cancer"
"Got Holly"

Any ideas?

ANY IDEAS?
We need silent auction items or donations. We have put together a business letter for soliciting businesses. Just let us know if you would like a copy of it. It has been very helpful when contacting businesses. Some items being donated so far are Oregon coast beach house rentals, produce, coffee, dinners, sports clinics, kegs of beer, guided fishing trips, time shares, cleaning services for Holly/Rick, treadmills, and handy man services just to name a few.

Thank you all again and hope to see you at future fundraisers and or discuss with you any ideas you have come across.

Team Holly

FUNDRAISING

We are starting to put together some fundraisers to help support Holly. 

August 12th, 2011- Redmond's Emergency Room is having a fundraiser with a live band, a dinner (selling tickets) and they will have an auction.
It will be located at Karen Wallace's arena. 

We are also trying to do a golf tournament the same weekend. Stay tuned for that update!

Lastly, as soon as we get our bracelets and t-shirts together, we also will be selling them. 

Port-A-Cath a success!

Holly got her Port-A-Cath put in on Friday and it was a success! She was a little groggy from the anesthesia, but overall things went well.

Holly finally got to have Evan's 4th birthday party on Saturday and boy was he excited about hitting the pinata!

The rest of the weekend Holly and family are resting up for the next week ahead of them!

Seattle trip

Holly & Rick went to Seattle yesterday, Wednesday to interview more doctors.  They visited Cancer Centers of America & Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.  They learned a tremendous amount about Holly's cancer.

Holly is going to be getting her Port-A-Cath in tomorrow morning at 8am.  A Port-A-Cath is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. The catheter connects the port to a vein.  Under the skin, the port has a  septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times, usually with less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick".  The doctors are saying she can keep this in her body for up to 10 years.
Whatever direction she chooses, she still will be needing the Port-A-Cath.
 
Hopefully Holly will be choosing a direction/path of treatment very soon. We will keep you all posted.

Received blood & next steps

Holly got her 2 units of blood yesterday and is feeling a little more energetic today!  Holly has been consumed with phone consultations and emails with doctors for treatments. The next step is for Holly to meet with a Holistic Oncologist on Tuesday and get blood work done to see if her blood work has improved.
Then, she is flying up to to Seattle with Rick on Wednesday for second opinions with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Cancer Centers of America.

Keep sending your thoughts & prayers!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY FROM: HOLLY, RICK, EVAN, & GEORGE

Doctor apt. with Dr. Martin

Holly had her doctor apt. with Dr. Martin on Tuesday, June 28th. She got her blood drawn again, Holly is still anemic and her Hematocrit and Hemoglobin have dropped.
She is going to be receiving 2 units of blood Thursday morning.Yeah finally Holly will have more energy!

Holly is still interviewing a few doctors that are going to help her her throughout this process.

Meeting with Cancer Doctor in Portland

Holly & family had their meeting with her cancer Dr. Jana Reddock in Portland on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011.  The doctor wants to do a systemic Chemotherapy with another agent on Holly.  They are continuing to say that their is no cure and they do not know exactly if any of the agents will shrink Holly's tumors, but that is the goal! 

Holly has a rare cancer, they are calling it very "rare"poorly differentiated non squamous cell Endo Cervical Carsinoma with Metastasis to the Sacral Area.

Holly & family are trying to figure out Holly's next step with fighting this cancer.

Please keep all of your support coming, we most definitely need you during this fight!

Time to Believe

"Time to walk in the valley of the shadow of death and never fear again."

-Anonymous

Biopsy report- bad news

On Monday June 20th 2011 10am Holly's diagnosis is a Rare Undifferentiated Endo Cervical Cancer with Metastic to the Sacral Area. Basically it is a very rapid spreading angry cancer that is now in her lymph nodes.
Western Medicine cannot cure her. They can only attempt to shrink the tumors to prolong her life up to 1 year.
BULLSHIT!!!!!   Cancer picked the wrong fight, the wrong beautiful loving person, the wrong family, and the wrong inspirational relentless friends of Holly. We have declared war. As Russel Crowe best said it in the movie Gladiator, UNLEASH HELL !!!    That is exactly what we are going to do to cancer. Cancer should have researched Holly before picking a fight with her. There have been many amazing stories and miracles with holistic treatments and practices. Although there is no cure there is hope to force this cancer to go dormant with changing the environment in which cancer is growing in Holly. We are big fans of Kris Carr, a cancer survivor with the help of holistic practices. Her movie Crazy Sexy Cancer (documentary) is very powerful along with her 3 books she has written. We suggest joining our Army and watching Kris Carr's movie. We will also be exploring other treatment centers like the Cancer Institute of America in Seattle, MD Anderson Center in Texas, and many others as well as going international/global. If you have any ideas or ways you think you can help email or call Shelly Malkin (Sister), Colleen Greene (mother), Rick Gordon (Husband), and Brian Greene (brother) for starts. Holly is devasted right now of course and any information given directly to her might be overwhelming not to mention she will probably have difficulty remembering your full conversation. Brian Greene 602-568-5692, Shelly Malkin 415-830-2619, Colleen Greene 541-408-1080.

Cancer is back

On April 11th 2011 Holly finished extensive radiation and chemotherapy. On June 14th 2011 PET Scan results indicated Holly's cancer is back and spreading rapidly. She has a Biopsy scheduled for today June 17th and results will be know on Monday June 20th. We are all devastated and in panic mode to fight for her life. We are exploring the best cancer institutes and the best holistic strategies out there and are prepared to do whatever it takes. Unfortunately Holly's insurance coverage will run out at the end of this month. So we will be fundraising and asking for further financial help to save Holly's life. Please help us save Holly's life!!

June update

Holly is continuing to focus on herself. She has gotten a few colds that have put her back a bit.  She is continuing on doing things to help her. She has begun yoga classes last week!

KEEP ON GOING HOLLY!

Holly's last Brachy Radiation treatment

Holly had her last Brachy Therapy Treatment today in Portland.  

She is so exciting and glad to be done!

Holly continues to go to appointments through out the week to help with relaxation. She is also taking naps during the day to help with her fatigue.

CONGRATS to finishing the treatments! 

LET THE HEALING BEGIN!

Donation acct. at U.S. Bank for Holly

We have set up a bank account for Holly A. Gordon at U.S. Bank.  


As you all know, Holly has been battling cervical cancer and doing extremely well.  She has completed her 6 week of chemotherapy and radiation.  Now on her second treatment of additional Brachy Therapy Radiation in Portland, Oregon.

Holly's treatments have caused a outstanding amount of medical bills.  Therefore, we have put together a donation bank account to help with Holly's outstanding medical bills.

Holly has been an amazing sister, mother, friend, best friend, daughter in law, wife that anyone could ever ask for. She has put her heart and soul in helping people her whole life. It is now time for us to help her!
If you can, please help her & her family during this difficult time. 


1. Find the nearest U.S. Bank near you:
http://www.usbank.com/usbanklocations/search.jsp
2. You must go inside the U.S. Bank, you cannot donate online.
3. Ask for: Holly A.Gordon donation account



Thank you so much for all of your love & support

Holly's Birthday week

We just wanted to wish Holly an amazing birthday week!

Keep going Holly!

Brachy Therapy Radiation

Holly is on her 2nd treatment of Brachy Therapy Radiation treatment, in Portland, Oregon.  
After tomorrow, she has 1 more treatment to go on April 11th.


Holly has continued to be monitored by her doctors and making sure her counts are okay. Last week her counts have dropped and she became Neutropenic.  On Friday, she got her counts rechecked and they are starting to level off, which is a good thing. 

Holly will return from Portland on Monday & see her doctor again on Tuesday for more blood count checks.

Last Chemo Infusion

Holly just finished her last chemo infusion. Yeah!!! She's going to keep her PICC line in until next Monday for some blood tests. This week's blood counts remained at good levels. She has radiation through Friday and then heading up to Portland 3/28 for brachy therapy.

Holly got to stop by the ER and see her coworkers last week. This was a great boost to her spirits - thank you again for all the cards, flowers, phone calls, prayers, great meals, books, love, and support.

Good news

We got good news from the radiation doctor yesterday. He told us Holly will be finished on the 18th of March with her radiation. This is only 25 treatments instead of the 28 that we were expecting. This is because they used a more advanced radiation process. The best part is that she also gets to drop the 6th and last chemo treatment. So she only has one week left at this point.  She gets a week off before starting the brachy therapy in Portland. (Once a week for three weeks.)

Holly is holding up well. She is more and more tired but  afternoon naps  really help. She's eating well and controlling most of her side effects with medications. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support.

Halfway There

Holly finished week 3 of chemo and radiation. She has noticed that she is getting short of breath when she climbs the stairs. Holly is taking naps in the afternoon, which are good. She has had a few waves of nausea, but the anti-nausea meds are working great. Her appetite remains good and she says thank you to everyone who has brought meals for us. Today she had her 4th dose of chemo. Every Monday she gets her blood drawn and they pay special attention to her white blood cell count, platelets, hematocrit, and hemoglobin - so far her blood counts are holding up well.
Now that she is more than halfway through her treatment, we have noticed a pattern to the week. She feels pretty good Monday and Tuesday because they also give her steroids with the chemo. This makes her very chatty and we've nicknamed her chatty Kathy on Monday nights. Unfortunately, Wednesday is the hangover day - watch out for the road rage! Thankfully Thursday and Friday are better and we love weekends with no doctor appointments.
Holly's new theme song is Halfway There by Bon Jovi. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support.

Week 2

Holly finished her second week of chemo and radiation. She is feeling good. This week her doctors suggested she do brachytherapy after she finishes her 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. This is a pinpointed type of radiation that will be done once a week for 3 weeks in Portland. Holly is very pleased with the team of doctors that are caring for her at this time. She will be starting week 3 tomorrow.

Daily Radiation

Holly's been going to her daily radiation apts. at 4:00 this week. They last about 20 minutes. She's feeling good - no big side effects yet. Looking forward to the weekend and no appointments.

First Day of Treatment

Holly got her first dose of chemotherapy today. Since her particular drug (Cisplatin) is hard on kidneys, she has to hydrate her kidneys before and after her chemotherapy agent. It took about 5 hours today including an office visit before the procedure. Then she went straight to her radiation therapy to finish off the day. She's really in good spirits about completing the first day. Thank you for all your support - calls, texts, food, prayers and love.

PICC line

Holly got her PICC line, Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter, put in today!  

This will help with the infusion of the drugs, chemotherapy, radiation, blood draws, and antibiotics.
This reduces or eliminates the need for multiple needle insertions to deliver chemotherapy and many blood draws.

Holly is doing well and now home resting and keeping that arm up! 

Holly starts Radiation & Chemotherapy on Valentine's Day

Holly heard from her doctors.

They will start her radiation and chemotherapy on Monday, February 14th!

She finally has a date and can get her mind and body prepared!

Femur exam update

Holly met with her orthopedic doctor who consulted with her Gyn-Oncologist in Portland and concluded that it was extremely unlikely that the lesion on her right femur is cancerous. Even if they thought it might be cancerous, the treatment wouldn't be any different, since she is already being treated aggressively with chemo and radiation. They do, of course, want to check it again in 6 months.

Now we are just waiting to find out when they will be ready for Holly to start radiation treatment - hopefully soon.

Radiation doctor called Holly

Holly's radiation doctor called her, he is still concerned about her spot on her femur!  Even though they think and are pretty sure it is not cancer, they are still concerned about it. She had some additional testing done yesterday, and met with a orthopedic surgeon yesterday. He says it does not really look like cancer, but he is concerned as well. He is going to be talking to Holly's GYN oncology doctor in Portland and a bone ecologist in Portland as well.

Holly remains in good spirits!  Waiting for the call to start radiation and chemo some time in between Feb. 7 and Feb.14th.

It still remains a 6 week course of radiation and chemo.

Holly & Rick thank you again for helping her fight this!

Holly's Prep Radiation Visit

Holly had her radiation prep visit today!  Things went well, they marked her body, with so called "tattoo assimilation" to help with everyday radiation treatments. She learned so much today about radiation! This is really helping her mind and body prepare for this challenge!

They are still aiming to start the radiation 2nd or 3rd week of February!

GOOOO HOLLY!

PET scan

Holly received her PET scan results. PET scan results came back clear! She will be starting radiation prep on Friday! Go Holly!

Radiation Oncologist

Holly met her radiation oncologist today. He confirmed the course of treatment - 5-6 weeks of daily treatments. But first, she is having a PET scan on Wednesday 1/26 to look at a spot on her right femur/hip. It is something they saw on the CT scan and MRI. The docs don't think it looks like cancer, but they have to completely rule it out before she starts the radiation. Assuming things go as planned she will have a mapping appointment next week and then start radiation/chemo treatments about a week after that.

Radiation/Chemo

Holly is doing great, her spirits are high, and she is feeling well!

Her final reports just came out and her final diagnosis is Poorly Differentiated Non Squamous Cell Cervical Cancer. Holly talked with her Oncologist Monday, who she really seems to like.

Holly has 4 risk factors with her cancer that increase the chance of recurrence. They are:

The large size of the tumor.
The type of cancer cells - poorly differentiated which are generally more aggressive.
Thin margins - even though they were clear, they were not as big as desired in one area.
The tumor was prolapsing from the endocervix to the exocervix.

These are the reasons the doctors are prescribing the radiation and chemotherapy for the best possible outcome.

Start of radiation and chemo: Beginning of February
She will have 6 weeks radiation treatment Monday through Friday. Along with 1 day a week of chemo for six weeks as well.

The doctor also ordered an MRI to look at a spot on her hip/femur that showed up on a CT scan.

Holly is talking to her radiation doctor next Monday!

Holly & Rick "thank" everyone for the love and support, you have all shown.

Love, Holly, Rick, Evan, and George

Doctors

Holly and family are going to meet with doctors in the next week or so. They are looking for the best for their needs and to find the actual amount of treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.

Still WAITING!

Sorry...we are still waiting on the pathology report and phone call from Doctor. In the meantime, Holly is enjoying time with family and taking it day by day!

Holly

Hi Everyone,

For those who don't know already, Holly has been diagnosed with Stage II cervical cancer. We found out right before Christmas and things have been happening pretty fast. Therefore, sorry we have not been able to inform everyone, while trying to accept this news ourselves. Last Thursday, she had a full abdominal hysterectomy with a specialist in Portland. Everything went well and today we got the results from Pathology. There is no cancer in her lymph nodes and they were able to get clear margins around it. This is exactly the news we were hoping for!!! The lab is still trying to sort out the exact subtype of cancer, apparently there are no squamous cells.  Since it is undetermined the subtype we will not know until the next 2 days on how extensive the treatments will be.  The doctor is suggesting 6 weeks of radiation and probably chemotherapy starting in about a month after she has recovered from the surgery.  We are taking one day at a time!!!!! Today, we are celebrating clear lymph nodes and clear margins.

This is a way for everyone to be updated with Holly's current progress as she kicks this cancer's ass!  She is going to have to get better about checking her email more frequently and "possibly" maybe actually use facebook ;)

We want to thank everyone for their support and prayers.