Maria's Recent Cancer and Health Journey
Maria's Recent Cancer and Health Journey
My most recent health journey started when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes with an A1C of 10.6. At first, I had difficulty believing it. But I knew I had to do something about it. I sought to shift my lifestyle and educate myself as much as possible. I discovered that there have been important studies done that link the development of diabetes with COVID-19, which I had months prior to the diagnosis. Despite feeling good from the lifestyle changes, I continued having health issues and pain in my stomach area and lower abdomen.
In December of 2022, I went to Connecticut to support my dad while he wasn’t feeling well, but I made it a point to head back to LA to support my friend Anastasia at her birthday. Though it was going to be a lot of travel, I felt like I needed to be there. At that party, I met Alina, who works for Prenuvo- a company that does comprehensive full-body scans. Not only has she been trying to get in touch with me for months, but other friends of mine also had tried connecting with Heal Squad about these full-body scans. Looking back, this was a fated meeting that saved my life.
My husband Keven and I went in for the scans in January 2023, and through this scan, they found a mass on my pancreas. Right then, I asked if I was a goner. They advised me to go to the hospital immediately. My doctor, who has been with me through my brain tumor, my mom’s brain tumor, and my journey with COVID, advocated for me to get a biopsy to be sure of what was found. Other doctors felt I was likely fine and it was just pancreatitis or something else, something other than what we feared. But they were wrong. I had a cancerous neuroendocrine pancreatic tumor.
With a baby on the way via surrogate, I’ll be honest, I had a brief moment where I fully broke down and felt cheated. I was finally able to become a mom, after years of trying and struggling with fertility. I was scared I was never going to get the chance to meet our miracle baby. But I quickly pulled myself together and reframed my mindset. Keven and I are no strangers to illness and adversity.
From there, I went to the best doctor we could find and had surgery to remove the tumor. Along with the removal, they removed my spleen and 17 lymph nodes to ensure they got all of the cancerous cells. I feel so blessed to say that it was successful. Keven stayed by my side 24/7, and after all the years of watching and helping me being a caretaker for my mom, he’s now a pro. I’m so grateful for him, so many of our amazing friends who stayed by my side, and for Heal Squad. This community saved my life.
I want to encourage you all to really take your health into your hands and advocate for yourself. Get second and third opinions, do your research, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people who have gone through similar journeys for guidance. I love you Heal Squad, Thank you for being on this journey with me.
Watch the full story and live Q+A about my cancer journey below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnB8sPSIUj4
