Krisdvm

[Guest guest]

Hey, everyone,

I posted a while back asking if anyone had seen krisdvm lately,

wondering how she was doing, fearing the worst but hoping she'd just

taken some time off. The following message is one I just received

from her sister. I'll miss her greatly.

This brings up something I've been thinking about. I'd like to

suggest that everyone here who's a cancer survivor, not a caregiver,

to be sure someone knows how to let us know how you're doing. If the

worst happens, we all would like to know that too. It's just my own

thoughts, but I know the rest of you can relate when we haven't heard

from someone in a while. I know we're all wrapped up in our own

personal battles and daily living, but this group is like a family

and I know I'd like to know what's happening with people we haven't

seen in a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear ,

Tonight I came onto the internet in search of a Yahoo colon cancer

group that my sister talked about and found such support from. When I

searched for " Kris " your message came up and I knew that I had found

the right place. Thank you so much for asking about her.

I am sorry to tell you that a passed away on October 6, 2004.

She wrote in a letter that I found after her death to: " Please write a

note on the support site thanking everyone for the support they

provided. Tell them that I was disabled for a short length of time due

to metastasis to the duodenum obstructing my bile duct. "

As her sister, I can tell you more than that. Kris was an amazingly

positive, energetic, kind person. As you may have figured out, she was

also an accomplished veterinarian. During her journey with cancer she

had an incredible spirit that allowed her to sail through her

surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. Only when she went off

oxaliplatin for a short time last spring, because of some bleeding due

to radiation damage to the bladder (note: there was no tumor found

there), did the tumor metastases in the liver/bile duct/duodenum seem

to progress. Unfortunately neither Erbitux nor Avastin plus

oxaliplatin was able to shrink the tumor. Her chemotherapy treatments

stopped on September 24, 2004. She had been on TPN for about a month

because of an inability to eat very much but other than that she had

led a very normal life.

Kris moved from land to Wisconsin in June,2003 to be near me. She

came over every night for dinner. She often mentioned the support

group and spoke of many of you as though you were all close friends.

You all meant a great deal to you. I don't think she was able to bring

herself to tell you when the erbitux failed.

Thank you so much for asking about her. She will be missed by many.

Karla