I am Awesome

Mr.Stocker is Awesome

Katie

Katherine “Katie” Murillo Meza
A daughter, mother, wife, sister, and a great friend
Katherine became a mother at a very young age. On one of her routine checkups, she was found to have an abnormal papsmear. After several tests she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the very young age of 16. Because it was caught it in time, it was treatable. The operation performed on Katherine was a conization, which in her case stopped cancerous cells from spreading. The first step doctors took after the operation was to have Katherine checked, for any other signs of cancer, every 3 months per year and were later done every 6 months apart. Because of Katie’s young age, she did not understand the seriousness of this disease. Katherine wasn’t very concerned about having cancer. Even though her father died of cancer, she wasn’t aware of the seriousness. So Katherine took her diagnosis lightly, given that she was told cervical cancer was easy to treat, she never realized how severe her condition could have been. She could have died had it not been found early. This vibrant and very special friend of my family has been cancer free for 31 years. Katherine is now 47 years old and full of life. Since her diagnosis she has been having routine check ups and will continue to have them. While cervical cancer used to be a common cause of cancer deaths among women America, it is now much less common. In 2009, the United States approved a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in young ladies. It is not a mandatory vaccination, but a very highly recommended one. Cervical cancer is a very treatable disease if caught early and a very preventable one if vaccinated against it! Thank you Katie for bringing awareness to all of us about this disease. I love you.

Nelly Echeverry

A mom, a sister, and a fighter

Nelly’s story begins during Hurricane Ike in 2008, at the age of 64. She began to experience some pain in the abdomen. When she was originally seen by doctors, they informed her son Christian that she had 1 month to live. After more tests were performed, she was given a proper diagnosis and only 2-3 months to live. Nelly was diagnosed with High Grade Neuroendocrine cancer in the Liver. This type of cancer, consist of cancerous hormone producing cells that form a carciniod tumor. Nelly was strong and fighting her battle. With the support of her family, she was full of hope and convinced that everything would be okay. Her son Christian was with his mother through chemotherapies, sleepless nights and doctors visits. In November of 2008, Nelly was taking painkillers as part of her medication. These painkillers caused her to stop eating regularly. Doctors feared her not eating and continuously vomiting would cause blood clots. These blood clots caused her legs to swell and put her in serious danger of a stroke, which could lead to an early death. Doctors were amazed that Nelly had survived this long. In January she seemed to be doing better, she was active and was enjoying normal day chores. In March Nelly was informed that nothing could be done for her cancer, no one had any answers and there was no cure. She was put on a lower dose of medication and decided to move in with her sister. Nelly’s body had begun to get weak, unable to talk or walk. By June a nurse was assisting her at home with her care, being the strong-independent women that she was, Nelly did not like the idea of a stranger helping her. Due to her unbearable pain, the pain medication dosage was increased. She had become restless and scared to sleep, afraid of dying. Family and friends tried to keep her as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately Nelly lost her battle on August 16, 2009 at 3am in the company of her dear son Christian, family and friends. Thank you Christian for sharing your story and I am deeply sorry for your loss

Manuel Murillo

Manuel V. Murillo

A father, a brother, and an uncle.

Manuel was a healthy-bodybuilder at the age of 47. He had the passion to become a musician, and was very cautious of what he did and ate. One day going to the doctor for back pain, they found cancerous cells had developed in his digestive system, causing Manuel to be diagnosed with gastro intestinal cancer; it was a surprise to the athletic 47 old man. Manuel cared much about his family, so to not worry them he didn’t let them know until a year after trying to fight the cancer himself. He had seen his father die of cancer and feared dying the same way. After 1 year of chemotherapy with no positive results, Manuel decided to tell his family He continued to be optimistic and did 1 more years of treatments. In January of 2001, he was hospitalized due to the intense pain and high fevers. After one month of treatment, the doctors where able to stabilize him enough to take him to surgery, to see if there was anything they could do to relieve him of his pain. It was then when that they realized that there was nothing they could do for him. As a result of his exploratory surgery, the doctors could not close his stomach back. For the next 2 months his stomach remained open. His cancer was too advanced therefore he could not eat or digest anything. Towards the end Manuel still had high hopes of a miracle happening. Sadly he lost his fight in 2001 at the young age of 49. “Mannie” is greatly missed by his loving family, especially by his sister Katie, whom was kind enough to share his story. Thank You.

Eusebio “Figgie” Figueroa

A husband, a brother, and a grandfather

Eusebio Figueroa was born on September 20, 1936 in Puerto Rico. He married my dad’s mom in 1977. He made his living as a chief pump man on tankers, also known as large steam ships. My grandfather was a heavy drinker and smoker for many years. Up until the age of 60 he was considered a healthy man. At the age of 61, he was found to have high blood pressure. In 2003 my grandfather made a trip to Puerto Rico to attend his brother’s funeral, which had died of a heart attack. During this trip Eusebio became disoriented and was admitted to the hospital. At this time he was released from the hospital and returned to Houston, where he admitted himself to Methodist Hospital. Figgie had trouble eating and was vomiting frequently.
The doctors at Methodist could not determine what was wrong with him, so they did exploratory surgery; it was then that they diagnosed him with Pancreatic Cancer in September of 2003. The cancer was too advanced for any kind of treatment. They gave my grandfather 3 months to live. My grandfather continued to smoke and drink regularly. Figgie deteriorated fast and only survived 2 months. He never complained of any pain but was given morphine on his final days by the hospice nurse. Grandpa “Figgie” lost his battle on November 21, 2003. My grandpa was a fighter in the everyday life, but this is not a fight you can always win. I miss you “Figgie”.

Ninfa

Tia Ninfa’s Story

A mom, sister, and my aunt

Ninfa was born July 23, 1938. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 28, had a partial hysterectomy performed at St. Joseph’s Hospital by Dr. Joseph Lucci on May of 1967. As a result, was cancer free for 31 years, until April of 1998 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on the right breast. Breast Cancer occurs when a malignant tumor spreads to surrounding tissue lining the breast. At that time she elected to have a lumpectomy on June of 1998 at St. Luke’s Hospital, operated by Dr. Peters. Her treatment consisted of 3-4 months of chemo therapy by Dr. Taobada, her oncologist. My strong willed and heroic Tia, was cancer free for 9 years. But unfortunately cancer returned on September 2007, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on the right breast once more. This time Dr. Baker removed her entire right breast, at St. Luke’s Hospital on January 20, 2008. Her treatment was continued with radiation during June and July of 2008, by Dr. Carpenter.

Tia continues her battle against cancer with the help of her oncologist Dr. Ramshech. Her current treatment consists of Tykerb and Xeloda, two types of anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs, which she takes 6 times a day. Though her battle has been a long one, my beautiful Tia is determined to be victorious in her battle. Fortunately she is surrounded with tremendous family support; including her daughter, sons, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, and my grandmother, her sister Francis Luera. I love you very much Tia.

In Honor

This is to inform people about different cancers. 'Cancer' is the name for a group of diseases in which the body's cells are changed in appearance and function. Such abnormal cells can grow out of control and form a mass or 'tumor. These tumors can be benign or malignant. Unfortunately this horrible disease does not target any certain gender, race, or age. Therefore, we are all at risk of this monstrous disease. I would like to remind everyone the importance of being tested early. This can determine the outcome of your prognosis. These stories are to help anyone who might be going through something similar, giving them a reason to keep fighting.

I chose to write about 5 different lives of people affected by cancer. In doing so I would like to honor these courageous individuals on their battle to survive.

Ninfa Luera Gutierrez

Nelly Echeverry

Eusebio Figueroa

Manuel V. Murillo

Katherine “Katie” Murillo Meza