Laurel Lary Richter
May 20, 1975 ~ April 19, 2022
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Laurel's Cancer Journey
In February 2019, Laurel had her annual mammogram. The results were negative for breast cancer.
Six months later, Laurel discovered a lump in her right breast. Laurel scheduled a doctor’s appointment, and ultrasound and another mammogram were ordered. This time a mass was detected, and a biopsy was requested. We were advised that the biopsy revealed one small cancerous tumor that could be treated with a lumpectomy and subsequent radiation. With the finding of cancer, we sought a second opinion and chose the City of Hope in Valencia, California.
We scheduled an appointment with Dr. Chu and forwarded the biopsy results to her for review. During our first visit with Dr. Chu in November 2019, we learned that Laurel was diagnosed with stage two triple-negative breast cancer with two tumors. Given the triple-negative diagnosis, a pet scan was ordered of Laurel’s entire body to determine whether cancer had spread to other locations. Laurel’s pet scan was in November 2019. On December 4, 2019, Dr. Chu delivered the results of the pet scan to a rejoicing Laurel. There was no evidence that cancer had spread. Thereafter, Dr. Chu advised us of our options and after consideration, in December 2019, Laurel elected a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. Laurel’s team of doctors was formed. Dr. Chu would be the surgical oncologist. Dr. Joseph would serve as the chemotherapy oncologist and Dr. Chahin would serve as the plastic surgeon assisting the mastectomy surgery and responsible for the reconstruction.
On February 4, 2020, Laurel underwent double mastectomy surgery. The surgery went well, and the process of healing and reconstruction commenced. Laurel endured some delayed healing but for the most part, the healing went very well. Once sufficiently healed, Dr. Chahin performed reconstructive surgery. Again, the surgery went very well, and another healing process began.
In April 2020, Laurel was sufficiently recovered from reconstruction surgery and 16 rounds of her first chemotherapy process began. On August 26, 2020, Laurel completed chemotherapy and rang the “Bell”.
Following the completion of the initial rounds of chemotherapy, Laurel was placed on a quarterly monitoring program overseen by Dr. Joseph. In advance of each appointment with Dr. Joseph, Laurel would submit blood work for analysis. Between October 2020 and August 2021, the blood analysis was great, and Laurel was not experiencing any negative symptoms. Life was GREAT until August 2021. On September 15, 2021, Laurel had her routine quarterly appointments with Dr. Joseph. Again, the blood results were fantastic, but this time Laurel had other symptoms. Laurel told Dr. Joseph that she was getting constant headaches and that she had groin pain which she attributed to a groin pull sustained on a vacation. In response to Laurel’s symptoms, Dr. Joseph ordered a brain MRI and a cat scan of Laurel’s torso. Covid was now creating problems and insurance authorization and scheduling became more difficult. Laurel’s body scan and MRI were finally scheduled on Friday, September 24, 2021. The morning following Laurel’s scans, we stopped to visit briefly with her sister Lisa. During that visit, Lisa and others noticed some negative signs on Laurel’s face. Out of an abundance of caution, Laurel went to emergency at Providence Holy Cross where she was later admitted. On the day of admittance, we were advised that Laurel had two tumors in her brain with one being the size of a lemon. The following morning, September 26, 2021, Laurel underwent a craniotomy performed by Dr. Nangiana to remove the tumors. During recovery in the hospital, we learned that Laurel’s cancer had also spread to her lungs and groin area. At that time, Dr. Joseph advised us that Laurel would not survive her cancer, but every effort would be made to prolong the quality of her life.
As always, Laurel healed very quickly from her brain surgery and soon she was ready to begin follow-up radiation treatments. Her radiation treatments began on November 16, 2021, and were completed on December 1, 2021.
Laurel then began oral chemotherapy for cancer in other parts of her body. Laurel also saw, Dr. Femino, an orthopedic doctor to evaluate the problems with her groin. In December 2021, Dr. Femino advised us that cancer had removed a large portion of Laurel’s femur. The x-ray of Laurel’s femur looked like a surfboard with a shark bite taken out of it. Another surgery had to be scheduled which meant that Laurel’s first round of oral chemotherapy had to be stopped just short of completion. Laurel’s leg surgery was conducted on January 19, 2022, while in the hospital recovering from leg surgery, Laurel had a brain MRI requested by Dr. Nangiana as a follow-up to her initial radiation treatments.
On January 25, 2021, we were advised that the follow-up MRI indicated additional tumors in Laurel’s brain, but it appeared they could be controlled by further site-specific radiation. Dr. Nangiana, however, wanted to consult with the radiologist and obtain another MRI for radiation purposes.
Laurel began radiation on her leg on February 14, 2022, and completed the same on February 25, 2022. During this time, an additional brain MRI was performed, and a follow-up cat scan was obtained. On February 24, 2022, we learned the outcome of these scans. Laurel’s cancer in addition to her lungs had spread to her liver, pancreas, and lymph nodes. Further, the cancer in her brain was determined to be excessive to allow for site-specific radiation with global brain radiation recommended. At this time Laurel’s pain level was becoming difficult to control.
We made the difficult decision to stop treatment and enter hospice to obtain pain relief. Laurel passed away on April 19, 2022.
Laurel's Journal
February 20, 2020
I’m starting this journal on February 20, 2020. I wish I would have started at the beginning, but I didn’t and honestly, I couldn’t have. It’s taken me until now to actually be okay with accepting what’s happening and look at anything cancer related for instance the cover of this book. P.S. I’m starting to despise the color pink. So, to look back at the last six months and catch up until now I need to write down some dates and some feelings as I remember them.
