Erica and fiance arrived in Fairbanks last night. They are happy to be here but need a little time to recover from the trip.

Hi All! Today was a relaxing day, Cancer vacation day! Im very excited because my boyfriend is flying in tomorrow, he will also be coming to Alaska with me, so those of you who havent met mim will have a chance to. cant wait to see everyone! Yay! erica


ericatomsha said...
Merry Christmas! I cant wait to go to Alaska! I have had such a good time since my Fiance has been here. thats right, he asked me to marry him. Im so excited! Now back to cancer stuff. after my interview at duke. im going to the u of Wash. which i didnt relize was ranked top 3 in the country for cancer treatment. I saw on the television they were talking about the cancer vaccine also! so it looks like I have lots of options! Merry Christmas everyone! erica

Well, today didn’t exactly go as planned. There were good parts and bad parts. I’ll start with the good. We talked to Duke University today, and I have an appointment to meet with them on Jan. 7th! Because I’m not a patient and haven’t signed a bunch of crap, they can’t give me any advice over the phone due to malpractice. But that’s ok, I would rather meet them and see the facility, maybe I will move to North Carolina? Also, in 2001 Duke was researching cancer vaccines, so if they are still administering them I would rather get it from Duke, a major hospital, that some po-dunk clinic. I have to do a little more research on whether or not they do them, but I’m sure they can answer all my questions when I meet with them. Now for the not so good news. On my way to the clinic for my vitamin infusion and to talk more about the vaccine we got a flat tire! so after fixing it we got stuck in traffic and totally missed the appointment! Bummer! Oh well, Can’t cry over spilled milk. And for all of you who haven’t heard, I believe I will make it to Alaska for a few days. I’m going to try to leave on Dec. 27 and my only restriction is that I need a special sleeve and glove that I have to wear while I’m flying. Anyways, good day over all. love ya all. erica

So, I had a Dr. appointment today with my main oncologist. I talked to him about the cancer vaccine and the Duke thing. He shot both ideas down. That doesn’t mean though that I’m giving up. He said that the cancer vaccines are usually used for skin cancer. So I’m going to look into the validity of that statement. Plus, I have an appointment with the clinic that administers the vaccine tomorrow. so I’m going to ask the some pointed questions. And about the Duke thing, my doc said that at duke they concentrate the chemo into one specific spot. which is great in most cases, however, my doc, pointed out that because of the severity of my lymph node involvement that we want to circulate the chemo through my whole body incase any cancer has spread. Which makes total sense, but we are still going to talk to this lady at Duke. so all in all I got his opinion, and we will see what these others say. Its so exhausting getting all these facts and getting everyone’s different perspectives.....erica

Hi All! Im doing pretty darn good today. Someone gave me a gift certificate to get a mani pedi, that was fantastic! Anyways, I wanted to let everyone know what my clan and I were discussing treatment wise(clan meaning me and my parents).
Duke University is one of the formost cancer reserch hospitals in the country. And they have a Doctor there that specializes in young women with breast cancer. They are doing pretty cool stuff there, like useing microwaves to kill cancer, and putting the chemo directly into the tumer instead of through your whole body. If anyone out there has any good ideas, PLEASE dont be afraid to let me know...I apreciate any and all suggestions...love ya all!!! erica


Im also still researching the cancer vaccine. I sent the paperwork to the Dr. at Duke and am going to get some feedback from my oncologest here. I have an appointment tomorrow. Ill let everyone know how that goes. erica

Well today was a hard day, I had to go to the Dr. today and they pulled out one of my drainage tubes. The tube runs from under my right arm below my ribs all the way to almost my collar bone. I had NO idea it went up that far. I thought she was just going to snip a little stich and viola! Boy was I wrong! She brought another nurse in to hold my hand and YANK! It was one of the most painful UNEXPECTED experiences of my life. It was very traumatizing. It kind of dammaged my psychy so I have been crying for most of the day, but Ill be all right. just keep praying. Love you all! erica

Hi everyone...Im feeling much better today. My Dad and I went window shopping downtown Seattle today...we didnt buy anything, but watching all the Freaks is worth the drive.
I am healing amazingly well(I think)I have good movement in my arm and good shoulder rotation. I still have a lot of nerve dammage though. I cant feel my armpit at all. Hopefully that will go away soon...anyways, it will only get better from here! thanks for all the prayers! erica

Well Im doing my best being on "Bed Rest". Its not as easy as it sounds...i pretty much cleaned the entire house...my doctor would be very disappointed....:) anyways, have a good day all...

Well I had a Dr. appt. today. I got a BRIEF overview of how my surgury went, I don't know all the facts yet, but I was told that that there were over 20 lymph nodes that were diseased. Origionally there were only thought to be 3-4. The situation has become a little more serious than we thought....I will know more on the 27th...this is the time to pray...

Thursday, December 13

I am really touched by all the wonderful support! It continues to inspire me...I would however like to write well wishers back personally, so please leave your email address's and I would love to write you back!!! erica

PS you may also directly email Erica at tomsha_7@yahoo.com, Robyn

Wednesday, 12-12-07

Hi All! I have been feeling pretty good these last couple days! I did however get a stern talking to from my surgeons nurse about overdoing it....so it looks like I am banned to the couch for a couple days...bummer....All I'm allowed to do is go to the Dr. and the bathroom! what kind of life is that? :( Anyways...Keep sending me good thoughts! erica

message from Erica

Hi everyone...I am out of the Hospital, my surgeon was hopeful that she got everything but there were some lymph nodes that she wasn't able to surgically remove. We will find out more when the pathology comes in...the stress is STILL not over!!!! Basically, I have some nerve damage under my right arm, so recovery will be a little more painful that most...But all the prayers will help...thank you everyone for all of your support! I am overwhelmed by everyone's concern! Thank you so much!!!

out of hospital

Medicine is truly amazing. I just spoke with Anita and Erica has been released from the hospital and is thinking of going shopping. Go Erica. Anita reported Erica had received your emails, comments and well wishes and is grateful for all your support. Hopefully Erica will be able to post a message soon. Robyn

hospital room

Erica is out of surgery and in room number 2SW208

Monday surgery

I called the hospital this morning, Erica was in surgery and they didn't have a room number for her. I'll post that info as soon as I hear. If anyone has news to share please email me at davrobyn@hotmail.com or call 490-6485 and I'll post to this website. Thanks, Robyn

Christmas time.

Hey, everyone. I am so nervous about my upcoming surgery! Please help me pray for strength. I'm also disappointed that I will possibly not be able to come home for Christmas! Ill miss everyone!

A little history

23 year old Erica Tomsha was born and raised in Fairbanks. Parents Mark and Anita are also long time Alaskans. Anita’s grandparents (Carlson) moved to Kodiak in the 40’s to work on WWII construction projects. From there the lure of gold drew them to Fairbanks. Anita’s dad followed and opened up Music Mart in Fairbanks 60 years ago. Mark moved to Fairbanks in the early 70’s.

From an early age Erica shared her mothers passion for horses. Learning to ride when she was 4 she quickly figured out she had to make sure her pony knew she was the boss. In elementary school she joined the Golden Heart 4-H club to continue to learn. As she got older she expanded her perspective to include IHA, ACTA, IHC, Pony Club, 4-H community service and leadership activities. She was an active member of the Tanana Whirlwinds 4-H group in high school and helped to advocate for and pass the limited liability for livestock bill which helps to insure personal responsibility for accidents occurring around livestock animals. That exposure to politics led her to an internship with Senator Stevens.

After attending UAF for a couple of years she decided to move to California where she could pursue her dream of working with horses. She has been actively training horses and riders and enjoying being around magnificent Grand Prix horses.

Although Erica had to move to Seattle for her cancer treatment she has continued to work and learn, giving riding lessons and training horses. She moved into an apartment of her own. Her father has been able to stay with her through most of her chemotherapy. Erica has lost her hair from her treatments but does not try to hide it. She encourages people to ask her about her cancer and is anxious to share her experience in the hope of teaching or providing comfort to others.

Erica remains positive and upbeat. She appreciates all the concern and well wishes from her friends.

A Letter From Erica

I want people to know that I found a lump last December that was about the size of a pencil eraser. I went to the clinic the next day and the nurse told me it was probably nothing, and because of my age it was very unlikely that it was serious. So naturally i believed her, and I continued on with my life as usual. However, 6 months later the pencil eraser grew to be the size of a golf ball in a week! So I went back to that clinic and the same nurse agreed that I probably needed a biopsy! DUH! 2 days later the same nurse told me I had Invasive Ductile Carcinoma, (I found out later that I was a stage 3a, 4 is terminal), and she told me this while crying.

2 days after that I came to Seattle because not having insurance limits my care options in California, and plus Seattle has better cancer hospitals, unless you go to UCLA or SanFran and being 300 miles away is just as hard as being 1500 miles away from home. Being here has really changed my life; it has forced me to live in a different way (I have learned a lot about myself), it has forced me to DRAMATICALLY change my diet (which is the most important thing a cancer patient can do). I have had to watch my spending, it's hard to work when you're getting chemo once a week. I am working a little, and in return my boss (whose ex husband I live with) pays my rent. But there are so many things that the charity care program at Swedish Hospital does not cover, such as supplements and alternative treatments like acupuncture, vitamin infusions, and the cancer vaccine. It also doesn't pay for things like reconstructive surgery (which unless I want to be the one boobed wonder I will need to get). I don't have the price for this yet but i will get it as soon as I can. I have also definitely learned who my real friends are, the ones who care.

Cancer Vaccine

Below is some information on the cancer vaccine that Erica would like to recieve. You can also visit this website http://www.ehealthandhealing.com/html/about/about.html to learn more. The cost of this vaccine is about $7,500 and it would be very beneficial for her to recieve this, along with her other cancer treatments.


It is believed that any person who lives long enough will eventually get cancer. In the past, cancer was thought to be invincible. More recently traditional treatments have been supplemented with newer treatments like chemoprevention and cancer vaccines.

The immune system has developed to protect the body against invasion by microorganisms and prevent disease. As more information about immune cells is discovered, scientists have realized that the immune system plays a crucial role in preventing cancer. The implication of this finding is that, by designing cancer vaccines, it is possible to boost the immune system to enable it to combat cancer more effectively.

Traditional vaccines have successfully prevented infectious diseases like small pox. Recently, great progress has been made in the development of vaccines against cervical cancer, caused by human papilloma virus. However, vaccine development of other types of cancers poses more challenges, since most cancers are believed not to be caused by infectious agents, but rather, defects in cellular proteins. Since these proteins are very similar to those found in normal cells, it is difficult to develop vaccines targeting the cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Indeed, most cancer vaccines will be useful for treating cancers in patients already afflicted and not for preventing cancers. The concept of a universal vaccine against cancer is not realistic since there are many types and many causes of cancers.

To learn how cancer vaccines work it is essential to start with insight into the working of the immune system. This review begins with a primer on tumor immunology: the identity and role of each cell involved in recognizing and fighting cancer. The next section explains how tumors actively try to evade the immune system, while the concluding section highlights the strategies used in designing cancer vaccines.


REVIEW SUMMARY

Immunology Primer

The immune system can be divided into two branches; both are involved in fighting cancer.

Innate: Barriers that human beings are born with, including special cells, to fight specific bacteria and other invaders. Natural killer cells are the most significant innate cells that fight cancer directly.
Adaptive: Response that the immune system generates to fight threats as they occur. Lymphocytes are cells involved in fighting these threats. There are two types of lymphocytes, B cells and T cells. Some lymphocytes are cells that trigger immunity, while other lymphocytes are memory cells that allow this adaptive response to occur repeatedly. Cytotoxic T cells are the adaptive cells that directly fight cancer. However, they cannot always recognize cancers and need antigen-presenting cells, dendritic cells, to help them do so.

Properties of Tumors

-Since they resemble normal cells, tumors tend not to trigger the immune system.
-Tumors also actively evade the immune system in different ways.
-Immune cells are not very efficient in detecting tumor growth.

Cancer Vaccines
-Vaccines boost the immune system.
-Preventive vaccines may be used to prevent cancers induced by viruses, such as cervical cancer.
-Most cancer vaccines will probably be therapeutic, used for patients who already have cancer.
-Cancer vaccines modify the immune system response to evoke a strong and specific immune response.
-Types of cancer vaccines include: - Tumor antigens used to familiarize the body against the cancer; Monoclonal antibodies to mimic tumor antigens; Stimulation of the cytotoxic T cells to fight the cancer

from Erica

Hi everyone, if your at this site you have heard about my situation. I want to thank you for your support!
December 5, 2007 1:25 PM

This is the first post to a spot where Erica's friends can go to keep in touch. My first time on a blog. Hope it works.