Beth Gonzales

As many of you already know, our beloved Beth was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month.  She has been having leg pain for several months now but has been taking care of her family and property just thinking she was dealing with a muscle strain.  She has been to many appointments, had multiple procedures and has endured some terrible pain in the process but is finally getting some answers. 


Basically, they have found a tumor near her pelvic bone which has been the major source of her pain, which is a soft tissue tumor that is eating in to her pelvic bone.  They have biopsied this tumor and it shows adenocarcinoma, however they are unclear of the primary source.  Additionally, they have found a mass in her uterus based on an MRI/CT scan.  After realizing there was more than one tumor, they decided to do a PET scan (which scans the rest of your body to see if there is cancer anywhere else in the body).  The PET scan shows 3 small tumors in her lungs, a suspicious spot on her liver, and another tumor on her left pelvic bone area. 

 Today they performed an exam under anesthesia to perform a uterine biopsy.  Basically, they want to find the primary source of the cancer to determine next steps.  Palliative care (helps manage with pain and comfort measures) has been initiated to support Beth and her family through this difficult process.  Beth has stage 4 cancer which means the cancer has spread throughout her body and they are trying to determine the primary source to see if there are any life saving measures they can offer.

 Next steps:

1.     Beth will start radiation treatment tomorrow in attempt to reduce the size of the tumor on the right leg/pelvic area as this is the source of most of her pain.  She will receive 10 treatments (every day except weekends).  They are hoping the tumor will shrink enough to reduce the pain so that Beth can go home either sometime next week or once the radiation is complete.  The good news is, each treatment only lasts 10 minutes and has very few side effects if any.

2.     The tumor board (a group of specialists) will meet next Thursday October 24th, to discuss any treatment options.  This is when the biopsy results should be back and be able to provide more information.   

3.     Pain control: they have started Beth on steroids, narcotics, gabapentin and Tylenol to help control her pain.  They have made tremendous progress on controlling her pain and hope that the radiation will improve the pain even more

 Beth has spent a lifetime of caring for others and is now learning how to embrace the support of those around her.  Thank you for being a part of her tribe.