Marie’s Story

Site created on October 30, 2021


Welcome to our CaringBridge website for Marie.  This has been created to bring together Marie's community of loved ones.  Let this be a safe space to share anecdotal stories and anything that comes up when you think of Marie.  The authors of this site will post updates as they arise as well as ways to contribute or help.

The story:
Marie noticed a lump in her neck towards the end of September that was growing rapidly and starting to effect her ability to breath and swallow.  She had an ultrasound of her thyroid with biopsy on 10/6 which showed cancer.  There was little known about the type or extent of the cancer at that time.  She underwent surgery on 10/12 in an attempt to remove the thyroid and all of the cancer.  The surgery revealed an extensive complex malignant tumor (cancerous) nodule with irregular boarders that they were unable to fully remove despite best efforts.  The cancer had significant involvement with infiltration of the esophagus (how food travels to the stomach), and her laryngeal nerve which has impacted her ability to speak with ease.  The relief from the compression, however, has helped her feel more comfortable.

From the surgical biopsy, she was diagnosed with Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer with squamous cell variant as well as papillary thyroid cancer with mutation and Hurthle cell carcinoma on 10/27.  This is a rare, highly aggressive, fast form of thyroid cancer occurring in less than 1% of the population.  There is no known cause or cure though there are some treatments to slow symptom burden.  The prognosis for this type of cancer is poor and most people do not live very long once this cancer is discovered, regardless of metastasis (spread to other areas of the body) at the time of diagnosis.  Marie received a CT scan to explore spread on 10/30 with lesions on adrenal and R pulmonary area and questioning bladder Mets. 

Treatment options are very limited as this cancer is aggressive and tends to grow rapidly and spread and outsmarts even aggressive treatment efforts fairly quickly.

As Marie is faced with many time sensitive decisions, she is choosing to prioritize her comfort, quality of life, independence, and engaging in meaningful connections above all else.  She welcomes hearing highlights of your life.  Marie wants to enjoy her days with walks outside, spending time at the beach, eating good food while she can still swallow, spending time with family and loved ones, and her cat, playing (and winning) games, laughing, loving, taking in the love from a perspective of gratitude for each day and living as long as she can at home.  Marie cherishes her strong, supportive loved ones and allies and all the ways each contribute, enrich, and define her greatest joys in life. 

Details of treatment, prognosis, and timelines will be updated with journal entries as they arise.

Newest Update

January 27, 2023

Journal entry by Charlene Burke —

Loving the one we miss…

The year of firsts are now behind us…what a struggle on so many levels yet what we have learned and how we have grown with Marie’s influence along side us is sensitive and precious at the same time. 

Nellie the Brave continues to be amazing! I reviewed her post from March and see how much she has progressed, loved and opened up to more than just me and all the new noises. 
Nellie and Dahlia are more comfortable in the same room together. Nellie is now occasionally playing with me and  a sponge ball and a cat toy on a coil and stick instead of being startled and scared of objects. However, still cautious with unexpected movements around her  in general. 
Nellie has not ventured to our main level but has explored all 3 bedrooms on her level. 
Once a day , in the early morning, I coax Nellie back into her room so she can have some privacy and not get chased by Dahlia. Dahlia has the zoomies sometimes and Nellie has not quite gotten that far in play yet  

Nellie’s  favorite spot is on our bed on my pillow or sleeping between my husband and I. 
She still nudges my hand in the middle of the night and meows for some love and whispering stories of Marie. 
Dahlia sometimes nudges Nellie’s face or neck briefly with a moment of affection. Nellie licked Dahlia’s head for the first time yesterday- a sweet moment that I witnessed ❤️

The pictures I included are:

Marie scratching Nellie’s head while she shares wisdom and wishes for Nellie’s future and  Nellie listening while she shares her lovely purr. 

Nellie stretched out and relaxed while Dahlia is contemplating playing with Nellie’s tail without Nellie noticing. 


Dahlia’s curled tail completing a heart while thinking of all the people I love and miss. 

Nellie and Dahlia eating side by side after I have them say hi and give / receive some loving nudges. 


Nellie allowing more love and snuggles into her life from one of my daughters, Mackenzie. 

May this post bring love and reflections of our beautiful Marie and everlasting stories and laughter woven into our lives.  

Love, Hugs and Purrs,

Charlene / GooGeek❤️


I will close with a letter ending phrase from Madeleine. 

May 2023 be more gentle….

 

 

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