The Good, The Bad, & The…
November 14, 2021 by Stephanie Daigre, Team Member
Wow, it’s been way too long since our last update and I’m so sorry for that. Thank you to everyone who has been reaching out and checking in on our Fearless Warrior, Emily and her warrior family. Your love and support means the world to us, it really does.
We have so much to share… many ups and downs with the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Yet, none of the setbacks and challenges have broken the Lambert family’s spirits or determination. Emily, as always, is still optimistic, active, and determined.
With the last update, we left off when Emily was still hospitalized at UCSF due to severe symptoms and rapid cognitive decline related to her Lymphoma and the huge mass in her liver. At that time, we learned the liver mass had not been responsive to treatment. Her team at UCSF developed a new plan of attack and Emily got to work kicking @ss once again. She was miserable and frightened, as was Ben, but you would never know it by looking at them. Their love, devotion, and faith has been such a powerful contributor to Emily’s success during her arduous and unpredictable battle. Often, the very best and most effective medicine is not medicine at all.
Once Emily was discharged from UCSF, she returned home where more treatment began. She started Optune therapy which, in simple terms, is an electromagnetic system that works to disrupt the replication process of brain cancer cells. With this system, Emily wears a “helmet” of transducer arrays (don’t worry, there are photos below) which are then connected to a power source and worn almost 24/7 for the next six months. She started a newly formulated combination of chemotherapy infusions which run in two week cycles for six month straight.
She has also managed to keep up with all other forms of non-pharmaceutical therapies including: many nutraceuticals, RSO, specialized diet/nutrition, fitness, guided meditation, deep breathing, talk therapy, outdoor adventures, singing, nonstop humor, and screaming positive affirmations from the mountaintops (front lawn actually, buy you get the point). Oh, and pet therapy too, which actually might be the most beneficial of all.
On September 12th, Emily led a small group of friends and family in the UCSF Neuro-Oncology Head for the Cure 5K run/walk. Due to some of Emily’s limitations, she and Ben decided on remote participation instead of traveling all the way out to San Francisco. This was such a cool event because Emily was able to lead us through her childhood neighborhood and along one of her favorite trails.
For Emily, this 5K was symbolic of her past and of her future! In the beginning of 2020, she trained hard for a half marathon which was canceled due to the madness and chaos of the world shutting down. Yet, our Emily decided not to let the cancelation stop her from reaching her goal. She completed the entire run, by herself, in her neighborhood. Obviously not completely by herself as Ben, Ivy, and Ivan were there to cheer her on with each lap! Oh, and have you been to her neighborhood? It’s a beautiful winding maze of very steep hills. Emily will undoubtedly be running in many more events in the years to come.
After completing the Head for the Cure 5K, Emily and Ben hosted a gathering at their home to celebrate Ivan’s 8th birthday. Keeping with tradition, Emily made an awesome cake to represent one of Ivan’s current favorite things, fidget poppers. This is something Emily has traditionally done for her kids each year and it’s always pretty amazing. For a moment, life almost felt normal again as friends and family gathered and enjoyed overhearing the laughter of cousins as they played.
One thing that has really kept the Lamberts going strong is the incredible and selfless devotion of their sweet friend Amanda. Week after week, without fail, Amanda has arrived at the Lambert’s home for sleepovers and to offer two days of help with anything and everything they might need. She is always a bright light of hope and calm positive energy. This girl does it all… she plays games, cook’s meals, organizes closets, cleans, does crafts, lifts spirits, calms nerves and the list goes on and on. We are incredibly thankful for all that Amanda has done and continues to do in support of Emily and her family. Our love, admiration, and gratitude for her is deep and endless. We are also equally grateful for all of you who have and continue to offer your love, faith, and support in various ways. THANK YOU! !
Several weeks ago, Emily had another PET scan. We were all holding our breath and hoping to hear that her liver mass was responding to the new chemo regimen. Unfortunately, we were hit with a heavy blow. Her liver mass, other mets, and lymph nodes were not responding and were highly active. This was both disappointing and frightening. Emily kept marching forward as she battled with all the pain and exhausting symptoms of the disease and the effects of the treatments. Last week, she had another PET scan and a brain MRI. We were finally able to sigh with some relief and jump for joy! The MRI results show that there is no new disease growth AND the PET scan revealed that her liver mass has magically decreased in size by more than half. These are amazing results and definitely a few steps in a positive direction.
Although we have great cause for celebration with this recent news, the last couple of months have been a rough continuation of the terrifying roller coaster that started back in April. Ben has been at Emily’s side nearly 24/7 throughout this whole ordeal. This has been a true blessing and a great benefit to Emily’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as managing her care is more than a fulltime job. He has been much more than a husband and father throughout all of this… he has been her nurse, case manager, medical liaison, chauffeur, personal chef, confidant, shoulder to cry on, comic relief, etc. The benefits to him providing such care and support are immeasurable and irreplaceable! There is, however, a disadvantage to this which has created great financial hardship for the family.
Neither Ben or Emily have been able to work very much during the past six months. We all hope life will be a bit more manageable soon, but they could really use some help in the meantime. They would never ask, and it’s not an easy thing to do, but I am asking on their behalf…
If any of you have fundraising ideas and/or time to spare with helping us fundraise, please reach out and let us know! If you’re able to donate to help support the Lambert family, a GFM link will be in the comments below. If you’re unable to help with fundraising please continue to send prayers, positive messages, and love to this family. We are forever grateful for each and every one of you!
THANK YOU ! !