The Diagnosis

12/27/2024

During Luca's pregnancy, Gabby noticed blood in her stool. Her OB dismissed it as hemorrhoids, and she put her trust in the medical professionals, which made her believe not to worry during her pregnancy. The day before Luca was born, Gabby noticed a large amount of blood and went to the OB triage at the hospital where she was delivering. The medical staff said Luca was okay and it wasn't baby related. Gabby and Mike decided to induce labor on Luca's due date which was the next day. The issue was again suspected to be hemorrhoids and she was sent home.

The next day, Luca was born on June 25, 2024. The large amount of blood was again brought up to the OB and Gabby requested to get the issue checked up on while in the hospital. Gabby was told she would be given a referral to see a GI doctor and was left feeling the issue was not a great cause for concern. Gabby followed up and received the referral to the GI specialist.

Nearly 4 months later, just before Halloween, she finally got into the GI specialist and the doctor confirmed that she still had blood in her stool. They also suspected it was hemorrhoids and prescribed her steroids. However, out of an abundance of caution, the doctor asked her to schedule a colonoscopy. Gabby's colonoscopy was just before Thanksgiving and the doctor found a large mass nearly blocking her colon. She met with a surgeon and got a CT scan the next day, which showed two lesions on her liver.

A week after the mass was found, Gabby went in for colon resection surgery to remove the mass, lymph nodes and margins. The care team decided not to touch the liver during the colon surgery and instead did a biopsy while she was still recovering in the hospital. An MRI of her liver identified 5 lesions on the liver vs. the 2 by the CT scan. Further testing showed the mass to be adenocarcinoma and 7 out of the 18 lymph nodes were affected. About a week after the colon resection surgery, Gabby met with an oncologist, who confirmed the Stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis, which metastasized to her liver. Additional blood samples and tests were ordered and Gabby underwent a port surgery to prepare for chemo to begin in early January.

Gabby is continuing to recover from her surgeries.

After numerous doctor appointments, Mike and Gabby have decided to move forward with getting treatment from City Of Hope. She will be starting Chemo Friday January 3rd.

14 Comments

Mary Petersen

1/2/2025 07:21:44 pm

Gabby, I want to encourage you to do your best to stay as positive as you can (not to say you won’t have times where you will fall apart). Cancer doesn’t like positive people! I’ve had breast cancer twice. Once in my 30’s & again 2yrs ago! I’m doing real well! I should tell you that Ali’s father-in- law (as well as Troy) are my Cousins. All will definitely be your rock! You can by all means contact me if you want to. I’m also a retired Surgery nurse. My thoughts & prayers will be with you! ❤️

Amber Isenhart

1/3/2025 10:02:27 am

Lifting Gabby and her sweet family up in prayer! Lord please bring healing and a full recovery to Gabby and help her and her family on her treatment journey. Bless the hands of all involved in her treatment. Amen! 🙏

Wendi

1/3/2025 12:05:17 pm

Bless your sweet Mama heart. I do not know you, but I know Alyssa. She shared your story and I couldn't help but reach out to say we will be praying for you. I know today must be scary, and just wanted to let you know someone out here is thinking of you and praying for you.

Eliza Stark

1/3/2025 09:18:13 pm

Hello. Please check out Believebig.org.
It was founded by a woman who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer at the age of 37. She has been cancer free for around 15 years now. Her story and details of treatment are on her website. She now dedicates herself to helping others. Best of luck. Wish you a complete recovery.

Carrie S

1/4/2025 05:42:21 am

I will keep Gabby and family in my thoughts.

My brother was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer at the age of 42. He went through almost two years of treatment which included radiation, chemo, 8 months of iliostomy bag, more radiation and chemo. He has been NED for over a year now. We hold onto the hope that it remains that way.

Big hugs to all of you!

Valerie Gutierrez

1/4/2025 06:17:43 am

Gabby, Mike & family,
We love & support you on your healing journey. Don’t hesitate to call when you need a helping hand. Hoping all went better than expected yesterday for your first chemo. Sending healing vibes your way.
💕Valerie, Jose, Abrianna & Emilio

Rebecca

1/4/2025 04:38:33 pm

I pray for your complete healing and restoration of your health. Our Lord is able and he hears every prayer.

Charnell

1/5/2025 06:18:57 am

Wishing you strength and love and Angel Blessings as you go through this difficult time. The roller coaster ride is a difficult one. Feel the feels. Accept the love. Sending soo much love ❤️

Kim link

1/5/2025 07:42:30 am

Hi Gabby - I came across your story on IG and I wanted to reach out with a virtual hug and an offer for some support. I am a cancer researcher but I also teach yoga and meditation to people who are living with the challenges of cancer. I would love to offer our services to you at no cost. We have online yoga, guided meditations, guided self-massage, recipes, and art classes (which would be fun to do with your family!). We also offer private one-on-one yoga and meditation sessions. Yoga and meditation have been proven to help reduce cancer-related anxiety and fatigue, while also boosting strength and resiliency. Even very gentle in-bed yoga can do wonders post surgery and chemo. Absolutely no pressure, but please send me an email if it’s something that sounds interesting.
Warmly, Kim

Cathy Webb

1/6/2025 09:32:44 am

Dear Gabby thank you for sharing your story with the world, I will be following you and praying for the perfect outcome 🙏 keep fighting and don't give up ❤️

Kelly Behrens

1/6/2025 01:21:03 pm

Hello! I was just scrolling through my reels and came across your name, my oldest daughter‘s middle name is Gabrielle and when we want to feel nostalgic we will call her Gabby.
(She’s 35 and doesn’t appreciate it, lol), So of course I had to stop and look at your pictures, you have a beautiful family! I also read your story. I am an oncology and hospice nurse married to an oncologist. He does all cancers but primarily colon cancer.
I am so sorry this journey is going to be part of your life story. Some things I always tell my patients is 1, don’t google anything! So much misinformation on the wide web…2, keep yourself in the know. There is a website, NCCN or national comprehensive cancer network, you can create an account for yourself as a patient . This website can help you navigate through your diagnosis, chemo, radiation if necessary, side effects and so forth. Keep yourself active as much as you can, don’t let being tired or not feeling well control your day-to-day activities. I know there will be times your not gonna feel well and you’re not gonna feel like getting up and doing anything but you have to. Try to stay well nourished and hydrated. Keep a journal, ask questions And be your own advocate. Sometimes that’s hard for people to do.
You will get lots of advice.. follow your gut. Take time for you, yoga, meditate whatever you need to do to keep your brain from going to a dark place… stay positive even when you dont feel it. I’ll keep you and your family in my prayers as you navigate this journey.

laura king

1/6/2025 08:35:07 pm

Prayers for you and your beautiful family. ❤️

Anne Gatto

1/7/2025 05:43:17 pm

Gabby,
I just wanted to know I will be following your journey. I am so sorry that you are going through this. Even though I don’t know you, I can tell that you have so much inner strength. You have a loving family and support is so important during this process. I am a cancer nurse navigator and just know that I am cheering you on! Give yourself grace. Ask for help when you need it. Snuggle those beautiful babies! Feel free to reach out to me if you ever need to. You go girl!!💕

Daniel

2/7/2025 06:28:27 pm

Hi Gabby,

I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in April of 2022 (was age 44). Since then it's been quite a journey. I have a very similar story to which you are going through now. When I finally made it to see a doctor, my hemoglobin level was at 3.2 (pretty much a walking zombie). It had also spread to my liver. My regimen at first was FOLFOX IRI+ Bev. (same thing you're getting). With my initial surgery, aside from having a colostomy (temporarily!), they took out the tumor in the colon, reversed the colostomy, and resected the liver (25%) and then put me on a recovering chemo for about 3 months. I was clear for about a year, and then it came back. Some oncologists I've spoken with says it has a tendency to come back in the liver. I recently had another resection of the liver last year in August. Just finished 6 cycles of recovery chemo and since scans are still clear, they are only going to have me use the infusion pump (5FU) for another 3 months and we'll see how it goes! Hard numbers from what my GI oncologist at Stanford told me, is that there is a 60% chance it won't come back with the regimen your on; with the pump (I call it the lemon ball), afterwards with recovery, they said it may knock it down another 5%. So about 35% chance to come back from recent studies. Everyone has different side effects, mine were the hiccups, nausea and some neuropathy in my hands and feet after the first round of recovering chemo, however, with gabapentin it seems to be getting a little better (doesn't work for everyone). I just wanted to share my experience so far with you, as when it was all new to me I wanted to find others that went through the same thing to give me some insight on what to expect. I work full-time, take it easy on my chemo week (was getting chemo every 2 weeks), and I don't let it dictate my life. Remember, that stage 4 colon cancer that has spread to the liver only is CURABLE. And if you ever want to talk, shoot me an email.

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Gabby's
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The Diagnosis

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