Lung Cancer Diagnosis After Being Exposed to Toxic Mold
Hi, my name is Christina I found out I had adenocarcinoma stage 3A lung cancer in September 2017. I was in the emergency room as I could not lift my arm or legs...My son told me on a Sunday to just go to the ER as it was getting really worse...I lived In Warwick NY and drove to our local hospital St Anthony’s where they told me I had rhabdomyolysis which is a disease of the muscles usually athletes get it but I got it from being on Simvastatin a statin I had been in as I had 2 heart attacks in the past treated with stents and medicine...
My exposure to toxic mold
I was in the hospital for almost a week they had to give me an iv to clear my system out in the marine they had taken a chest X-ray...I forgot to mention that in 2015 I had moved into a condo that had toxic mold I lived there for 6 months what a nightmare I was sick from the day I moved in then started spitting up blood had a bronchoscopy and was told I was fine went to a ton of doctors there was one that didn’t take insurance that did tests costing me $850 she said I was infected with mold Stachybotrys black mold the worst of them all My body was filled with mycotoxins that 3 were carcinogens. I called the board of health and told the owner who really didn’t seem to care my insurance told me It wasn’t covered as it was pre-existing when I moved there he had told me he had to replace the atrium windows which was an entire wall of windows. He had a guy come once but nothing was done I started feeling sick so I took a piece of drywall that had fallen off the windows as we had a lot of rain and sent it out to be tested that’s how I knew it had the black mold.
The expensive journey of mold and moving
After spending hundreds of dollars and still being sick I started looking to move which was very expensive. I had just done it to move here with a security deposit, rent, and movers it was close to $10,000. I asked my brother if I could borrow money as I didn’t have that kind of money. I found a brand new house that was renovated so it was $1,695 more than the $1,550, but I didn’t care just wanted out of that hell hole. The owner was rotten had to take him to court to get my security back it was horrible I moved taking all my furniture etc not knowing you are not supposed to do that the furniture should have been thrown out. I still did not feel good after moving but didn’t know till I went to the hospital with the rhabdomyolysis that I also had a mass on my left lung. I had to get a biopsy and pet scan where it verified I had lung cancer.
The fight of my life
I had come home from the doctor where he told me the diagnosis there was a message from my cousin down in Georgia my brother was taken to the hospital he had lived in my parent's retirement home they had custom built-in 1987 my mom was originally from Georgia they ere both gone but my brother had been taking care of my mom so he was living in the home. Long story short he had liver disease and his organs were shutting down I had to make all decisions I put him on hospice and he passed away, it was horrible I could not travel down here thank God for my cousin who handled everything until I could get down there I was up for the fight of my life.
On 10/27/2017 I went into Columbia NY Pres in NYC to have what I was told my left lung removed after a 12-hour surgery something went wrong they had to intubate me where they chipped 2 front teeth and open me up again I was totally out of it in critical ICU was there for 2 days in pain that was so bad I didn’t think I would make it. After 10 days in the hospital, door decided I should have 4 rounds of chemo 2 different kinds. I handled the chemo ok it was very hard but I survived.
4 years since my surgery
I am now 4 years since my surgery has moved to my parent's home in Georgia as a fresh start and so far so good. I have one year to go before I am cancer-free this has been the hardest surgery and mental experience of my life. I didn’t lose my hair but it thinned out a lot The chemo also destroyed my teeth had to have 4 teeth pulled it’s been horrible as I had no clue chemo destroyed your teeth I had beautiful teeth so have been dealing with trying to fix them I also live in a lot of pain where the lung was removed I had 2 chest tubes to talk about pain. I am also having problems breathing due to the lung situation. I am still here and am thankful that I think I am suffering from PTSD still haven’t cried that’s my story.
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