Help Khrystyna Fight Cancer

08/23/2024

This month is proving to be challenging in trying to keep pace but hopefully slow and steady wins the race. 24.49 km left to complete the August challenge in 8 days.

08/13/2024

New blog post regarding workouts:

On July 13th, 2023, I took a significant step in my life by joining the local YMCA, marking the beginning of my gym journey after a cancer diagnosis. At the time, I was motivated and inspired to get well for the sake of my toddler, and myself being a 34 year old at the time. But, I had no idea how d...

05/30/2024

I recommend this book to anyone facing life threatening or even terminal medical diagnosis: 

When it comes to books that transform our understanding of health and healing, few compare to Dr Bernie S. Siegel's "Love, Medicine & Miracles." This groundbreaking work, first published in 1986, explores the profound connection between emotional well-being and physical health. Siegel, a paediatric....

05/16/2024

I am so lucky and blessed to have gotten the best news today from my panel of 36 world-wide chordoma experts through the National Health Institute in the US which confirmed that I am cancer free after reviewing my entire case both before surgery and after surgery. My last MRI was on April 3, 2024 and that is more than one year after surgery that there has been no progression of disease.

I got a second chance in life. I hope to make it count!

05/02/2024

Presentation and prize draw. Please register here: https://www.khrystynanaydan.com/events/support-my-success-journey/form

04/30/2024

What is on my mind? Healthcare reform. What is in my heart? Compassionate and competent care:

One of the most pivotal lessons of my life to date has been that you are your own best advocate. If you don't care enough to fight for what you need, nobody else will. Advocating for your health can take various forms: persistently visiting doctors to communicate your concerns, accurately conveying....

04/22/2024

As any of today’s doctor-authors would acknowledge, they are not the only experts in the stories we live and tell. There is a new type of medical memoir in which patients, too, examine the medical facts as well as the science while contextualizing it with lived experience, and expressing it with a fresh creative vision.

04/16/2024

04/10/2024

Letter to one of the anti-hero’s of my memoir:

Dear Doctor,We are just two months short of two years since my surgery with you. That day, June 20th, 2022, was the day when my life would change forever. Not a single day has passed in these two years where I haven't grappled with what transpired and why it unfolded as it did. Remember the first ap...

03/05/2024

So many things to say yet so few words to express it, please see my new blog:

In life, we all face challenges and obstacles that can sometimes feel overwhelming. It's during these times of adversity that we often grow the most as human beings. What did I learn from going through cancer and surviving six brain and spine surgeries in less than one year? every day is a blessing....

07/19/2023

I feel so grateful that a skin graft was not done on my head wound. These photos are only 3 months apart. The skin is closing on its own and natural hair is growing. Had a transplant been done, I would have a bold spot. Might I add, the natural hair is growing very thick! I was so self-conscious about my bold spot over these last few months but now it feels… normal! I am alive, I’m not in a hospital any more, I get a 2nd birthday with my baby.

05/03/2023

Dear Friends,

I would like to thank you for your continued support and prayers.

I am currently undergoing recovery from my complex surgeries and am back to Edmonton with follow-up appointments booked in June at UPMC in Pittsburgh.

The UPMC surgeon Dr David Kojo Hamilton who is a spinal fusion expert, used special high-tech machines available there, and special plates especially made for me to fuse my spine to the skull which was necessary to save my life. He stated that my operation was dangerous, but I am well on my road to recovery. This surgeon who also teaches spinal surgeons, and has done over 4000 complex spine surgeries, and over 1500 posterior fossa and cervical surgeries concluded: “she will be in the top one percentile of difficulty around the world with regard to the reconstruction that was needed.”

Dr Paul Gardner who treats complex cases from all over the world, and successfully fully removed the chordoma and the odontoid as well as oversaw both the tumour and spinal operations, concluded: “To my knowledge, there are no other teams available in Canada with the experience to manage this complexity of disease, and certainly this was not offered to the patient in her locality. “

After nearly one year of being a patient both in-hospital and as an outpatient, I find myself physically weak. I have to take frequent breaks in order to get simple tasks done at home such as doing dishes, walking upstairs, or even trying to prepare a meal for my baby. I cannot feel my hands and I lack the strength to open a bottle of water even at the moment. This is also taking a toll on my mental health as I did not have those limitations prior to brain surgeries.

I also have a head wound that is still healing and in need of daily dressing changes. My feeding tube was removed and is still an open stomach wound. I also had a graft taken from my leg to patch the inside of the nose post-operatively (EEA). I get assistance from Home Care as well as a lot of family support during this time for which I am very grateful.

The next steps for me would be to get stronger, to rely less on help from others, and I am very very very hopeful that my 6 month post-operative MRIs in June will bring good news to share.

Thank you kindly for supporting my cancer journey. So far, it is a story of survival and perseverance!