BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE; NO ONE ELSE WILL!

24/7 Support

There are support groups available 24/7, filled with many encouraging and helpful women of various levels and stage of their GTD/Choriocarcinoma journey worldwide. You don't have to take this journey alone! Connect now! Even if you are finished with treatment, join for continued healing and support for other women. We welcome all that has been diagnosed with any type of gestational trophoblastic disease. Below are three Facebook support groups packed with women to help & guide you. Click on pictures or name to go directly to these groups.

Choriocarcinoma & Molar Pregnancy Awareness & ALL GTD Support

This support group is for those that have or had choriocarcinoma, molar pregnancy or any type of GTD. This group is mainly for those that are newly diagnosed, in the process of, or in treatment. We welcome all that have even finished treatment for additional support.

AFTER CHEMO from Choriocarcinoma/Molar Pregnancy/ALL GTD

This support group focuses on the treatment support, mainly the AFTERCARE from all types of GTD. Treatment includes chemo, surgery, transfusions, steroids, white cell booster shots, hospital stays, loss & grief, and re-conceiving. All of these can lead to long term care from various forms of health.

Choriocarcinoma Warrior ANGELS-Gone but NOT forgotten

This is a REMEMBRANCE group for those that have been lost to choriocarcinoma, PSTT, or ephilioid tumor. This is a place to post memories, photos, and various rememberance of those lost loved ones, including fetuses.

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Choriocarcinoma & Molar Pregnancy Awareness Page

​​This active Facebook page is for continuous feed of information and resources, up to date cases as available, and real life worldwide connections. This page has been a main artery for many and a source of powerful information & much needed connections. Click picture or title to go directly to awareness page.

Other Sources Available:

Video explains a basic breakdown of
​choriocarcinoma and molar pregnancies 

BIOGRAPHY

​Cindy Lupica is a choriocarcioma survivor, diagnosed early 2014, four months after childbirth. She was diagnosed with having had a twin complete molar pregnany with viable/surviving twin. She was FIGO Score 6, Stage II/III, high risk, lung metastasis. She ended up with 12 rounds of chemotherapy, 4 methotrexate and 8 ema-co, 6 1/2 months total. She is a strong awareness and support advocate for women worldwide on a daily basis and learning to live with permanent chemo side effects.

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19 days into chemo; most of the time Cindy slept, snuggled her newborn while adapting to bottle feeding.

It all started in her pregnancy around 25 weeks when contractions became regular and vaginal itching begun. After several exams and a negative yeast infection test, her OB/GYN advised to completely cut off exercise and 'take it easy', and to apply hydrocortisone cream for the itching was due to 'increased hormones'. (It was later suspected that the choriocarcinoma was fully gestated around this time, between 19-29 weeks).

Due to these continuous contractions, delivery took place in the back of an ambulance en route via hospital where Cindy lost more blood than normal and later became anemic. The three med techs were still in training so proper translation and disposal of the birth was not recorded/handled properly for medical analysis. The healthy and in-tact placenta was delivered in the hospital by her regular obgyn. 2 days after birth, her newborn was taken to NICU for an 'unknown infection' later found out to be a 'possible sepsis' due to 'delivery conditions', later released 4 days later as healthy.

Postpartum check up was at 4 weeks, pap smear followed at 8 weeks when bleeding finally stopped. Her OB/GYN said that this could be likely due to 'her age and being 4th child' even though she was exclusively breastfeeding. Intermittent bleeding picked back up around 10 weeks and finally a small hemorrhage in the night followed by passing a flat grape like clot in the early morning. It was then that Cindy knew something was terribly wrong and she phoned her OB/GYN whom was unavailable. Cindy rephoned later in the morning and stressed the urgency of connecting with the OB/GYN now. The doctor finally called her and saw her that late afternoon. It was on that day that the vaginal ultrasound screen showed a grape-like image on the right side of her uterus (she has lung metastasis on the right lung). Her doctor advised to go to the hospital asap.

Cindy and her husband checked into the advised hospital, 2 hours one way, where it took just over 12 hours to finally get the correct diagnosis. The date was February 1, 2014. After many misdiagnosis', being told she was pregnant, miscarrying or 'having a heavy period' (even during the massive near death hemorrhage), she still repetitively refused to go home and bleed to death. She was tossed from floor to floor, team to team, all staff unsure what to do, scurrying about. She recalls one male doctor peeking his head in, seeing her 2 bucket hemorrhage, and ordered stat b-hcg levels via blood draw. This test revealed choriocarcinoma which resulted from a complete twin molar pregnancy from her newborn daughter. The choriocarcinoma was fully gestated around 25 weeks into her pregnancy.

​She was given one last chance to try to breastfeed though she was beyond exhausted and dehydrated. She was immediately admitted and began intense scans to check for any brain and lung metastasis. The folowing day a picc-line was inserted and chemo started the 3rd through July 21, 2014, weekly. 12 chemo cycles, many hospital stays, 2 blood transfusions, Neupogen shots, Lovenox shots, Leucovorin, steroids, masks, hand sanitizer, and meds, she is in full remission and sharing her personal story to help others despite the hardship of her darkest times and uncertainties.

​To connect with Cindy, use the social media links below.

Cindy carrying the already gestated choriocarcinoma, not knowing of it nor of the undeveloped twin.