The Tina Troy Cancer Foundation has been created to carry on Tina’s legacy of always trying to help others in need. Our focus will be to help families, like Tina’s, struggling with cancer. The struggle with cancer is not only financial, but also a mental and emotional rollercoaster. Tina’s Journey and The Beginning of a Foundation
TINA TROY CANCER FOUNDATION·FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020·
I met Tina in
1997. We really hit it off right away and became the best of friends, despite our 13 year age difference. Tina has always put everyone else’s needs before her own and made it a point to help anyone in need, even in times that she didn’t have much to give. In June 2019, Tina called me to ask if I would go to a surgeon consult with her, since they found a spot in her head during a scan that was done to try to find the cause of some arm weakness she had been having. June 10th we saw the surgeon. We were informed that the spot was a tumor and he wanted us to get her things and check into the hospital. June 11th she had her brain biopsy. On June 18th the Dr. confirmed that Tina had an aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma(“GBM” brain cancer), with an estimated 18-24 months to live, even with surgery and cancer treatments. June 20th Tina went in for surgery #2 to have the tumor removed, but they were only able to get out 90% of it. After this surgery, she began to have problems with loss of feeling and weakness of her right leg and foot. As if that wasn’t bad enough, July 2nd it was discovered that she had an infection in the incision site. She headed into surgery that night, to clean out the infection. July 23rd, Tina was finally released to go home. However, August 2nd she was headed back to the emergency room, feeling sick and running a fever. She was diagnosed with blood clots and readmitted to the hospital. Luckily, she was released two days later. Since then, Tina has started chemotherapy, radiation, and infusion treatments. Her last scan showed no new tumors and the one she has hasn’t grown. January 3rd, 2020 she started another treatment called Optune. We are hoping for more good results with this, even though we know that the reality of this cancer will eventually be terminal. However, we still believe that miracles can happen! Unfortunately on January 21, 2021, Tina lost her battle with cancer and gained her angel wings. May she rest in peace with no more suffering, as we continue her legacy here on earth. Sincerely,
Nikki Burmeister
