The Chemo Club is so excited to get to know you!!! Please introduce yourself (Name, where you’re from) - What was your life like before undergoing chemotherapy?

 Please cut this down to however short you need! 😆 it’s a lot

Homa was born and raised in Iran- Tehran and moved to the states at the age of 10. She grew up in California playing Water Polo and Softball and attended California State University Monterey Bay earning her B.A. in Integrated Studies with an emphasis on Community Leadership, Safety and Public Relations. She was an NCAA College Athlete, earning, All-Conference, All-Region and Player of the Year in softball her senior year at CSUMB. Homa continues to play, transitioning to baseball competitively. She was the Commissioner of the Monterey Men’s Baseball League 18 + division for 8 years, also a manager for the Legends and a player in the league. She was picked as the top 30 players in the Women’s Team USA Baseball Development Program 2017. In 2022 picked as one of sixty female baseball players in the nations to attend the first All American Girls Baseball League Elite Athlete showcase as a catalyst for a Women’s Professional Baseball League. 

After graduating from her university, she attended Fire Academy-EMT school and served as a Firefighter for the State of California for 4 years. She shifted her career as Peace Officer for the state and soon after, an Operator with the state’s SWAT/CRT Team 12. She was the first female to graduate from the CRT level 1 and Level 2 Operator Academy, earning 2 out of the 4 tops honors in the state academy as “Top Operator” and “Top Gun”. 

Later she was recruited into the private sector and took on a role in Executive Protection. She met her Husband Andrew in Monterey when he was attending the Naval Post Graduate School and they moved to Washington DC as he is an active duty member of the United States Marine Corps. She began her journey as a health fitness coach as they took on their new adventure together to the east coast. A wife, a bonus mom to two amazing kiddos and furmom to two German Shepherds.

Homa is a lover of hot cheetos, coffee, donuts, decorating her house, a good steak, and her faithful God. A cancer warrior.

Bring us along your journey – when were you diagnosed with cancer? What was your initial reaction?

Cancer runs deep in my moms side of the family- especially colon and uterine. My mother suggested when I was 32 (currently 37) to get a genetic mutation test of lynch syndrome and sure enough I did have this genetic mutation which makes me more susceptible to Uterine and colon cancers!

At 34 I began doing colonoscopies. I really have to advocate for my self to have a GI doctor approve this procedure at such a young age, for insurance to pay for it. My positive lynch syndrome test helped with this process. My first colonoscopy they removed 6 polyps! Great thing about it is that this screening, although my least favorite can keep me from getting colon cancer that many of my family members have gotten. I’m doing this every two years.

The last two years my cycle had changes dramatically. I spoke with my previous doctors and doing reading on it, they chalked it up to my hormones changing being in my mid to late 30’s. Come January, I wasn’t feeling right, I could tell something was wrong. I scheduled a paps and blood work abs everything came out great! So odd…I thought. Of course you can’t see past the cervix! 2-3 months went by when my body was screaming out to me with symptoms! I was bleeding almost everyday. Got to points where I had to change my tampon and pad every hour with pretty big clots coming through.

Ok…this isn’t a hormone change…I made another appointment and insisted on an ultrasound inside my uterus. This was done in August 2021…a month before our wedding. And they did find a “mass” visual inside my uterus. They said, oh it might just be a polyp or fibroids. With my lynch, I had a feeling it was more since my mother had both colon and uterine cancer. The next step was an endometrial biopsy which I decided to do after my wedding. I just didn’t want the results to take away from my big day and having whatever it was be at the forefront of my mind.

After my most beautiful wedding day with the love of my life Andrew, a week after we came back, I was transferred care to Walter Reed Medical National Medical Facility, where they treated patients with Lynch Syndrome and cancer.  We did the endometrial biopsy and they did confirm the mass to be a grade 3 cancer. We did MRI and CT as our next step and those would determine that I would need a radical hysterectomy, and possibly followed by chemotherapy and radiation. After surgery this was solidified as they found the cancer to be Carcinosarcoma Uterine Cancer, a rare and aggressive type.

Before the radical hysterectomy my husband and I decided to go through the IVF process to preserve my eggs for a possibility of children in the future. We are grateful we were able to retrieve 33 mature eggs! The blessing in this process is if we came to a point that we wanted to have children, we could do a test on the embryo to see if it was also had lynch syndrome. My decision so far is if that’s the case I would not bring a child into this world that has to go through what I’m going through. I do hope that just one embryo is Lynch Syndrome free. God willing.

IVF procedure successful. A radical hysterectomy done…I found myself waking up from surgery like I was run over by a truck multiple times. I had my work cut out for me. These next few weeks were what I thought would be the hardest of times!

Then came the start of chemo and menopause symptoms. Let’s say it I didn’t have my faith, I don’t know where I would be right now.

What was your first chemotherapy treatment like? What treatment/treatments did you or are currently undergoing?

Currently I finished my 4th treatment. 6 cycles about 5 hours each, 3 weeks apart. I finished 6 radiation treatments between treatment 3 and 4. Radiation mixed with chemo is definitely not talked about enough. The cumulating effects are real!! You are not alone if you feel defeated. Give yourself grace…this is something I’m battling with each day. Feeling like a shell of myself. But I KNOW through the pain, there is hope, there is a bigger plan. If it’s just to touch one life.

Who did you turn to as your support system?

My faith, my Lord and savior Jesus is my strength. My husband Andrew was a blessing from God, a husband God knew could endure and serve me in this hardship…He is my Godsent Angel and protector. My 1st Phorm Fitness family, that have been there from day 1…family isn’t always blood!

What is something you wished you knew before starting your chemo treatment?

 I wish I didn’t hear other people’s experiences because you expect one thing and get another. I would rather have prepared for the worse and hoped for the best instead of hearing how strong I’ll be and how I’ll breeze through the treatment so beautifully lol if only…I know everyone means to be uplifting and encouraging but it makes you feel alone or that you can’t handle this when you’re not going through it with “grace and beauty”.

Have there been certain side effects that have been worse than others?

Bone and joint pain! Being so active a fitness coach and athlete and then not feeling like you want to move and on couch rest, was pretty discouraging. I expected nausea and hair loss but didn’t expect the bone pain. Also Menopause and the effects on your mental health…losing your hormones and going through the most difficult time of your life and expecting to still cope. Seriously?! Lol I’m laughing now because dang, am I seeing us really being able to endure a lot more than we think! We need more grace. We are true warriors in this battle! Bless your heart if you’re going through feelings of defeat…but knows they are feelings, they will pass…there is so much to look forward to. I feel like we are a Phoenix in this, which is the meaning of my name. As we might feel like we are burning into a shell of ourselves but I know we will rise even stronger than ever, unable to recognize ourselves but seeing one day, just what we were made of and the chance to pass this hope onto others.

What are tips/tricks you have learned along the way to help with chemo side effects?

I give myself some grace to rest, completely rest…the days after my treatment where I feel worse. Exercise has been saving me, but only when I am not feeling bone pain. I don’t put extra stress on my body during these times. My body needs to heal. Light walks were great. Once the bone pain stopped, usually after 7 days, I would incorporate strength training, which helped with my mental health, endorphins, symptoms.

Coconut water when plain water made me gag and tasted like metal. Bubbly water at times with lemon. My gut health routine Opti-Greens 50, this I believe, on top of me tracking my food and making sure I’m getting adequate nutrition, has thankfully kept me from getting sick during my treatments!

Do you recommend any chemo friendly products?

I use a quality protein and gut health routine, you can find a link to free shipping to these in my profile! I consulted my doctor before putting these products back into my routine after surgery. Protein is the building blocks of our cells and key to healing! Sometimes nothing sounds appetizing, that’s were my Level 1 protein smoothies have come clutch.  My Opti-Greens 50 gut health routine I truly believe has kept me from getting sick through out my treatment thus far! Your gut health is the center of everything. Chemo has a big effect on the gut and we need to help ourselves best we can.

Any advice for other chemo patients?

Find support and community. Cry it out when you need to. Give yourself so much grace. Put God first, use God as your strength when you have none.

As a health and fitness coach, I am offering my coaching services to any one battling cancer for FREE if they do not have the means due to medical expenses! It would be my Honor to help support anyone through their journey as I’m going through mine. This serves a bigger purpose for me, it’s honestly a selfish request to help others…it gives me a why to keep pushing through, leading by example and finding strength to take just one step forward when I have nothing left.

I think having someone that knows first hand the battle, is so valuable. I am here and willing if anyone would like a coach, a friend,  a community “Alpha Squad”, that wants to thrive and come out of this the best version of themselves!