We have been BUSY since February. We have helped 15 families thus far this year. Our funds were raised from blacklight gauntlets at every location, burpee challenges, the golf outing, DBBB merchandise sales, the and the Irish Fest 5k!! I would sincerely like to thank each and every one of you who participated in these events or donated to our cause. You each hold a very special place in my heart. DBBB wouldn't exist without all of you. I am beyond excited to see how we finish the rest of the year.
I am going to post backgrounds about the families we have helped in rounds since we have helped so many. Some families have chosen to keep their story private. Please continue to pray for all of these families!
Kellie Leasure
Kellie’s story started before the birth of their youngest child, Chelsea, who is now 4 years old (Kellie and her husband, Chris, have 4 children-Chris, Annie, Elise, and Chelsea). Kellie was not feeling herself, experiencing bone pain and extreme exhaustion. She went to the doctor on multiple occasions, but at each visit, she was told she was fine and just feeling the effects of pregnancy. Before this time, Kellie had also felt a lump in her breast but was told it was not cancer, just scar tissue. Several months after experiencing these symptoms, Chris and Kellie’s beautiful daughter, Chelsea was born! Shortly after Chelsea’s birth, Kellie felt a swollen lymph node and was told to delay another mammogram (Kellie has always been adamant about getting regular mammograms) because she was breastfeeding. Not long after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Originally misdiagnosed at a lesser stage, Kellie ultimately found out she had Stage 4 breast cancer (breast cancer that has metastasized elsewhere and is not curable). She underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and a mastectomy at the Mayo Clinic, where she is currently being treated.
Over the past year, Kellie has been through more ups and downs. In addition to the stress of having to go to Mayo frequently for scans, test, checkups, treatments, etc., Kellie found out last fall she had a brain tumor. Unsure if it was cancer or not, Kellie had gamma knife surgery. The lesion was found to be a benign meningioma, Praise the Lord! Flash forward a few months later, more testing revealed that Kellie had lesions on her kidney. She underwent ANOTHER surgery and found out that she had primary kidney cancer (unrelated to breast cancer). Thankfully, surgery was the “only” treatment needed.
As of late, Kellie has struggled (although those who know her knows she hides it well!!). She has had debilitating pain over the past few months. Kellie has remained positive and refrains from complaining. She is clearly the strongest woman ever! After more testing to try to find the source of her pain, she received news that she has tumors on her spine and femur. The next course of action is to have radiation, surgery at Mayo on September 6 to take out the tumors and fuse parts of her vertebrae, and more radiation a month or so following surgery. Her doctors are all teaming up and trying to treat this terrible disease as aggressively as possible!!! **UPDATE: The surgery went great!
Kellie has been very vocal and adamant about several things since during her journey.
1: Be your own advocate. If you know something is not right with your body, you need to advocate for yourself. Get 2,3, 5, 10 different opinions and keep searching for an answer. Don’t get written off.
2: Mammograms do not detect disease for everyone!!! Some women have dense breast tissues, and mammograms may miss cancer in these women. She has been pushing for the “Dense Breast Bill” which would allow women to get MRI’s/additional diagnostic testing instead of mammograms to help catch cancer early. In Kellie’s case, doctors mentioned that she had dense breasts, but no one ever ordered additional imaging. Had this been the case, the cancer likely would have been detected much sooner, and she likely would not have to be dealing with all that she is.
3: Stay positive—dance in the rain! One thing is for sure about Kellie-she’s astonishingly positive. She chooses to find joy and light in even the darkest circumstances. This positivity can do so much for one’s mental and physical well-being!
4: Trust in the Lord Jesus and have Faith!!! Without Christ, we are nothing. He walks with us in the best of times and the worst of times. He never leaves nor forsakes us!! Trust that the Lord will see you though and hold your hand the entire way. (Isaiah 41:10-“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”)
5: Believe in miracles. Yes, God performs miracles daily, and we should believe that He can heal us, even if science tells us it’s impossible.
Please visit Kellie's GoFundMe Page https://www.gofundme.com/SupportTheLeasures
Angela Owen
Last December I went in to my gynecologist for a routine pap smear and check up. It had been 3 years since my son was born, and was time to get it done. I went in that day feeling healthy as ever, and never expected the outcome that came from that appointment. My doctor felt something in my left breast that she didn't like, and referred me over to the breast clinic for a mammogram. What she felt was not a "lump." I don't know what she felt, because I myself could not feel it! She told me not to panic, it was probably nothing, but we should get it checked out just to be safe. Three days later, I went in at the age of 33 and had my 1st mammogram (which I never planned on having til I was 40 like they recommend). After my mammogram, I had an ultrasound, and received the most shocking news of my life. I will never forget the radiologists words as he said them. He said "This looks very much like breast cancer, and I am very concerned about it." After 2 weeks of tests, biopsies, mri's, and appointments with oncologists and breast surgeons, I was diagnosed with Grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. I had 8.5cm of cancerous mass in my left breast, and it had spread to 1 of my lymph nodes. On December 30th, just 20 days after being diagnosed I started chemotherapy. I was terrified of what my future held that day, but I knew I was going to fight my ass off to live! I was not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. My husband Ryan and our 2 children Kyla (6) and Cruze (4) are my whole world and I will be apart of it! I was not ready to give up on them. I started a blog to keep my family, friends, and loved ones informed of my progress. I wasn't sure if I should go public with my journey, but it was the best thing I ever did!! By simply posting my blog on facebook, I received so much love and support from many! I was relieved that I admitted to myself and to the world that I had Cancer. It helped me to talk about my feelings, and I even think it helped my friends and loved ones understand what I was going thru.
I completed chemotherapy on April 14th. I lost my hair, was very sick, but I lived each day like I did not have cancer. I went to work as much as possible, kept a positive attitude, and was open and honest with everyone about what was going on with me. Nothing good ever comes out of a negative attitude, so I was not going to let my cancer get the best of me... no way!! On May 25th I had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery at the University of Iowa. My results from surgery were nothing but positive!! that 8.5cm of cancerous mass was gone (all but less than 1mm of mass was left. they removed 7 of my lymph nodes and they were all negative for cancer. My chemotherapy did exactly what it was supposed to and KILLED MY CANCER!! Today, I am in the beginning stages of radiation. I have had one week of radiation so for, and no side effects yet. I will continue to do radiation for 5.5 more weeks. My last radiation treatment will be August 24th. I also still receive an infusion drug every 3 weeks called Herceptin that I will receive until the end of the year. I have been thru the worst part and I am getting so close to the finish line.
Many who know me, tell me often that they don't feel like I really have cancer. That is because I refuse for it to change how I handle each and everyday. I learned that through chemotherapy that I felt better physically and mentally if I continued to carry on with life as is. So I got up and went to work everyday, and I parented my children the same. I never wanted to worry my family so I kept life as normal as possible for my children and everyone that I love. No way am I going to let Breast Cancer take my life away from me. I am not ready yet, I love life, and I am blessed with happiness. I try to share my story through my blog not only to communicate how I am doing, but also to support others going through tragedy. I could not have gotten through this experience without my family, friends, neighbors, and supporters. The only way I know how to pay it forward is to do the same to others who need support, and that is what I intend to do. Thank you so much Do.Better.Be.Better. This organization is exactly what I want to live by after being told I have cancer. I fully understand that I am not the only one who has been through something like this, and I just want to support others.
Please visit Angela's blog http://takingonanewchallenge.blogspot.com/
Sincerely,
Angela Owen
No comments:
Post a Comment