Jerome's Journey

A Journey of Affliction Our Story My name is Jennifer Branham; I am the wife and primary care-giver for my husband, Jerome Branham. Jerome is currently being treated for metastatic prostate carcinoma STAGE IV. Jerome is a man of wisdom who is currently writing a second book that speaks to men and women who are or may share similar life experiences he has had. His inspiration comes from the affliction he has with the dreaded disease…….cancer. This affliction has drawn us closer, because we only have each other. Our love has grown to new levels, causing our faith to become stronger day after day. After being re-diagnosed, we have formed new relationships and restored and rebuilt old ones. We say…….”What the enemy meant for bad; God has turned it for our good!” Our support system has been our faith in God, our church, family and friends. We have received financial, physical, moral and spiritual support since January 2017; not to mention the new relationships with people we never imagine cared so much for us. Jerome has been an inspiration to me and so many others throughout what he calls a “light affliction.” Surprisingly, the story goes on with a bone scan and another CT scan revealing that cancer cells have spread throughout Jerome’s lymphatic system and in his bones. We have sustained financially, as much as we possibly can, but with concurring health care premiums, medical bills and the next few months full of unexpectancies, we are reaching out to our extended family and friends for support.  We no longer have dental insurance and in order to treat the cancer cells in the bones, Jerome must have a dental clearance, the clearance will allow him to receive a specific drug treatment. Cost for the dental was clearly not in our budget. The clearance will determine which medication is necessary to treat him. He recently began a stronger chemotherapy treatment, although he is weaker, his faith and determination stronger. Jerome has a strong will to live and he is a living example of what having a positive attitude towards this dreaded disease can be and has been for others. This year in August will be 12 years that we have been married and with 19 years between us in age, I know that God placed us together for such a time as this………….to take care of one another. We want to live our lives to be a blessing to others who are experiencing similar experiences and to pour into them with the testimony of how with God's help, our destiny is already pre-determined. It is up to us how we live out the rest of our lives and that is because “We” have cancer; cancer does not have us!" We have our faith and the love of others and we can look this adversity in the face and know that no matter what anyone says; God has the final say in the matter. So if there is anything that we can do or anyone can help us to do it would be to ensure that Jerome continues to receive quality health care and that he experiences the quality of life in his golden years, until God calls him home. Right now our medical bills have exceeded $2,500 and they are continuing to climb. This was a hard decision to make; to ask others for help, but to us this is a matter of life and death......and we choose LIFE! It is my desire that I also continue to stay healthy, mind, body and soul as I continue to provide the best care that I can as I remain by his side. There is so much more to our story that hasn’t been revealed, because our story isn’t over.