Cancer WON'T steal our Joy!
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I HATE cancer!!! It has taken so much away from Anni and it has defined and ruled our lives for the last 8 years. Anni's story is to follow, but this information is about the BLESSINGS God has brought to our family. After we lost our home in November, we were able to move to Malaga and were blessed to have some wonderful Christians help us with our rent payment. Anni hasn't had to have a major surgery since half of her left lung was removed. Because of God blessing us with people like you, we've been able to reduce our monthly debt load that gives us more opportunity to have a quality of life. Our medical bills will ALWAYS be there, but with God's faithfulness, I know we will make it. Thank you so much for considering our plea.
Cancer is ugly. We've lost our house, our quality of life and medical bills are phenomenal.
My wife Anni was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2007. The initial surgery was a lumpectomy, but the margins weren't clear, so there was a second surgery to perform a mastectomy. Chemo followed for a year and then reconstructive surgery (nine of them) for the next seven months. The chemotherapy drained all energy from her and it took her from our family.
In June, 2009, Anni was diagnosed a second time with metastatic cancer in her lymph nodes. Surgery followed to remove the lymph nodes from under her right arm. This was followed by physical therapy for lymphoma, stronger chemo (with more side effects) for a year and this time in addition, radiation for the first three months of that treatment. During this period of time she also had a hysterectomy under the recommendation of her gynecologist and in December of 2009, she underwent surgery again to repair a defective implant and chose to have Tram Flap surgery under the advice of her surgeon, instead of just replacing the implant. All this was done while still being infused with Herceptin (chemotherapy). She was sick all of the time during this.
Her chemotherapy treatment ended in June of 2011. The cancer was gone and her strength was very slowly beginning to return. She even tried to go back to work for a few hours a week, though we could all tell it was agonizing to her. Then in a routine follow up exam, the doctors discovered a spot on her left lung. A biopsy was performed and it came back positive for cancer. This was her third diagnosis and it was followed by a lobectomy removing half of her left lung. This surgery was brutal because they removed the lung through the back, requiring part of a rib to be cut away. This was then followed by a stronger regiment of chemo for another year that was administered at the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Goodyear, Arizona. I thought I had seen her at her worst, but I couldn't have prepared myself for what this chemotherapy did to her. She was immobilized.
Her treatment finally ended in September of 2012, her cancer was again gone and her strength once again had started to return. She pushed herself to work some, though it took everything she had to do it. My heart is heavy that she felt responsible for the financial burden we are experiencing. In January of 2013, Anni went in for her first quarterly checkup and they discovered two tiny spots on her other lung, as well as a spot on her pelvic bone. They were too small to biopsy, so we had to wait until April 11 to have tests done on it. As you can imagine, that was an agonizing time.
When the Cancer Treatment Center did a biopsy on the lung in April they found the cancer had returned for a fourth time. Anni has been in treatment now for four months and the spots have reduced in size and we praise God for that. We're hoping within a year, she'll be cancer free.
During all of this however, our beautiful 13 year old daughter had to have a spinal fusion surgery to stop her acute scoliosis. Two titanium rods were put in her back at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Though her surgery was July 26th, she's doing incredibly well. She has danced for over ten years and her core strength was an incredible benefit to her recovery. We're hoping she will be able to dance again.
I'm fully employed as a Worship Pastor in East Wenatchee, WA. It's not enough to have any quality of life and we need to find somewhere to live as our home of ten years was foreclosed on. The things we physically possess are all we have. God has removed my pride and I need help: Would you please prayerfully consider helping?
God's Blessings, Jeff Parker
Cancer is ugly. We've lost our house, our quality of life and medical bills are phenomenal.
My wife Anni was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2007. The initial surgery was a lumpectomy, but the margins weren't clear, so there was a second surgery to perform a mastectomy. Chemo followed for a year and then reconstructive surgery (nine of them) for the next seven months. The chemotherapy drained all energy from her and it took her from our family.
In June, 2009, Anni was diagnosed a second time with metastatic cancer in her lymph nodes. Surgery followed to remove the lymph nodes from under her right arm. This was followed by physical therapy for lymphoma, stronger chemo (with more side effects) for a year and this time in addition, radiation for the first three months of that treatment. During this period of time she also had a hysterectomy under the recommendation of her gynecologist and in December of 2009, she underwent surgery again to repair a defective implant and chose to have Tram Flap surgery under the advice of her surgeon, instead of just replacing the implant. All this was done while still being infused with Herceptin (chemotherapy). She was sick all of the time during this.
Her chemotherapy treatment ended in June of 2011. The cancer was gone and her strength was very slowly beginning to return. She even tried to go back to work for a few hours a week, though we could all tell it was agonizing to her. Then in a routine follow up exam, the doctors discovered a spot on her left lung. A biopsy was performed and it came back positive for cancer. This was her third diagnosis and it was followed by a lobectomy removing half of her left lung. This surgery was brutal because they removed the lung through the back, requiring part of a rib to be cut away. This was then followed by a stronger regiment of chemo for another year that was administered at the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Goodyear, Arizona. I thought I had seen her at her worst, but I couldn't have prepared myself for what this chemotherapy did to her. She was immobilized.
Her treatment finally ended in September of 2012, her cancer was again gone and her strength once again had started to return. She pushed herself to work some, though it took everything she had to do it. My heart is heavy that she felt responsible for the financial burden we are experiencing. In January of 2013, Anni went in for her first quarterly checkup and they discovered two tiny spots on her other lung, as well as a spot on her pelvic bone. They were too small to biopsy, so we had to wait until April 11 to have tests done on it. As you can imagine, that was an agonizing time.
When the Cancer Treatment Center did a biopsy on the lung in April they found the cancer had returned for a fourth time. Anni has been in treatment now for four months and the spots have reduced in size and we praise God for that. We're hoping within a year, she'll be cancer free.
During all of this however, our beautiful 13 year old daughter had to have a spinal fusion surgery to stop her acute scoliosis. Two titanium rods were put in her back at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Though her surgery was July 26th, she's doing incredibly well. She has danced for over ten years and her core strength was an incredible benefit to her recovery. We're hoping she will be able to dance again.
I'm fully employed as a Worship Pastor in East Wenatchee, WA. It's not enough to have any quality of life and we need to find somewhere to live as our home of ten years was foreclosed on. The things we physically possess are all we have. God has removed my pride and I need help: Would you please prayerfully consider helping?
God's Blessings, Jeff Parker
Organizer
Jeff Parker
Organizer
Wenatchee, WA
