Kick cancers a$$
Donation protected
On april 10th this year my mom Jess Beske woke up feeling like she had a bad case of the flu, however it kept getting worse and the worst part was her lungs. She said it was getting painful to breathe and when trying to lay down or move there was sharp pains through her chest. It was difficult for her to even walk up stairs, she would have to stop several times to catch her breath. On the 16th she finally went into the clinic and they did a CT scan and said she had a large pleural effusion on the right lung and a moderate to large effusion on the left lung. The only way to remove the fluid is by getting a thoracentesis where they insert a large needle and use mild suction to pull the fluid out. She had this done the next day to the right lung, they removed 2 liters of fluid from the right lung.
The pain continued to get worse and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe but she was determined to make it through easter as it has always been a holiday that our entire family gets together for. She made it to saturday april 20th, we all went out for breakfast my mom wouldn’t eat and was acting very different, she was confused and repeating herself and not making any sense. My dad left and brought her to the ER she was so weak, tired and we could tell she was in a lot of pain. When they started to examine her they told us that her oxygen levels were in the 60s and they should be above 90%, he said that is what was causing her confusion and weakness. The ER doctor said they did not have the doctors or facilities to treat her so they transferred her to Fargo.
She was in the hospital for five days, her lungs continued to fill with fluid and she had to have many thoracentesis in the right lung and a couple in the left lung. Everyday the doctors updated her but never had a definite diagnosis or reason why her lungs continued to fill with fluid. She was on oxygen all the time now as her levels would drop to the 60s without it. On day 3 the doctor came in and said that she had tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis and the fluid was related to that. The doctors started a treatment plan for RA and then focused on getting her off the oxygen. She was supposed to be discharged the next day but ended up having to stay an additional day due to her oxygen levels still being low and the doctor did not feel comfortable sending her home until the levels were up.
On day 5 she was told everything was good and she was going to be discharged that day. While she waited for the nurse to start her discharge papers, the doctor came in and sat down, she pulled a chair up and told my mom she had some bad news, the results that they had been waiting for from the fluid came back and were positive for cancer. She had no other information about it but said they would do a CT scan of the abdomen to see where the cancer started. My mom was thinking she was going home with RA and now was told she had cancer somewhere that metastasized to her lungs and it was not good. The doctor came back with still very little news but there were areas on her ovaries, in the stomach lining and a suspicious spot on the lung, so ovarian cancer that has metastasized to these areas. So now she would be discharged to follow up with oncology. She was told that it was Stage 4 Ovarian cancer with mets to the stomach lining, cervix, and pleural fluid in the lungs.
She was referred to the U of M to see a gynecological oncologist. The doctor there told her he would do what was called a “bulking” surgery where he would remove everything that was malignant and then that would reduce the fluid in the lungs and keep them from filling with fluid, but she would need chemotherapy after surgery. She had another CT scan that showed there was more than anticipated and it was in the lymph nodes in the lungs so he would maybe only do biopsies instead of the surgery to get a better idea of what was all there. She went for surgery but he was only able to get some biopsies because her lungs were so bad she could not handle being under anesthesia as they had a difficult time getting her extubated and breathing on her own.
There was now a new treatment plan, she needed to have six rounds of chemo then come back and have additional scans and surgery. She started chemo the next week, it went well and seemed to start working right away. She was finally able to start eating as the chemo was killing the cells in the lungs and reducing the fluid, making more room. Her color started coming back and her oxygen levels were going up. She did not have much for side effects the first round just a few days where she was really tired and weak.
She went for her second round of chemo and five minutes into it she couldn’t breathe, it was stopped and she was given benadryl. They said it was a reaction from the chemo so they could not do it that day and said she would be given a different chemo the next week. She has now had six rounds of chemo. So far all of them have gone well, but she has had to miss a few because her blood cell counts were too low.
My mom was told she has stage 4 cancer on April 25th of this year and since that day she has kept her spirits up and always has a smile. Everyday is a “good” day she will tell us whether she is in bed so tired she can barely get up to go to the bathroom or she has energy and is up spending time with her family. She always tells us kids that she looks at this like it is just has a bad disease that she needs to treat by doing whatever the doctors tell her to do to get rid of it. No matter what is going on she just does it and tries to do it with a smile. She was hoping to work after starting chemo but because her lungs are so bad and she continues to need oxygen she had to quit her job and has not worked since april 16th. My dad continues to work and has had to take on more at home. My sisters and brother are good about helping her and around the house but it has been difficult. The medical bills continue to grow. She has had pneumonia as her lungs still are not fully back and it is hard for her to take deep breaths. She continues to need oxygen when she is up and walking or doing any activities, some days are better than others and she was recently in the hospital for four days with aspiration pneumonia.
We are so thankful and blessed for everything everybody has done and is continuing to do!
The pain continued to get worse and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe but she was determined to make it through easter as it has always been a holiday that our entire family gets together for. She made it to saturday april 20th, we all went out for breakfast my mom wouldn’t eat and was acting very different, she was confused and repeating herself and not making any sense. My dad left and brought her to the ER she was so weak, tired and we could tell she was in a lot of pain. When they started to examine her they told us that her oxygen levels were in the 60s and they should be above 90%, he said that is what was causing her confusion and weakness. The ER doctor said they did not have the doctors or facilities to treat her so they transferred her to Fargo.
She was in the hospital for five days, her lungs continued to fill with fluid and she had to have many thoracentesis in the right lung and a couple in the left lung. Everyday the doctors updated her but never had a definite diagnosis or reason why her lungs continued to fill with fluid. She was on oxygen all the time now as her levels would drop to the 60s without it. On day 3 the doctor came in and said that she had tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis and the fluid was related to that. The doctors started a treatment plan for RA and then focused on getting her off the oxygen. She was supposed to be discharged the next day but ended up having to stay an additional day due to her oxygen levels still being low and the doctor did not feel comfortable sending her home until the levels were up.
On day 5 she was told everything was good and she was going to be discharged that day. While she waited for the nurse to start her discharge papers, the doctor came in and sat down, she pulled a chair up and told my mom she had some bad news, the results that they had been waiting for from the fluid came back and were positive for cancer. She had no other information about it but said they would do a CT scan of the abdomen to see where the cancer started. My mom was thinking she was going home with RA and now was told she had cancer somewhere that metastasized to her lungs and it was not good. The doctor came back with still very little news but there were areas on her ovaries, in the stomach lining and a suspicious spot on the lung, so ovarian cancer that has metastasized to these areas. So now she would be discharged to follow up with oncology. She was told that it was Stage 4 Ovarian cancer with mets to the stomach lining, cervix, and pleural fluid in the lungs.
She was referred to the U of M to see a gynecological oncologist. The doctor there told her he would do what was called a “bulking” surgery where he would remove everything that was malignant and then that would reduce the fluid in the lungs and keep them from filling with fluid, but she would need chemotherapy after surgery. She had another CT scan that showed there was more than anticipated and it was in the lymph nodes in the lungs so he would maybe only do biopsies instead of the surgery to get a better idea of what was all there. She went for surgery but he was only able to get some biopsies because her lungs were so bad she could not handle being under anesthesia as they had a difficult time getting her extubated and breathing on her own.
There was now a new treatment plan, she needed to have six rounds of chemo then come back and have additional scans and surgery. She started chemo the next week, it went well and seemed to start working right away. She was finally able to start eating as the chemo was killing the cells in the lungs and reducing the fluid, making more room. Her color started coming back and her oxygen levels were going up. She did not have much for side effects the first round just a few days where she was really tired and weak.
She went for her second round of chemo and five minutes into it she couldn’t breathe, it was stopped and she was given benadryl. They said it was a reaction from the chemo so they could not do it that day and said she would be given a different chemo the next week. She has now had six rounds of chemo. So far all of them have gone well, but she has had to miss a few because her blood cell counts were too low.
My mom was told she has stage 4 cancer on April 25th of this year and since that day she has kept her spirits up and always has a smile. Everyday is a “good” day she will tell us whether she is in bed so tired she can barely get up to go to the bathroom or she has energy and is up spending time with her family. She always tells us kids that she looks at this like it is just has a bad disease that she needs to treat by doing whatever the doctors tell her to do to get rid of it. No matter what is going on she just does it and tries to do it with a smile. She was hoping to work after starting chemo but because her lungs are so bad and she continues to need oxygen she had to quit her job and has not worked since april 16th. My dad continues to work and has had to take on more at home. My sisters and brother are good about helping her and around the house but it has been difficult. The medical bills continue to grow. She has had pneumonia as her lungs still are not fully back and it is hard for her to take deep breaths. She continues to need oxygen when she is up and walking or doing any activities, some days are better than others and she was recently in the hospital for four days with aspiration pneumonia.
We are so thankful and blessed for everything everybody has done and is continuing to do!
Organizer
Mackenzie Beske
Organizer
Fergus Falls, MN