Brandi has always been very healthy. Cancer was never something we had really
thought about or worried our family would be dealing with. No one in our immediate
family had ever had Cancer...not parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces,
nephews....so it was never on our radar. Well, that all changed a little over a month
ago.
Our story begins on July 24 th when Brandi called that she had a pain in her lower side
and she was headed to an Urgent Care Center. The doctor thought it was a simple
infection that needed to be treated with an antibiotic. Since she was running a low
grade fever, he wanted her to go to the ER for a CT scan. The scan was just a
precaution to rule out anything serious. She and Jason went to the hospital and the
doctor at the Emergency Room ordered a CT scan and said when they got the results,
she would give her a prescription for an antibiotic and she would be on her way. When
the Doctor came into the room with the results of the scan, she sat down on a stool and
moved over and looked Brandi in the eye. Immediately, she knew something was
wrong. The doctor was very compassionate and told her that the pain was caused by
an ovarian cyst that would resolve on its own and required no treatment. She went on
to say that the scan showed something of concern…she thought that Brandi had
lymphoma. With those words, all of our lives were about to change!
Brandi and Jason went home in shock and talked most of the night. They used those
hours to be in disbelief, ask why, be angry and feel sorry for themselves. The next
morning they got up and even though they were scared, they called everyone in the
family to share the news…we were all in disbelief. Brandi no longer felt sorry for
herself, she was ready to be strong and fight.
The next day, Brandi made an appointment with a doctor to begin the process. She
was referred to Texas Oncology where she was fortunate to get a wonderful doctor that
immediately made her feel comfortable. The doctor explained that the scan showed
that she may have Lymphoma, but we needed a needle biopsy of her Lymph nodes to
confirm the diagnosis and know exactly what we were dealing with and develop a
treatment plan. The needle biopsy was done on August 11. The following week, the
doctor called with the formal diagnosis, Brandi had a rare and aggressive form of
Lymphoma, known as:
ALK anaplastic large cell Lymphoma and was stage 3
She explained that while this type of Lymphoma is rare, there is a relatively new
treatment that has had very promising results. The last time she had a patient with this
diagnosis, there was no treatment and feels very optimistic for a positive
outcome. Brandi was stage 3 because the cancer was both above and below her
diaphragm. So this began our journey of preparing for "BRANDI’S FIGHT"! It began
with numerous office visits, bone marrow and skin biopsies, scans, heart tests, having a
port installed, visits on nutrition and general health, and how and what to prepare for.
Everything was moving so fast to make sure Brandi was healthy enough for the
medicines that would help her win this fight.
Finally, the day we had been waiting for, September 8, the day Brandi’s fight officially
began....her first Chemo treatment! She is scheduled to have 8 treatments, 3 weeks
apart. Because of her anemia, she will also have iron infusions every week along with
lab tests to monitor her overall health. This has all been overwhelming, but with each
visit/treatment, we feel one step closer to beating this horrible disease and getting
Brandi’s health and all of our lives back.
On a brighter note, we can't even begin to express our gratitude for the prayers,
cards, words of kindness and encouragement, and meals (they have especially loved
those). Most of all, the stories from other Cancer survivors that have comforted us,
helped Brandi, Jason and the girls understand their fears and concerns, letting us all
know what to expect, and helping us to support Brandi in her FIGHT of this horrible
disease.
We want to help Brandi and Jason with medical expenses not covered by insurance as
well as deductible and out of pocket expenses. Any contributions, prayers or words of
encouragement will be greatly appreciated. We are all in this together and “The FIGHT”
continues!
You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice. – Bob Marley
Organized by: Laura Landrum and Beverly Stringer