Help Ashley Beat Thyroid Cancers Butt
Donation protected
Hello .... Through the tears this took me awhile , but here I go !!! As many of you know, my beautiful babygirl Ashley Marie discovered a lump in her neck located in her thyroid area back in July of 2023. After voicing this to two doctors, they chose to “examine” the lump but said there was nothing to be alarmed about since she had normal thyroid levels and “felt nothing.” During her visits, Ashley expressed the symptoms she was experiencing those also were being ignored since the labs came back normal and was told the symptoms were just post partum from having two children 13 months apart. Basically saying my babygirl was " CRAZY " and a " HYPOCHONDRIAC !!! At that point, she decided to became her own advocate since her symptoms were worsening and she knew HER BODY the best !!! She kept pushing for answers until finally an ultrasound was ordered to “ease her mind.” She was even continuously having dreams that she had cancer and it truly made her want to fight harder.
During that time, unfortunate events occurred at her work place and as the fighter we know she is, she kept fighting for some understanding but instead was pushed out of her career and had to leave her employer of almost 10 years. She then officially become a full time stay at home mom to her 4 beautiful babies . This was only supposed to be temporary. During that time, her symptoms kept progressing and the lump was getting bigger in size. After losing all her benefits, she had to wait until she was accepted new insurance to finally able to get the ultrasound done. February 2024, the Ultrasound of the thyroid was done and within an hour of leaving the facility, she got a call with unexpected news that they found a level 4 and level 5 thyroid nodule (1 measuring at 3.0 cm, the other 2.2 cm) on the left lobe of her thyroid that needed to be biopsied as soon as possible. Never having a biopsy done before, she was full of mixed emotions.
Anxiously waiting over a week for the results, on March 18th, 2024 she received the call she was dreading. It had been confirmed that her official diagnosis was papillary thyroid carcinoma, a very slow spreading cancer but also very common which was news to me. It was explained that the possibility of it spreading was slim to none and that IF it did spread, it would be only to its “neighbor” which are the lymph nodes. The attitude she endured towards everything was this is very common and “not a big deal.” The doctors ordered another ultrasound of the neck tissue to investigate all lymph nodes in the neck to see if it did spread or not. Which the findings yet again were not what we expected. There were enlarged lymph nodes, concerning of necrosis (which means dead tissue) and metastatic disease detected all on the left side. Another biopsy was performed on the concerning lymph nodes which gave confirmation that the cancer did indeed spread to her lymph nodes.
On April 5th, her diagnosis was now changed to metastatic papillary thyroid cancer. On May 17th, 2024, she went under what was scheduled to be a 5 1/2 hour surgery and ended as a 7 hour surgery due to the severity of how much it spread once the Surgeons opened her up. They proceeded to perform a total thyroidectomy, a neck dissection to perform a lymphadenectomy (removal of lymph nodes), performing each level of the lodes in the neck. Majority of the left side was caked with cancer. The depths that the surgeon had to go through to make sure he removed majority of it was quite a challenge. The main muscle in her neck had to physically be moved in order to reach spots it had spread too. It was also latching onto her carotid artery in which they had to physically scrap off. The final pathology report post surgery confirmed that all that was successfully removed ALL came back positive as metastatic papillary cancer.
This was her very first surgery and HOLY CRAP it was WHOPPER !! The surgeon himself continues to voice the difficulty he went through during the process. Luckily, the surgery was majority a success as he tried getting as much as he could out. During post surgery, other scans that were performed showed that there is cancer still present located under the incision.
Ashley is now working with an oncologist whom she feels absolutely comfortable with. He has been very thorough regarding every little step they’ll need to take moving forward. The next step will be another scan of the neck as Dr explained he is concerned of possible spreading to the right side which he wants to avoid as much as possible. On July 8th, Ashley had a follow up ultrasound of the neck. Her oncologist called and stated there are now not one that was discovered prior but two lesions now on the left side. Dr informed her he’s been speaking to her surgeon and they were discussing whether or not to operate on her neck again to remove the lesions. But since she’s dealing with complications after the first surgery, they’ve decided to hold off on that for now and move forward to step 1. She was given the go ahead to schedule the Radiation Pill for August 9th.
However, if it does not cure that, then they’ll be planning to do another neck dissection surgery to remove the lesions. Although we hear nothing but great success regarding the pill, this is still a scary, anxious time for us all. The oncologist has prepared her to look at this is a long JOURNEY ahead of her rather than “one and done.” The most surprising information he gave her was that with how big the size of the tumor was, she most likely has had this specific cancer in her body for almost a DECADE which was highly unknown about. Dr suggested to have more tests done to make sure no other differential cancer cells are present in the body.
Going through such a traumatic surgery, Ashley is now being evaluated as having possible nerve damage in her neck and arm. She is incapable of using her left arm as much as before as it loses strength, develops numbness/tingling, severe pain which concludes her inability to move it at all. Luckily, she has started physical therapy for six weeks in hopes of finding more answers and to regain any strength lost.
Although, her options are very limited at this time. Any activities prior to surgery like house work, picking up her children, etc has now decreased down to 60% .And if you know my babygirl this is a tough one !! She keeps a beautiful home , I honestly could eat off her floor lol !! And she is a hands on AMAZING MOMMY !! A heartwarming little story ... Her Boys had a Minecraft computer presentation at school 7 days after her surgery. We had to sit them down to talk about why she wouldn't be there and it was just going to be Grandma attending. My Babygirl got up and I helped her shower and She surprised them . There were a lot of "HAPPY TEARS " that day !! She couldn't stay long but we were able to bring the boys back home with Us !!
As a Mother it's devastating to watch her hurting , I can't fix it !! It has been very hard but everyday she continues to fight. If you truly know Ashley, she has never been the type to ask for help, she’s always been the one who wanted to help others . She’s struggling everyday knowing she can’t do as much as she wishes she could. She has always been such a hard worker . Unfortunately, due to more down time, doctors appts, kids appts, body scans, no specific confirmation on how long this journey will go for. She has applied for disability for the time being which is waiting for approval but is only temporary. However, that’s going to take about 3-6 months to kick in. I am extremely proud that she continues to stay on top of things, and to be the best mother to her beautiful babies.
That being said, I am sincerely asking our friends, family, loved ones, supporters and all to please consider helping my girl and her amazing family during this difficult time. Whether it’s prayers, donations or even just spreading the word, it would mean so much to us.
Although we are very blessed that this cancer can be treatable, it doesn’t defeat the purpose that once you hear the C word, your whole world changes in a blink of an eye. She’s only 31 years old with 4 beautiful babies . She has an entire life ahead of her and she has her two little soldiers who help their momma tremendously. Please continue to pray with us as this is a long bump in the road that is truly dragging her down mentally, emotionally and physically. No one in this world ever deserves to go through something like this. The lack of empathy from specialists and/or people in general has been very limited since all they state is she’s got the “good” cancer in her body. There is NO such thing as “good cancer”.. cancer is cancer and we’re going to continue to pray each day for a better outcome because we know in our hearts that’s what’s going to happen.
Thank you all so much who have personally contacted our family and who’s continued to pray for her. The amount of support has truly been so much appreciated. God bless all of you and help my babygirl heal from all the pain.
If you’d like to donate personally to Ashley, please contact her or I for any information including zelle, venmo, cashapp, address, etc.. Even a message to brighten up her day is all it takes. Unfortunately, with social media these days, there’s always assumptions and/or judgements. I wanted to point out that my baby girl will be enjoying her second home away from home with her family as their very first family vacation together. They are going down to Branson Missouri to see their beautiful GRAMS / GIGI ❤️ This was a gift from family members coming together knowing that this special place would put the sparkle back in her eyes , calm her soul and let us see that TRUE amazing smile .
After the hard year she’s been through, starting with losing the number one man in her life (my father) and then discovering the news within the same year, we felt she deserved this tremendously and needed the relaxation. Donating is truly JUST an OPTION !! Sharing her story is what really made us want to do this. If anyone else is going through any type of Illness or just feeling not right . Please just know you’re not alone. God Bless and All My Love , Gina xoxo
If you’d like to donate to Ashley personally at:
Venmo: @Ashley-Harden-26
Zelle: her cell phone number (contact if needed)
If you’d also like to send her words of encouragement, please text or message me for her address ❤️
If you’d like to donate to Ashley personally at:
Venmo: @Ashley-Harden-26
Zelle: her cell phone number (contact if needed)
If you’d also like to send her words of encouragement, please text or message me for her address ❤️
Organizer
Gina Peabody
Organizer
Lake in the Hills, IL