Help Chantay Fight Cancer

Hi my name is Kendra and I am raising money for my sister, Chantay.

 

Chantay is 41 and is a devoted and loving mother to 6 beautiful children, a loving sister and daughter. 

 

On July 28, 2023, her world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with a rare type of colon cancer at Stage 4A, which has spread to her ovaries, and lymph nodes. 

 

Let me tell you how it all started and how it brought all of us to a halt. It really makes you think about life and how precious it is and reminds us not to take any of it for granted. 

 

In May 2023 Chantay ended up going into the hospital because she had really bad stomach pains and it wouldn’t go away. They did a test and saw it was appendicitis and that one ovary had a cyst on it (which is not abnormal so they didn’t think anything of it). They booked her in for surgery and when they took the appendix out it had a polyp on it. When she was recovering from surgery she ended up going septic and was on IV antibiotics and pain killers daily in the hospital for about a week. 

 

About a couple months later Chantay was still not feeling normal and was still in pain. She went back to the hospital in the middle of July and they decided to start from scratch with tests. They did a Colonoscopy and another CT Scan. During her Colonoscopy there were lots of polyps and they were able to take out 10, leaving more to be removed at a later date. There was also a mass in her colon that they couldn’t biopsy because of where it was located. They found that the cyst on the ovary was bigger and there was now another one on the other ovary. 

 

The decision was made to take the lump out of her colon and remove both ovaries. The recovery from this surgery was not easy. She was in a lot of pain and was in the hospital for a week. The test results came back as cancer in the colon, which had spread to her ovaries and lymph nodes. At this point they thought it was the end of Stage 3 Colon Cancer. This was very devastating for all of us and especially her. 

 

We were all in limbo waiting to hear from the oncologist for her appointment to explain things in more detail and find out about treatment options. She couldn’t start any treatment until 6 weeks post surgery to make sure she was strong and healthy enough to go through any treatment. 

 

She got the oncologist appointment on August 29th. That is where we found out it was Stage 4A Colon Cancer. We were also told that it is a very rare form of that cancer and because of this they were not able to give any statistics on her prognosis or how the treatments would work, because there really aren’t many statistics for it. 

 

The reason the cancer spread is that the mass in her colon perforated and was leaking out which caused her to have the appendicitis and that is also how it spread to other organs in her body. The doctor explained all of her options and she chose to start Chemotherapy. She had to wait for her PET scan before she could start her treatment, as this would show if there was anything else going on in the body and to see any biologicals in her system. We were told it could take up to 8 weeks to get the scan; fortunately she was on a cancellation waitlist and was able to get it done on September 1st. 

 

Chantay has been super strong throughout this whole process but also has her moments like we all would and has broken down, has cried and is worried and scared not just for herself but for her children as well. The unknown is scary and she wants to be there for her children when they grow up, to see them graduate, go to college and get married. 

 

Her treatments will consist of 8 rounds of heavy chemotherapy over the course of 6 months. Her first round of Chemotherapy starts September 8th, she will be on a pill form for 2 weeks and every 3 weeks will be her IV. 

 

We are trying to raise some funds for her and her family to help alleviate some of the financial burden and stress as the doctors have advised her that she will likely be unable to work for the foreseeable future. 

Chemotherapy is hard and we need to help Chantay spend her energy on her health, not stressing about the financial implications of this devastating diagnosis. In addition, there are so many considerations for the future that it’s too soon to even think about, but we need to make sure Chantay’s kids are taken care of as well.

Any amount you are able and willing to contribute is so greatly appreciated!! Even if it is just to share this fundraiser and say a prayer for her in this time to give her strength to fight this and for her family.

Our prayers and thoughts are with her through this tough journey she will endure. She is a tough cookie and will get through it with her family there beside her.

Thank you for your support ❤️❤️