Her Fight is Our Fight! Carol Kainz's Battle

A “Thank You” note from Carol:

I am deeply moved by the incredible generosity during this challenging time. The support and compassion mean the world to me, and I cannot find the adequate words to express my gratitude.

 Facing a stage 4 cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly overwhelming, but knowing that I have such a caring community behind me provides strength and comfort. Your donations not only eases the financial burden but also serves as a POWERFUL reminder that I am not alone in this journey. 

 I am sincerely thankful for the kindness and the positive impact it will have on my path to healing. Your thoughts and prayers are felt, and I am humbled by the outpouring of love. 

 My daughter, Alana will keep you updated on my progress via my “caring bridge,” and please know that your support is a beacon of hope during this challenging time. Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart! 

 With heartfelt gratitude, Carol Kainz

Update from Alana on diagnosis and treatment plan: 12/5/2023

It was quite a long day for us. We were at the cancer institute for 3+ hours but now we finally have a plan. I tried breaking it down in the simplest terms to make it easy to understand. 

Type of Cancer: Stage 4 Gallbladder Cancer It was diagnosed stage 4 based on the spread. The cancer was in the gallbladder and is now in the bile duct and lymph nodes in the same generalized area. She also has a small spot on her L4 (lumber spine). 
 

Treatment: She will have 8 rounds of chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. She will go once every other week for four months for treatment, but have labs and doctor follow ups in between.  Her treatments with be done in Brownstown but all follow up appointments will be with her oncologist downtown.  At every treatment she will get both chemotherapy medications along with the immunotherapy medication. This will all be done by IV. She does not need a port. After her four months of treatment, she will then do a month of strictly immunotherapy.  She will get scans every couple months to check the status of the cancer which will then determine the next stage of treatment. The two types of chemotherapy are Cisplatin and Gemcitabine (Gemzar) and the immunotherapy is Durvalumab (Imfinzi).  The most common side effects are fatigue, nausea and vomiting. We got conflicted responses on hair loss, but every person is different. The first few days after her treatment will be the hardest but then she’ll start feeling better. The first couple of treatments will show which side effects she may potentially have.  
 Based on the spot on her lower back, we are waiting for an appointment with a radiation oncologist to determine a treatment plan for that. It is possible she will need targeted radiation for that area but this is all just speculation until we meet with the radiation oncologist.  
 In reference to the chemotherapy treatment, we are hoping to get started within the next few weeks.  During her treatment, she will be very immunocompromised so it is VERY IMPORTANT that if you plan on visiting you are not sick or haven’t been around anyone who is sick. If my mom gets sick, she’s likely to get an infection and will most likely be hospitalized. This is not a risk we are willing to take, so even if you have the sniffles from “allergies”, we ask that you be respectful and stay home until you are feeling better. Once treatment starts, if you’d like to visit, please reach out to my mom or I before just popping in. Proper rest is going to be crucial during this time.  
 

The Dreaded Prognosis: Dr. Diab (Oncologist) would not put a number on life expectancy and said “only the man upstairs has that plan.” If you google, which I’m sure we’ve all done enough off, statistics say the life expectancy is 5 years. However, my mom has a lot in her favor: young, healthy, active, etc. so we are not focusing on what Google says and remaining hopeful and positive that she will beat this.   How is my mom? This has been a month of information overload and a ton to digest, but my mom is handling everything very well. As you can expect, she is very scared, is not ready for heaven and is determined to fight and beat this. She has a very optimistic outlook on this. I wholeheartedly feel that nothing will keep her down.  


 As you all can imagine, this has been an extremely challenging time for our entire family. This diagnosis is something that flips your world upside down in a matter of minutes and if your family is ever experienced this, my heart is with you.  I cannot express how thankful, grateful and appreciative we are for the outpour of support and love we have received. PLEASE keep it coming. We have a long, tough road ahead of us and the more support and positive power we have the better.

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Nina Hughes (Vitale), I am Carol Kainz’s niece. Last week our family was completely shattered as my beloved Aunt Carol was diagnosed with Stage 3 Gallbladder Cancer.

If you know my Aunt Carol, then you already know how blessed you are to have her in your life. She is the absolute best mom to her 4 daughters - Alana, Arianna, Alyssa and Alea, and the best “B” to her grandchildren JT, Julianna, and Kade. Growing up she was like a second mother to me and my sisters, and played such a substantial part in our lives. There is quite literally no one else in this world like her, and this tiny paragraph will not even begin to scratch the surface as to the kind of person she is.

My Aunt Carol has the biggest, most beautiful heart, the brightest spirit, and a spunk I can’t even begin to describe. She would give the clothes off her back to a complete stranger, and is constantly putting others' needs before her own. As of late, she has been dealt some very unfortunate cards.

After not feeling well for a few weeks, she was sent to the hospital to where they then diagnosed her with Gallbladder stones. She had surgery that day to remove her Gallbladder. The hospital said she would recover within a few days, and be able to return to work on Monday. She continued to feel worse and worse, and noticed her color beginning to change. She made an immediate appointment with her surgeon, and was then informed that her pathology report showed cancer.

After a torturous weekend of not having any additional answers, she returned to the hospital Monday as she was informed there was a blockage in her Bile Duct. They performed an ERCP to put a stent into her Bile Duct and Pancreas to allow bile to continue to flow through. Following that procedure, she met with her surgeon the next day who then diagnosed her with Stage 3 Gallbladder cancer. He informed her that the blockage was actually a tumor that is cancerous, and has potentially spread to her liver. She has an MRI Tuesday to determine next steps and create a surgical care plan to remove the cancer. As of now, outside of her next surgery, we do not know what her treatment plan will consist of but her doctors are currently recommending chemotherapy, and we do know she has a very long fight ahead of her.

After working 25+ years at ADP she was unfortunately laid off unexpectedly. She had just started a new job about a month ago that she is so excited about, but unfortunately due to this diagnosis we are not sure what her future looks like in terms of energy levels/doctors appointments/etc. At this point, we are hoping to alleviate some of this burden and provide her some sort of financial relief to help get her and her family through this difficult time.

My Aunt Carol is a fighter and loved by so many, we are confident she will get through this and will cross each checkpoint with her head held high. Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers during this very difficult time.