In Memory of Jessica Kahana

My name is Andrea McMacken, and I am Jessica Kahana’s sister and speaking on behalf of her family. Jessica, bravely passed away on Thursday, March 2, 2023 after a 5 week stay at Fox Chase Cancer Center fighting all the way to the end. She was diagnosed last December with Triple Negative Breast Cancer at the age of 34. Too young to ever receive a mammogram, given the fact that our mother also passed away from breast cancer at the age 57, Jessica found a lump while holding our nephew. She went in to have it looked at and 2 days before Christmas 2021, was told that she had cancer. We had hope, as she was only stage 1. She had a double mastectomy, followed by 16 weeks of intensive chemotherapy and then 5 weeks of everyday radiation. We were all optimistic as she had her port removed on 12/19/22 and we celebrated her being “Cancer Free”. On Christmas morning, Jessica woke up in pain. She was excited to celebrate Christmas and to have finally beaten this brutal disease. The next day, she went to the hospital where they ran scans and had determined that the cancer had returned. She then began rounds of chemo again and became really weak. She needed to be admitted to the hospital for dehydration. This was the beginning of her 5 week stay at Fox Chase. We found out that the cancer had metastasized to her liver. She fought like hell to stay here with her family. Her babies are just 3 and 1 years old. Jessica has always wanted to be a mother. This was a path that was hard for her as well. Her husband Henry and her were so delighted to have a family. They were just starting out as a family, when this disease took over. We are reaching out on behalf of my niece, nephew, and brother in law to ask for donations to help support their family. Your donations are being asked to raise money for the ongoing medical bills, and over a month stay in the hospital, funeral expenses, and both childrens' future educations. She was a passionate person in life and we want her children to know how much love there was for her.