Jamie Kicks Cancer
Donation protected
My sister Jamie is a 44 year old newlywed, proud auntie, pet mom, sister, daughter and friend. For the past nine months, she has been fighting the battle of her life – the fight against cancer.
Let's help Jamie get back on her feet and stay there! She has always been one of the first to help others when they are in need or advocate for various causes. She has been a supporter of St Jude’s Children’s hospital, donated to an annual Lurie Children’s Hospital fundraiser and has participated in many other fundraising activities for others. She has donated blood and platelets at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She has donated her hair several times to different causes that make wigs for children. In fact, she had planned to keep her hair long for her wedding with plans to donate it again afterward, but when she received her own cancer diagnosis, one of the first things she did was donate her hair before chemo could take it away.
If you know Jamie, you know she will do what she can to help someone in need. Now it is our turn to help her.
Throughout this journey, Jamie and Thomas have not asked for any financial help. During the pandemic shut down in 2020, they went from 4 jobs (2 each) to one. In early 2021,they were just starting to get back on their feet and resume their plans: to be married in June (postponed from 2020 due to Covid), enjoy a brief honeymoon, and use wedding gift money to purchase their first home, preferably in Boise, ID. It was at that time Jamie received the cancer diagnosis.
Jamie and Thomas were able to have their wedding and were finally married in June 2021. Due to the cancer and dangers surrounding Covid, doctors’ orders were to limit the attendance to 50 friends and family. Jamie was able to wear a wig to hold her veil and had more energy than anyone expected considering she had already had been through 3 cycles of chemo therapy by that time. The weather was perfect and it was a very special day. But the fight against cancer did not stop. The very next day, Jamie was back at the doctor. They were not able to go on a honeymoon, make the move to Boise or purchase their first home.
The money from wedding gifts went to out-of-pocket and over-the-counter medical costs. Jamie’s short-term disability (now long-term at 60% of her pay in an entry level position) and Thomas’s income have been used toward medical out of pocket expenses along with over the counter medical purchases, gas to get to/from doctor and therapy appointments, and regular expenses such as rent, electric, groceries, etc. Recently, car repairs have also jumped on that bandwagon.
If you are able to help in any way it is greatly appreciated, and if you are unable to contribute financially, please continue to keep Jamie and Thomas in your prayers and share some words of encouragement for them.
Please share this link with friends and family using the hashtag #jamiekickscancer. gofundme.com/f/jamiekickscancer
Thank you for your support!
This is Jamie’s cancer journey:
On Feb. 15, 2021 Jamie went in for her annual mammogram. The appointment was routine but she also had a tiny red spot on her right breast that resembled a small bruise that she couldn't explain. Two days later she received news that she needed to schedule an ultra sound and diagnostic testing. The earliest appointment available was for March 11th. By that time, the tiny red spot had spread across the entire top of her breast. Doctors told her she had three areas of serious concern, two in the breast and one in the lymph node. They were also very concerned about the unexplained redness on the skin. Cancer was strongly suspected and a triple biopsy was scheduled ASAP. The biopsy was done on March 17th.
On Friday, March 19 th , she got the confirmation. It was Cancer. Stage IIIC Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, HER2 + and metastatic to the lymph nodes along with aggressively spreading skin involvement classifying it as a form of Inflammatory breast cancer. In short, a very aggressive and quickly spreading form of breast cancer. She definitely would have to have chemo and surgery, but in what order?
It was, 11 weeks and 2 days before her 2 nd attempt to have her wedding. Unsure if she’d have to postpone it again, she began a whirlwind of appointments and tests. She had an MRI, met with a chemo oncologist and then a breast surgeon. She had a PET scan to find out if it had spread any further than the lymph nodes. Thankfully, it was caught in time and the cancer went no further. She then needed an echocardiogram to make sure her heart was healthy enough to handle chemo. She met with a plastic surgeon, nutritionist, physical therapist and had a genetic test. By this time, it had been decided that chemo would be first, followed by a mastectomy. She
had surgery on April 8 th to place a chemo port in her left shoulder area. During the surgery, they did a fourth biopsy on the skin. Through all the tests and planning, she continued working and used every last second of personal time she had accrued in the short time she had been in her position. Finally, on April 14th, 3 months after her mammogram, she was able to start chemotherapy. That is a long time to have an aggressive cancer roaming about freely before finally fighting it.
She had 6 chemo cycles. Each cycle was given to her through her port every three weeks from April 14 th – July 28 th . Once treatment started, it was too risky to continue working in her department at the children’s hospital so she was put on short-term disability, which has now become long-term. Even though Jamie is now finished with chemo therapy, she is continuing to
go to her chemo oncologist once every three weeks through April 2022. She needs to continue with the meds that fight the HER2 protein, which is responsible for the cancer reproducing. She is able to receive these meds through a shot in her thigh and no longer needs to receive them through her port.
Jamie’s cancer was particularly complicated. Her team of doctors brought her case before the medical board at least three times to determine what would be the best way to handle her surgery in order to make sure the cancer was gone while doing what they could to make sure it does not return. In August, Jamie had another skin biopsy done and then had her right breast and 17 lymph nodes removed. Due to the skin involvement, the doctors had to remove some skin as well resulting in reconstructive surgery where they took part of her latissimus muscle and skin from her back to cover the area where the breast and skin was removed (called a latissimus flap). The test results on the tissue and lymph nodes, showed she is cancer free. However, because her cancer was so aggressive, and in order to be sure it does not return, she is currently going through 6 weeks (everyday M-F) of radiation on that area. Her last day will be Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, which she is very excited about!
The doctors want Jamie to take several months to begin her recovery from radiation. In about 7- 10 months, she will have one more surgery to remove the latissimus flap (radiation will have destroyed it) along with her left breast (to keep from getting cancer in the future) and take tissue and skin from her stomach to do reconstruction (called a DIEP Flap). Due to the skin that had to be removed, the reconstruction is a necessity rather than cosmetic. It will be a fairly extensive procedure with at least 3 months of recovery time and is estimated to take place in August or September of 2022. Jamie will be back on disability and need to meet another out-of-pocket maximum as well as going through another long period of doctor visits, therapy, and procedures while being back on disability.
Jamie has taken on all of this and embraced the fight with a sense of humor and positive attitude. If you are able to help, it is greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute financially, please continue to keep Jamie and Thomas in your prayers and share some words of encouragement for them.
Let's help Jamie get back on her feet and stay there! She has always been one of the first to help others when they are in need or advocate for various causes. She has been a supporter of St Jude’s Children’s hospital, donated to an annual Lurie Children’s Hospital fundraiser and has participated in many other fundraising activities for others. She has donated blood and platelets at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She has donated her hair several times to different causes that make wigs for children. In fact, she had planned to keep her hair long for her wedding with plans to donate it again afterward, but when she received her own cancer diagnosis, one of the first things she did was donate her hair before chemo could take it away.
If you know Jamie, you know she will do what she can to help someone in need. Now it is our turn to help her.
Throughout this journey, Jamie and Thomas have not asked for any financial help. During the pandemic shut down in 2020, they went from 4 jobs (2 each) to one. In early 2021,they were just starting to get back on their feet and resume their plans: to be married in June (postponed from 2020 due to Covid), enjoy a brief honeymoon, and use wedding gift money to purchase their first home, preferably in Boise, ID. It was at that time Jamie received the cancer diagnosis.
Jamie and Thomas were able to have their wedding and were finally married in June 2021. Due to the cancer and dangers surrounding Covid, doctors’ orders were to limit the attendance to 50 friends and family. Jamie was able to wear a wig to hold her veil and had more energy than anyone expected considering she had already had been through 3 cycles of chemo therapy by that time. The weather was perfect and it was a very special day. But the fight against cancer did not stop. The very next day, Jamie was back at the doctor. They were not able to go on a honeymoon, make the move to Boise or purchase their first home.
The money from wedding gifts went to out-of-pocket and over-the-counter medical costs. Jamie’s short-term disability (now long-term at 60% of her pay in an entry level position) and Thomas’s income have been used toward medical out of pocket expenses along with over the counter medical purchases, gas to get to/from doctor and therapy appointments, and regular expenses such as rent, electric, groceries, etc. Recently, car repairs have also jumped on that bandwagon.
If you are able to help in any way it is greatly appreciated, and if you are unable to contribute financially, please continue to keep Jamie and Thomas in your prayers and share some words of encouragement for them.
Please share this link with friends and family using the hashtag #jamiekickscancer. gofundme.com/f/jamiekickscancer
Thank you for your support!
This is Jamie’s cancer journey:
On Feb. 15, 2021 Jamie went in for her annual mammogram. The appointment was routine but she also had a tiny red spot on her right breast that resembled a small bruise that she couldn't explain. Two days later she received news that she needed to schedule an ultra sound and diagnostic testing. The earliest appointment available was for March 11th. By that time, the tiny red spot had spread across the entire top of her breast. Doctors told her she had three areas of serious concern, two in the breast and one in the lymph node. They were also very concerned about the unexplained redness on the skin. Cancer was strongly suspected and a triple biopsy was scheduled ASAP. The biopsy was done on March 17th.
On Friday, March 19 th , she got the confirmation. It was Cancer. Stage IIIC Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, HER2 + and metastatic to the lymph nodes along with aggressively spreading skin involvement classifying it as a form of Inflammatory breast cancer. In short, a very aggressive and quickly spreading form of breast cancer. She definitely would have to have chemo and surgery, but in what order?
It was, 11 weeks and 2 days before her 2 nd attempt to have her wedding. Unsure if she’d have to postpone it again, she began a whirlwind of appointments and tests. She had an MRI, met with a chemo oncologist and then a breast surgeon. She had a PET scan to find out if it had spread any further than the lymph nodes. Thankfully, it was caught in time and the cancer went no further. She then needed an echocardiogram to make sure her heart was healthy enough to handle chemo. She met with a plastic surgeon, nutritionist, physical therapist and had a genetic test. By this time, it had been decided that chemo would be first, followed by a mastectomy. She
had surgery on April 8 th to place a chemo port in her left shoulder area. During the surgery, they did a fourth biopsy on the skin. Through all the tests and planning, she continued working and used every last second of personal time she had accrued in the short time she had been in her position. Finally, on April 14th, 3 months after her mammogram, she was able to start chemotherapy. That is a long time to have an aggressive cancer roaming about freely before finally fighting it.
She had 6 chemo cycles. Each cycle was given to her through her port every three weeks from April 14 th – July 28 th . Once treatment started, it was too risky to continue working in her department at the children’s hospital so she was put on short-term disability, which has now become long-term. Even though Jamie is now finished with chemo therapy, she is continuing to
go to her chemo oncologist once every three weeks through April 2022. She needs to continue with the meds that fight the HER2 protein, which is responsible for the cancer reproducing. She is able to receive these meds through a shot in her thigh and no longer needs to receive them through her port.
Jamie’s cancer was particularly complicated. Her team of doctors brought her case before the medical board at least three times to determine what would be the best way to handle her surgery in order to make sure the cancer was gone while doing what they could to make sure it does not return. In August, Jamie had another skin biopsy done and then had her right breast and 17 lymph nodes removed. Due to the skin involvement, the doctors had to remove some skin as well resulting in reconstructive surgery where they took part of her latissimus muscle and skin from her back to cover the area where the breast and skin was removed (called a latissimus flap). The test results on the tissue and lymph nodes, showed she is cancer free. However, because her cancer was so aggressive, and in order to be sure it does not return, she is currently going through 6 weeks (everyday M-F) of radiation on that area. Her last day will be Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, which she is very excited about!
The doctors want Jamie to take several months to begin her recovery from radiation. In about 7- 10 months, she will have one more surgery to remove the latissimus flap (radiation will have destroyed it) along with her left breast (to keep from getting cancer in the future) and take tissue and skin from her stomach to do reconstruction (called a DIEP Flap). Due to the skin that had to be removed, the reconstruction is a necessity rather than cosmetic. It will be a fairly extensive procedure with at least 3 months of recovery time and is estimated to take place in August or September of 2022. Jamie will be back on disability and need to meet another out-of-pocket maximum as well as going through another long period of doctor visits, therapy, and procedures while being back on disability.
Jamie has taken on all of this and embraced the fight with a sense of humor and positive attitude. If you are able to help, it is greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute financially, please continue to keep Jamie and Thomas in your prayers and share some words of encouragement for them.
Co-organizers (3)
Charlie Bushbaum
Organizer
Silver Lake, WI
Jamie Carpenter
Beneficiary
Thomas Carpenter
Co-organizer