Jenny Dolezal’s Fight Against Cancer

Jennifer (Jenny) Dolezal is a pillar of the Dundee Community and surrounding areas. She’s a wonderful momma, wife, friend, teacher, and a million other things. We know you’ve found this page because she’s changed your life for the better.

Jenny, Doug, and James face some rough months ahead. We want them to be able to focus on what matters: family. 

Teaching brings Jenny so much joy and having that taken away from her during chemotherapy is going to be tough. The joy Jenny gets from teaching, while immense, isn’t worth the germs she may be exposed to while having a weakened immune system. Losing a reliable income on top of the impending medical bills has brought some stress to our friends.

The goal of this fundraiser is to reduce the financial burden on the Dolezals and let them focus on family. Any money raised will help them pay their bills, pay parking expenses while at appointments, and cover unexpected expenses that will crop up during this time.

Thank you for visiting & reading. The Dolezal’s appreciate your support. 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us on our gmail accounts: 

Rose Savage (cousin)- roselsavage  

or Corinne Labardee (friend)- corinnesmith313

We will keep this page updated as best we can.

See below for Jenny’s original Facebook post about everything they’ve gone through so far.

From Facebook:

I don't know how to make this post. It's one I never thought I'd have to make. Let me start at the beginning.

Back in July, I felt a lump in my left breast while nursing James. It was small, but it was there. I thought it was a clogged duct or something (super common with breastfeeding) but I brought it up to my doctor anyway, just to be sure. A few weeks later, I went in for a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy of this lump. All results came back great! No evidence of cancerous or precancerous cells. I was told it was a galactocele (milk cyst) and went about my business.

A few months later, I noticed this lump was getting bigger. I again messaged my doctor and was told that it was likely some build up from nursing slowing down, but they could do an ultrasound just be sure. However, it wasn't causing any pain and honestly I would frequently forget about it. I mean, I was just told that I had no cancerous or precancerous cells in that area. I figured it was still breastfeeding related and moved on.

Then the holidays were coming up. Obviously, a very busy time of year. However, this lump was now visible on the outside and causing pain, so on December 6th, I called the Breast Care Center and asked to be seen again. They were able to set me up with an appointment scheduled for January 6th.

Come December 21st, I couldn't wait any longer. This lump HURT. Something needed to be done. I called the BCC again, asking if there was any possible way that I could be seen sooner. The scheduling ladies really tried, but they said there was absolutely no sooner appointments available, especially with the holidays. She suggested that I message my doctor directly and ask if there were any strings she could pull. So I did. I included pictures, and basically begged to be seen sooner. Thankfully, my doctor was able to get me in just 2 days later on the 23rd.

They performed another mammogram and ultrasound. I met with my doctor, and she said she really thinks that this is a build up of fluid. There was likely a clogged duct that let to more clogs, and the area just needed a draining. She said that she wanted to do one more biopsy on this area, just to cross all bases and be 100% sure, but she went ahead and scheduled the draining anyway because she was sure the biopsy would not show anything concerning. By some miracle, this was also the day of the "snowstorm" and they had a biopsy cancelation, so I was able to get it all done on the same day. Four days later, I got a call that rocked my world.

On December 27th, my doctor called with the biopsy results. She said she couldn't believe what they found. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Breast cancer. At the rate it was growing, she knew it was an aggressive cancer and scheduled me for more tests and scans. I had an ultrasound on my armpit, which showed two enlarged lymph nodes. I had to have a biopsy on that to see if the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes already. It had. At the same time, I also had an aspiration of the area, because there is a collection of fluid that was draining from my previous biopsy site. From there, a whole slew of tests and scans followed. Bone scan, CT scan, echocardiogram of the heart, hormone testing... All to get as much information as we could to treat this. My doctor told me that if the cancer had spread beyond the lymph nodes, I would no longer be "curable," but I'd be "treatable." Imagine hearing that at 31 years old with a toddler at home. We were absolutely gutted.

This past Friday, after completing a bunch more tests, my results were posted. Thank GOD, the cancer has NOT spread outside of my left breast and lymph nodes. My oncologist called me a couple hours later and explained our plan of attack.

The main thing I remember is, "The goal is curative." CURE! Not treatment - cure! The amount of relief I felt was astronomical. I was already prepared to do whatever was necessary to be here as long as possible. I have to watch my son grow up. That's not an option for me. This plan also includes a very aggressive attack on this cancer. And, it starts THIS WEEK. I'm so thankful that my doctor is being quick about this. I mean, look at what had already happened in a 5 month span. I don't want to wait another second. I want this gone.

The size of my cancer is too big for surgery at this point. My doctor explained that we want to immediately prevent any more growth and shrink this as much as possible, that way when it is surgery time, the surgeons will have a much easier time ensuring that they get everything out. So, I'll be starting chemotherapy this week. I will begin with 8 weeks of a certain combination of chemo drugs, followed by 12 weeks of a different set of chemo drugs. The hope is that these aggressive treatments will get my cancer controlled and shrunk enough to a point that we can do a successful surgery. After surgery, I'll likely need more chemo to "clean things up" and be sure everything is gone. And then, there's a possibility of radiation at the end.

With chemotherapy, your immune system is shot. Especially with the aggressive approach we are taking, I will be very susceptible to illness. Any little bug or illness I catch will likely send me to the hospital and will delay my treatment. Because of these risks, my doctor has strongly advised that I do not continue working in an elementary school. We can clean and sanitize and mask all we want, but we all know that schools are germy. Kids are germy. So, even though it absolutely breaks my heart, I won't be returning to school this year. I didn't get to say goodbye to my students, and that crushes me. I have the sweetest class, and I'm going to miss them so much. I'm going to miss my coworkers. Some of my best friends. But, I have to put myself first so that I can beat this monster and come back even stronger. (If you have a student in my room, please don't discuss this with them yet. We have staff trained in delivering news like this in a way that is positive and uplifting and supportive. The last thing we want is to scare them.)

Two weeks ago, I didn't even know I had cancer. It wasn't even on my radar. Now I'm off work and getting ready to lose all of my hair. The whirlwind of emotions that have gone on these last two weeks is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. But, my support system is strong, and I know it'll be even stronger now that we've come forward publicly with this information.

I know a lot of people are going to ask what they can do to help us. Honestly, I don't even know at this point. Every day has been a struggle just to keep our heads above water. We've been in pure survival mode. Now that there's a plan, we definitely feel better and can begin to process that next piece. I know I don't have enough sick time built up to get me through without losing pay. I have over 9 weeks, but I'm not sure what will happen after that. I know my union has a "sick bank" that staff can donate some of their days to, so that's an option that we're looking into once my days are depleted. I also know there are many things to help chemo go smoother. I've been trying to do my research (while staying away from Google) and put together an Amazon wishlist of recommended items that other chemo patients have suggested. Everything from inspirational books to cold gloves and socks to prevent neuropathy, to some candy to help with dry mouth that chemo is notorious for causing. I'll include that link below if anyone is interested. I know everyone wants to help with food. If I'm being honest, Doug and I didn't really eat for over a week. We were literally sick from this news. We've each dropped roughly 10 lbs already. Maybe restaurant or grocery gift cards would be helpful, so food doesn't go to waste in our fridge? I'll put our PO Box number below as well, in case anyone wants to send something in the mail. Of course, none of this is expected. I just know that question will come up of how people can help, and these are the things I've thought of so far.

If you've read this whole post, thank you. I know it's long. We've got a long road ahead of us. But, we're remaining positive! I CAN beat this. I WILL beat this.

PO Box 239

Maybee, MI 48159