Joan's Fight is Our Fight

Anyone who knows Joan knows that her life has never been easy. She has struggled in a lot of ways – with some family challenges, relationship challenges, and financial challenges, but now she is facing her biggest challenge. Pancreatic cancer. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to her spleen and liver. The prognosis is one that we don’t even want to think about, but it’s why we’re here.

Joan is a single mother whose oldest daughter, Jackie, 22, is out of the house, while Julianna, 19; and Isabella, 14, are still at home. But that’s not all. This amazing woman is also raising her two grandchildren Janeah, 3 and Ja’Khari, 3 (10 months apart).

Several years ago, Joan wasn’t feeling well and was told everything was fine. But it wasn’t fine. She finally found a doctor who took her seriously and while running some tests to look at her liver found a cancerous tumor on her kidney. She fought that battle and won. So, when she hadn’t been feeling well for the past 6 months or so, she just knew something was wrong. Again, she had to be insistent to be taken seriously, and eventually, the doctors ran tests. The results are heartbreaking.

Joan has been given 6-12 months to live without chemo and 1-2 years with chemo. Joan is a fighter, so she started chemo on November 16, 2021. Now comes the pain, the fatigue, and the sickness.

A little about Joan. She has a laugh that comes from the bottom of her soul. She is funny and loves to make others laugh. She can be shy and unsure of herself, but fierce when it comes to the people that she loves. She is kind and will help people in any way she can. She loves children. She was even a Lamaze coach for a friend in college.

What I find most amazing about Joan are the sacrifices she’s made for others. She adopted her oldest daughter to make sure that she had a stable home environment. And she has done the same for her grandkids.

Most of all, Joan is grateful for her family, friends, co-workers, and all the people who have prayed for her, donated money to her, and have had a kind and encouraging word for her.

Joan and her family need our help now. If there is anyone out there who feels called to support Joan and her family, this is the place. Please consider making a donation that will help relieve her and her family from some of the financial worries about paying medical bills and daily living expenses that are sure to come her way.