Karen's Strength Lives On: Support Her Family

Hello, this has to be the hardest thing for me to write. My wife, Karen Yepez, passed away from cancer on May 3, 2025. She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022. That was the hardest news to receive from the doctors. Being told she was stage three, she knew she had to fight. She went through eight cycles of strong chemotherapy, followed by a full gastrectomy. She became a stage 4 cancer patient when they noticed her ovaries were larger than normal and removed them during her full gastrectomy. The pathology report confirmed the cancer had spread to her ovaries.

In mid-October 2024, she started having pain in her abdominal area. The doctor found that she had a small bowel obstruction. She was admitted to the hospital three times to decompress her belly. She finally decided to have surgery on March 3rd to clear the obstruction but was afraid of the pain to recover. The surgery was successful, and she was able to eat and have a normal bowel movement. During her recovery, she started having pain in her legs, lower back, and upper body. The doctor did a scan and found that the cancer had now spread to her bones. We met with her oncologist, who confirmed the cancer had reached her bone marrow, and there was nothing else that they could do. She was such a warrior and fought so hard to stay with us.

Karen was such an amazing wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, sister-in-law, cousin best friend and grandma (or like she would say, Glamma). She was loved by so many. Her lil grandson gave her strength to continue fighting. We hurt so much but are at peace that you are no longer suffering. May you rest in peace, my love, and I can’t wait to see you again.

any help would be greatly appreciated.