Karmen’s Cancer Krushers
Donation protected
Let me start from the beginning..in July of this year my sister developed pain in her lower abdomen after further testing they discovered she had a ruptured ovary due to a cyst rupturing. They did emergency surgery and removed her left ovary. She then began to recover the next three weeks. The end of August the same abdominal pain had returned and she asked me to take her to the emergency room. After a CT scan we were admitted upstairs for further care. At this time our entire world flipped upside down. The doctor told us that they thought was causing the pain was cancerous but they needed to do bloodwork to confirm. The test results came back cancerous but they couldn’t tell us what form or stage. Panic had set in for her and everyone in my family the thought of the unknown was unnerving.
Two days later she was transferred by ambulance to Vanderbilt to undergo a biopsy. The biopsy results came back about four days later but the doctor called upon several other doctors to determine the type as they wanted to be 110% sure before they diagnosed her. They then told my parents that it was one of two types of cancer. The first is what they referred to as “old lady ovarian cancer” which was rare in young adults but possible. The second was germ cell cancer which we knew nothing about but were told it was the better of the two. After further investigation and second, third and four opinions they diagnosed her with stage 4 germ cell cancer. This type of cancer can grow just about anywhere in your body (ovaries, testicles, stomach, spine, brain) As the news of this began to set in they also introduced her treatment plan and it is very aggressive to fight her extremely aggressive type of cancer. They explained there were two large masses in her belly/abdomen along with hundreds of small tumors growing off the larger two. They suspected that the cancer cells had been growing for quite some time but going into remover her ovary aggravated the cells causing them to grow at a more rapid pace. She will have chemo 5 days in a row every month but will also have an extra dose of chemo every Tuesday. This will continue for a minimum of 6 months.
Along with the diagnoses of her cancer Karmen has also faced many many other complications. Her body was retaining fluid and they didn’t know what was causing it. She had so much fluid on her body she looked like a completely different person. Her platelets were out of sorts. Her white blood cell count was extremely low. More swelling. She developed blood clots in her arms and legs. Her oxygen level was low. Her kidneys took a huge hit her first 5 day round of chemo and were not recovering. She wasn’t sleeping and exhausted wasn’t even the word to describe it.
As of today she is still in Nashville they have moved her to the tricentennial women and children’s hospital which is where the sickest of the sick are taken. My mom has not left her side since day one and due to COVID my dad and I have only seen them a handful of times less than an hour each time. Her cancer has shrunk from 38,000 cancer cell count to under 5,000 which is great news. Her oxygen level is up and her kidneys have recovered to almost normal. They are working to get everything else regulated back to normal but there is still no word of being able to come home. The past couple of months have felt like a lifetime but things are starting to finally look up.
If you personally did not know there was something going on don’t feel bad or secluded as Karmen asked to keep it remotely quiet between family and close friends. This has been extremely difficult for her. She has taken a leave of absence from work, school, her sorority, and we are currently moving her out of her apartment and back home with my parents. This treatment plan will be ongoing for about a year. My mom and sister have asked that if you have any questions/concerns to please contact me or my dad. Karmen is on medication to help keep her comfortable and she is unable to answer calls or texts. My mom is 100% focused on Karmen so she isn’t able to either. We will be getting fundraisers together shortly for those that would like to help such as go fund me, tshirts, etc. We also just ask for prayers for my sisters healing and strength for our family to get through this. My sister is strong and when she pulls through this she will come out stronger than ever.
Thank you to all that have helped us along the way so far wether it was donations, a cooked meal, flowers, or a call too check in. We are so very humbled and it is appreciated more than you will ever know. ❤️ And that you all for sticking with me this long I will update everyone as we get any new information.
Two days later she was transferred by ambulance to Vanderbilt to undergo a biopsy. The biopsy results came back about four days later but the doctor called upon several other doctors to determine the type as they wanted to be 110% sure before they diagnosed her. They then told my parents that it was one of two types of cancer. The first is what they referred to as “old lady ovarian cancer” which was rare in young adults but possible. The second was germ cell cancer which we knew nothing about but were told it was the better of the two. After further investigation and second, third and four opinions they diagnosed her with stage 4 germ cell cancer. This type of cancer can grow just about anywhere in your body (ovaries, testicles, stomach, spine, brain) As the news of this began to set in they also introduced her treatment plan and it is very aggressive to fight her extremely aggressive type of cancer. They explained there were two large masses in her belly/abdomen along with hundreds of small tumors growing off the larger two. They suspected that the cancer cells had been growing for quite some time but going into remover her ovary aggravated the cells causing them to grow at a more rapid pace. She will have chemo 5 days in a row every month but will also have an extra dose of chemo every Tuesday. This will continue for a minimum of 6 months.
Along with the diagnoses of her cancer Karmen has also faced many many other complications. Her body was retaining fluid and they didn’t know what was causing it. She had so much fluid on her body she looked like a completely different person. Her platelets were out of sorts. Her white blood cell count was extremely low. More swelling. She developed blood clots in her arms and legs. Her oxygen level was low. Her kidneys took a huge hit her first 5 day round of chemo and were not recovering. She wasn’t sleeping and exhausted wasn’t even the word to describe it.
As of today she is still in Nashville they have moved her to the tricentennial women and children’s hospital which is where the sickest of the sick are taken. My mom has not left her side since day one and due to COVID my dad and I have only seen them a handful of times less than an hour each time. Her cancer has shrunk from 38,000 cancer cell count to under 5,000 which is great news. Her oxygen level is up and her kidneys have recovered to almost normal. They are working to get everything else regulated back to normal but there is still no word of being able to come home. The past couple of months have felt like a lifetime but things are starting to finally look up.
If you personally did not know there was something going on don’t feel bad or secluded as Karmen asked to keep it remotely quiet between family and close friends. This has been extremely difficult for her. She has taken a leave of absence from work, school, her sorority, and we are currently moving her out of her apartment and back home with my parents. This treatment plan will be ongoing for about a year. My mom and sister have asked that if you have any questions/concerns to please contact me or my dad. Karmen is on medication to help keep her comfortable and she is unable to answer calls or texts. My mom is 100% focused on Karmen so she isn’t able to either. We will be getting fundraisers together shortly for those that would like to help such as go fund me, tshirts, etc. We also just ask for prayers for my sisters healing and strength for our family to get through this. My sister is strong and when she pulls through this she will come out stronger than ever.
Thank you to all that have helped us along the way so far wether it was donations, a cooked meal, flowers, or a call too check in. We are so very humbled and it is appreciated more than you will ever know. ❤️ And that you all for sticking with me this long I will update everyone as we get any new information.
Organizer
Sidney Wallace
Organizer
Benton, KY
