Kenny's Last Hope - Let's Fight Cancer Together!

UPDATE 4/7/23: First, there is ALWAYS hope! No matter how bleak things can appear. Please help me keep that hope alive for Kenny, Janaa and Logan. Kenny had another body PET scan and a brain MRI, both of which were needed for the trial drug he started last night. The results were definitely not what we were all hoping for...the cancer has progressed and spread further than the previous scans had shown. Not only does he have it in his lung (where the doctors believed it originated), where it had metastasized to his lymph nodes, but it has now spread to his spine and it appears, his brain (where a 2mm lesion was found). Now, they don't know for certain if it is indeed cancer in his brain, but with the type of cancer he has, the experts at Fred Hutchinson believe that it is. His previous scans were only a month ago - this just goes to show how much things have progressed in a scant few weeks.

As previously stated, Kenny started the clinical trial medication last night and will be taking it for the duration. In a week, he will start his immunotherapy infusion treatments and there will be many, many more trips to Seattle in the upcoming weeks/months. Again, there is NO cure but there is hope of improving Kenny's quality of life and the amount of time he has with his family. He has seen a serious decline in his health recently and the amount of pain he has been experiencing, daily, has been excruciating. Kenny has been dealing with an 8 out of 10 pain level while still working his job as a public servant! With the cancer in his lungs and lymph nodes, it has caused him to have a wracking cough, and with it now in his bone, it has created intense pain in his back. At this point, we just wish for Kenny to be more comfortable and stabilized. Working is getting harder and he is having to push through each and every day to provide for his family. PLEASE keep sending good vibes, words of encouragement, prayers and donations! This amazing family needs all the help they can get!!

Allow me to tell you a story about a wonderful man who beat cancer, not once, but TWICE, as a kid. As a survivor of Hodgkin’s disease at age 11, he then had a reoccurrence at age 13. He had been cancer free for over 30 years! At age 46, he is once again fighting for his life. This time though, he isn’t just fighting for himself, but for the hope of extending his life long enough to see his amazing 15-year-old son become a man. Kenny has stage 4 non-small-cell lung cancer and sadly, at this time, there are no surgical options and no cure. This man is the husband to my best friend and the dad to my daughter’s best friend - we’ve been part of this family’s life for over 12 years now and they are truly some of the best, kindest, most giving individuals you will ever meet. They always help out when and where they can and, basically, never ask for help themselves. It’s OUR turn to help them. Please help me by donating, even just a little, or by sharing this with all those you know, or both!!! My goal is to ease the financial strain to the best of my ability so that they may live these next few years to their very fullest - with love, memories and TIME! Not added stress from financial strain.

A little history on Kenny and his family… he has been an exemplary employee of Thurston county for over 20 years now. He is the sole financial provider to his family, and has been since he and Janaa were able to adopt Logan as an infant. With Kenny’s prior history of cancer, they were never able to conceive, but always dreamed of having children. If you didn’t know it, you would never guess that Logan isn’t biologically theirs, though he is, and has been since day one, their world. As a couple, they decided when Logan was little that Janaa would quit her full-time job and become a stay-at-home mom/wife. They later learned that Logan had some severe medical issues, and needed the extra time and care of a stay-at-home parent, which only reassured their decision. He was homeschooled until this year, his freshman year of high school. He is still doing virtual school at home, with a full load of high school classes through the public school system in his district, where he is thriving. He has been maintaining straight A’s in all of his classes and is growing and maturing into a phenomenal young man! This young man needs his dad for as long as he can have him. With the devastating news of Kenny’s diagnosis, Janaa is planning on going back to work soon, but is still currently needed at home to assist Logan and to aid Kenny in his treatment. This is where we come in!

The doctors believe that this is a secondary cancer due to the massive radiation and treatments Kenny had as a child. The radiation was so intense that it completely rearranged his internal organs - the medical staff were able to see that in person when Kenny had a successful quadruple heart bypass in 2021. He had worked almost up to the surgery, was healing quite well after it, and went back to work as quickly as he could (there is no telling him no). Back in early January of this year, he started suffering from pain in his neck and bicep. Originally, his doctor told him it was due to muscle strain and prescribed him muscle relaxers. Kenny went back to his doctor a few weeks later since things continued to worsen and other symptoms appeared. At that point, they performed blood tests and ultrasounds, finding clots lodged in his neck and arm. These caused him intense pain and he was immediately put on blood thinners. The medicine has helped but it still took precious weeks (almost a month) to fully figure out what was going on. The doctor and facility that he was originally referred to in their area (to determine why he was clotting in the first place), were extremely disorganized and severely lacking in patient care. It took far too long and multiple frustrating speed bumps (for lack of better words) to get the full diagnosis and prognosis he needed. Thankfully, they sought out better doctors and treatment in Seattle, at Fred Hutchinson, and he is now getting the very best of care. The downside is that the commute can be quite taxing, and gas isn’t cheap. The addition of having to take extra time off of work adds up quickly.

The goal for Kenny now is to shrink the tumor in his lung and get him feeling as well as they can through immunotherapy, and potentially, a new clinical trial medication. The lung cancer has metastasized to the lymph nodes in his chest and neck, and he will need infusions every few weeks for the next two years (or longer if his body tolerates it). Kenny has amazed the many doctors he has seen with his dedication to his family and his determination to work as much, and for as long, as he is able to. He has gone through many blood draws, MRIs, Cat Scans, Ultrasounds, PET scans, two biopsies, a port placement and more. Just one of the blood tests ordered was literally $8,000! And only one of the many infusions needed is upwards of $27,000!!! Thankfully, Kenny does have medical insurance, which will help to some degree, as long as he is able to work and afford to pay for it. Unfortunately, Kenny does not have life insurance, as it was unaffordable due to his previous medical history. Although they have built, and are continuing to build precious memories, Kenny cannot fathom leaving behind his wife and only child with nothing but the overwhelming living and medical bills they are quickly accruing.

I respectfully ask that you please keep Kenny and his loving family in your thoughts and prayers. Again, donate, comment, share - please just help us get this out there so that we might be able to ease the load for Kenny, Janaa and Logan. This crazy world we live in could definitely use the kindness and selflessness of this family and the people they touch. Please, please help me help them! May we, together, help Kenny fulfill his wish of not leaving his family mired in debt.