Peace Out, Cancer! #Praying4Peace

My sister, Amanda Peace, was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the young age of 32. Amanda discovered a lump on her neck and followed up with her doctor in November 2020. She was originally told that she had a mass on her thyroid and would have to undergo a thyroidectomy. After being referred to an endocrinologist , it was discovered that her thyroid was fine, but she had swollen lymph nodes. Things turned for the worst once several biopsies were taken by a surgeon. The results confirmed our worst fears and Amanda was informed she had cancer. Several appointments for CT scans, PET scan, echocardiograms, pulmonary function test, bone marrow biopsy and labs were scheduled to help have a better understanding of her condition and its progression.

Amanda is a single mom of two young children, Jackson and Charlotte, but also considers her twenty-two second grade students as her children as well. Her oncologist stated she is one of the youngest patients she has treated with this condition. All of this has manifested very rapidly and has been a lot to process, but through the diligent work of many specialist, biopsies and a number of scans we are hoping for Amanda to begin treatment as soon as possible, so she can beat cancer and live a healthy life.

Once we received more information about the type of cancer and treatment that she would receive, Amanda was informed the treatment required for this type of cancer would result in her becoming sterile and possibly push her into early menopause. As if that news wasn't devastating enough to hear, she also discovered that in order to expand her family later, she would need to harvest and preserve her eggs before treatment, which unfortunately is not covered at all by insurance. She has a  very small window to preserve the eggs before she can start her chemotherapy.

Amanda is scheduled to begin four to six months of chemotherapy in January 2021. After chemotherapy, she may or may not need radiation to complete treatment. Amanda is overwhelmed mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially during this extremely difficult time and is also worried how being immunocompromised by chemotherapy during the COVID pandemic will effect her and her kids. Amanda is still coping with the changes to come such as losing her hair, raising her kids during treatment, missing work, and finding peace during these trying times. Amanda could use all the prayers and support to help alleviate the tremendous weight on her shoulders. Together we can get through this. Her comeback will be greater than her setback. #Praying4Peace