Two Sisters' Cancer Journey - Jean & Jane Peters
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Jean Peters Thomas and Jane Peters - Two Sisters’ Cancer Journey: Our Family’s Story
Our parents’ journey began October 13th, 1950. Along came six boys, five girls, and sadly, one miscarriage. V.W., Tim, David, Jean, Jane, Daniel, Ruth, Arnold, Leslie, Ronda, Rebecca. Eleven children born over a 19 year span to Vernon and Maybelle Peters. We girls contend that our miscarried sibling was a little girl and she would even us up between boys and girls, but only God knows and we know we will meet him or her in heaven one day. We are thankful to be a close knit family who love one another and seek to serve the Lord. Here is our cancer story.
Jean and Jane are two years apart in age, but much closer in their cancer diagnosis. On October 16th, Jane was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic infiltrating duct carcinoma of the left breast, and less than two weeks later, Jean was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer on October 25th following further tests after a positive pap smear in early October. Further scans are needed to determine if the cancer has spread to other organs. Our family is reeling with emotion, but anchoring ourselves in God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Those words seem empty right now, but they are truth, and we must cling to the promise that God works all things for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.
Jean is older than Jane by almost two years. She is the fourth of eleven children, and the first girl after three boys in a row for our mom. Having survived three older brothers in her formative years, she is one tough cookie. Jean is 63. She is married to her best friend for 39 years, mother of three beautiful children, (Josh (Katie)Thomas, Nathan (Hannah) Thomas, and Stephanie Thomas) and grandmother of seven, (Rebekah, Anna, Aaron, Stephen, Addison, Emily, and Peyton) not to mention her nine surviving siblings, nieces and nephews, and grand-nieces and nephews. She is selfless in every way, loving, caring, patient, and kind. She is committed to the Lord, her husband, family, and, as a pastor’s wife, her church family. Jean and her husband Steve live in Simpsonville, SC.
Jane was born almost two years later, number five of eleven, and her journey began very differently. When she was six months old the family home burned to the ground, and as flames hovered on the ceiling, our mom crawled to her crib and rescued her. The flames never touched Jane, but the intense heat scorched her and left her permanently scarred on her face, stomach and legs. Prognosis was grim for several weeks, but God saw fit to intervene, and after several months in the hospital she was finally able to come home. She lost the sight in one eye, her hearing in one ear, and sustained cognitive impairment. Corneal transplants were tried, but failed, and she endured seizures and skin grafts for many years. Bullying is not a new phenomenon; she was terribly ridiculed in school for her scars and epileptic seizures. Through everything, she maintained a can do attitude. She managed to get her GED, and wanting to help others, she became a CNA and worked in a nursing home for several years. She then started working at a manufacturing facility where she is currently employed. She is 61, single, and is a beloved daughter, sister, and aunt. Jane lives in Martinsville, VA.
Why, do you say, was their cancer so far advanced before diagnosis? Selfless love. Our family recently completed a 10 year journey through Alzheimer’s with our mom. We were able to honor her by keeping her at home until she passed from her earthly home into her eternal home. It was all hands on deck. For the last two years of mom’s life one of her children was in the room with her every night to ensure her needs were met during the night. We rotated a schedule for meals and overnight stays. We had a lot of nights of very little, if any, sleep, but it was the sacrifice we made to honor our mom. There were some warning signs for both Jane and Jean, but those signs were not heeded because they were putting mom and family first. We were sharing the responsibility of mom as a family unit. We all remember mom’s sacrifices for each of her children and the hardships she endured helping our dad rear eleven children. Our wishes were to honor her, and we are thankful God allowed us to keep her at home. After 68 years of marriage, our dad lost his beloved wife, and we lost our mom.
Simultaneous with our mom’s Alzheimer’s journey, we lost our sister Ronda, the tenth of eleven children, at 45 years of age to a congenital heart disease. God gave her many more years than the doctors ever thought possible. Open heart surgery at 14 gave many years of fruitful life, but her last five years were wrought with hospital stays, congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and many other health complications secondary to her heart disease. She was facing a lung transplant, but the Lord saw fit to take her home in 2013. She died peacefully in her sleep, and for that we are thankful. She left an unfillable void in our family.
Now, cancer is threatening two of our sisters. A cancer diagnosis is an expensive journey. Jane has group health insurance, but deductibles and copays are expensive, and some things are not covered. At only 97 pounds her body won’t withstand traditional chemotherapy. She has a tumor in the lumbar region of her spine that is threatening to paralyze her from the waist down and render her incontinent. Radiation is indicated to slow the tumor growth. This will be covered by her insurance; however, breast cancer injectable and oral medications have a co-pay of $2-3K per month. Out of pocket expenses will escalate quickly.
Jean’s husband is the pastor of a small church. Her health insurance doesn’t cover out-patient medical. She has hospital coverage only. The first test ordered came with a price tag of $33,000 for a biopsy. This doesn’t include the PET scan the oncologist ordered to diagnose any further spread. This is all diagnostic, and doesn’t include any treatment. We have been advised by a facility that chemotherapy is $2500-$3500 per week, not including radiation treatments.
Chemotherapy has the unfortunate inability to tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy ones and has debilitating side effects. Radiation therapy cannot be contained to only the cancerous tumors; it spreads to healthy surrounding tissues as well.
After much prayer, research, thought, and financial consideration Jean and Jane have decided to pursue treatment at an alternative health care facility. Ancillary costs alone, for traditional cancer treatment, would be far more than total costs for a complete treatment regimen at an alternative cancer treatment facility.
Jane has been advised by her oncologist that her cancer is incurable, and she seeks quality of life, and with the positive attitude she has always exhibited and God’s help, she prays to beat cancer. Jean is seeking to stop and reverse her cancer growth. Together they will fight cancer and encourage one another.
Alternative treatments have a proven success rate, and offer quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment. Treatments are non-toxic, targeting cancer cells and leaving vital tissues and organs healthy. The immune system is boosted to give the body the tools to fight cancer from a position of strength rather than debilitated by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
There are very few centers in the United States offering aggressive, alternative cancer treatment, and after researching options we chose Utopia Wellness in Oldsmar, Florida. It was recently featured in the “Cancer Can Be Killed” documentary by Jeff Witzeman detailing how his wife’s cancer was cured by alternative health care. Visit their website at www.cancercanbekilled.com for more information and hope for cancer patients.
We will be required to stay nearby for 6-8 weeks during treatment. Utopia Wellness partners with nearby hotels and property owners for affordable lodging close to the treatment center. A treatment regimen is administered Monday – Friday and is tailored to the specific needs and deficiencies of the patient’s body. Weekly lab tests ensure treatment is on the right track.
Please help us raise $80K to cover treatment, travel, and lodging expenses for Jean and Jane. Any amount you can donate is appreciated. If you can’t give, PLEASE PRAY. Our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He is the Great Physician. He knows our needs even before we ask of Him. Please ask the Lord if He would have you help financially and please keep Jean and Jane and our family before the throne of God in prayer as we travel this cancer journey together. May all we do bring honor and glory to Him.
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20
With gratitude for your prayers and support on behalf of the Peters & Thomas Families,
Rebecca Peters Fugel
Our parents’ journey began October 13th, 1950. Along came six boys, five girls, and sadly, one miscarriage. V.W., Tim, David, Jean, Jane, Daniel, Ruth, Arnold, Leslie, Ronda, Rebecca. Eleven children born over a 19 year span to Vernon and Maybelle Peters. We girls contend that our miscarried sibling was a little girl and she would even us up between boys and girls, but only God knows and we know we will meet him or her in heaven one day. We are thankful to be a close knit family who love one another and seek to serve the Lord. Here is our cancer story.
Jean and Jane are two years apart in age, but much closer in their cancer diagnosis. On October 16th, Jane was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic infiltrating duct carcinoma of the left breast, and less than two weeks later, Jean was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer on October 25th following further tests after a positive pap smear in early October. Further scans are needed to determine if the cancer has spread to other organs. Our family is reeling with emotion, but anchoring ourselves in God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Those words seem empty right now, but they are truth, and we must cling to the promise that God works all things for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.
Jean is older than Jane by almost two years. She is the fourth of eleven children, and the first girl after three boys in a row for our mom. Having survived three older brothers in her formative years, she is one tough cookie. Jean is 63. She is married to her best friend for 39 years, mother of three beautiful children, (Josh (Katie)Thomas, Nathan (Hannah) Thomas, and Stephanie Thomas) and grandmother of seven, (Rebekah, Anna, Aaron, Stephen, Addison, Emily, and Peyton) not to mention her nine surviving siblings, nieces and nephews, and grand-nieces and nephews. She is selfless in every way, loving, caring, patient, and kind. She is committed to the Lord, her husband, family, and, as a pastor’s wife, her church family. Jean and her husband Steve live in Simpsonville, SC.
Jane was born almost two years later, number five of eleven, and her journey began very differently. When she was six months old the family home burned to the ground, and as flames hovered on the ceiling, our mom crawled to her crib and rescued her. The flames never touched Jane, but the intense heat scorched her and left her permanently scarred on her face, stomach and legs. Prognosis was grim for several weeks, but God saw fit to intervene, and after several months in the hospital she was finally able to come home. She lost the sight in one eye, her hearing in one ear, and sustained cognitive impairment. Corneal transplants were tried, but failed, and she endured seizures and skin grafts for many years. Bullying is not a new phenomenon; she was terribly ridiculed in school for her scars and epileptic seizures. Through everything, she maintained a can do attitude. She managed to get her GED, and wanting to help others, she became a CNA and worked in a nursing home for several years. She then started working at a manufacturing facility where she is currently employed. She is 61, single, and is a beloved daughter, sister, and aunt. Jane lives in Martinsville, VA.
Why, do you say, was their cancer so far advanced before diagnosis? Selfless love. Our family recently completed a 10 year journey through Alzheimer’s with our mom. We were able to honor her by keeping her at home until she passed from her earthly home into her eternal home. It was all hands on deck. For the last two years of mom’s life one of her children was in the room with her every night to ensure her needs were met during the night. We rotated a schedule for meals and overnight stays. We had a lot of nights of very little, if any, sleep, but it was the sacrifice we made to honor our mom. There were some warning signs for both Jane and Jean, but those signs were not heeded because they were putting mom and family first. We were sharing the responsibility of mom as a family unit. We all remember mom’s sacrifices for each of her children and the hardships she endured helping our dad rear eleven children. Our wishes were to honor her, and we are thankful God allowed us to keep her at home. After 68 years of marriage, our dad lost his beloved wife, and we lost our mom.
Simultaneous with our mom’s Alzheimer’s journey, we lost our sister Ronda, the tenth of eleven children, at 45 years of age to a congenital heart disease. God gave her many more years than the doctors ever thought possible. Open heart surgery at 14 gave many years of fruitful life, but her last five years were wrought with hospital stays, congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and many other health complications secondary to her heart disease. She was facing a lung transplant, but the Lord saw fit to take her home in 2013. She died peacefully in her sleep, and for that we are thankful. She left an unfillable void in our family.
Now, cancer is threatening two of our sisters. A cancer diagnosis is an expensive journey. Jane has group health insurance, but deductibles and copays are expensive, and some things are not covered. At only 97 pounds her body won’t withstand traditional chemotherapy. She has a tumor in the lumbar region of her spine that is threatening to paralyze her from the waist down and render her incontinent. Radiation is indicated to slow the tumor growth. This will be covered by her insurance; however, breast cancer injectable and oral medications have a co-pay of $2-3K per month. Out of pocket expenses will escalate quickly.
Jean’s husband is the pastor of a small church. Her health insurance doesn’t cover out-patient medical. She has hospital coverage only. The first test ordered came with a price tag of $33,000 for a biopsy. This doesn’t include the PET scan the oncologist ordered to diagnose any further spread. This is all diagnostic, and doesn’t include any treatment. We have been advised by a facility that chemotherapy is $2500-$3500 per week, not including radiation treatments.
Chemotherapy has the unfortunate inability to tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy ones and has debilitating side effects. Radiation therapy cannot be contained to only the cancerous tumors; it spreads to healthy surrounding tissues as well.
After much prayer, research, thought, and financial consideration Jean and Jane have decided to pursue treatment at an alternative health care facility. Ancillary costs alone, for traditional cancer treatment, would be far more than total costs for a complete treatment regimen at an alternative cancer treatment facility.
Jane has been advised by her oncologist that her cancer is incurable, and she seeks quality of life, and with the positive attitude she has always exhibited and God’s help, she prays to beat cancer. Jean is seeking to stop and reverse her cancer growth. Together they will fight cancer and encourage one another.
Alternative treatments have a proven success rate, and offer quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment. Treatments are non-toxic, targeting cancer cells and leaving vital tissues and organs healthy. The immune system is boosted to give the body the tools to fight cancer from a position of strength rather than debilitated by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
There are very few centers in the United States offering aggressive, alternative cancer treatment, and after researching options we chose Utopia Wellness in Oldsmar, Florida. It was recently featured in the “Cancer Can Be Killed” documentary by Jeff Witzeman detailing how his wife’s cancer was cured by alternative health care. Visit their website at www.cancercanbekilled.com for more information and hope for cancer patients.
We will be required to stay nearby for 6-8 weeks during treatment. Utopia Wellness partners with nearby hotels and property owners for affordable lodging close to the treatment center. A treatment regimen is administered Monday – Friday and is tailored to the specific needs and deficiencies of the patient’s body. Weekly lab tests ensure treatment is on the right track.
Please help us raise $80K to cover treatment, travel, and lodging expenses for Jean and Jane. Any amount you can donate is appreciated. If you can’t give, PLEASE PRAY. Our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He is the Great Physician. He knows our needs even before we ask of Him. Please ask the Lord if He would have you help financially and please keep Jean and Jane and our family before the throne of God in prayer as we travel this cancer journey together. May all we do bring honor and glory to Him.
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20
With gratitude for your prayers and support on behalf of the Peters & Thomas Families,
Rebecca Peters Fugel
Organizer
Becca Peters Fugel
Organizer
Simpsonville, SC