Support Ken Hammond's Battle Against Lung Cancer

Hi, my name is Mary Beth! Please meet my husband, Ken Hammond. He was born in South Carolina, like many of his family members, going back many generations before the American Revolution. Ken currently resides in Seneca, South Carolina, and his work is located in Greenville, S.C., where he is a chemical operator. Ken is a very strong, sweet, loving husband to me. He is a father, stepfather to my children, father-in-law, grandfather, and recently became a great-grandfather. He has two children; his eldest daughter is Monica, who sadly passed away in 2008. We have two granddaughters from her, named Mya and Adia. Mya is married to Dylan, and they have blessed us with our first great-grandson, Jaylan. Ken’s youngest daughter is Angie, who is married to Ryan. They have a daughter named Oakley, who is our 9-year-old granddaughter. My son Austin has blessed us with a grandson named Echo, who is three years old. Ken is surrounded by lots of extended family, including Aunt Brenda (who is a lung cancer survivor), Uncle Ron, and his stepdad Mike, who lost his wife, Ken’s mother, who passed away from lung cancer recently in 2023.

Ken has been battling lung cancer since he was diagnosed in February of this year. After both of us got a bacterial lung infection, a node was caught on his X-ray. Lung cancer malignancies, non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) to be exact, have the potential to form cavitary lung lesions or progress in that form. In fact, Ken’s tumor is also attached to two of his lymph nodes. His cancer team has been trying to treat him with chemotherapy and immunotherapy since mid-March, and the plan was to schedule Ken for a lobectomy surgery in June to remove a portion of his lung. During the operation, the surgeon discovered that one of his tumors was larger than previously determined. Upon testing it, they also discovered it was still active with cancer cells. Halfway through the surgery, the cancer team decided to abolish the surgery. Ken needs further chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

After Ken’s surgery, he had severe complications, and 5 days later, the surgeon attempted to repair the problem. Ken had pockets of air in his thoracic cavity. His doctor made a bold decision and was able to correct the issue triumphantly. After two weeks of being in the hospital, instead of just four days, Ken was finally home. Although he was saddened because his expectation to return to work by the middle of August was drastically changed. On top of everything else, our only car for transportation to all his treatments now has transmission issues. This is causing added stress because his short-term disability insurance barely covers the bills, plus Ken’s medical bills are piling up. By the grace of God and our faith in Jesus Christ, we have remained at peace but realize that we absolutely cannot make it through alone and need our community to help us survive.

Ken is a very sweet and caring person who has often been there to lend a helping hand at our church. Enduring lung cancer at the moment makes him very weak; his treatments are grueling, but he just grins and bears it, looking to the Lord for healing, comfort, and strength on a daily basis. I admire his patience and determination to keep fighting through this difficult battle. I hope you find it in your heart to reach out and to assist Ken in getting a used car to bring him back and forth to his treatments daily. To give Ken the stability and peace that he will have transportation to return to his work when all these hurdles have finished. Help him to pay his medical bills as I continue to be his caregiver, loyally by his side throughout his journey. Ken’s short-term disability will be coming to an end very soon. Please, if you can find it in your heart to help him out, he would greatly appreciate it; any amount helps. If you would also say a prayer that his treatments are effective so he can regain his health. We hold on to God’s word in Isaiah 53:5: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

If you can't donate, that is perfectly understandable, but if you could take a few minutes to share my husband’s story with a few of your friends who can help get his story out there, that would be amazing. The more the story gets out there, the better it is for him, not just for donations but for the mere fact that it will generate more prayers. If you can take a minute, bow your head and say a prayer for Ken and hit the share button, we would appreciate it more than you know. Prayers are so important, especially when it comes to rapid cancers, because time is of the utmost importance. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to read my husband’s story and helping him fight this battle!