Support Lisa & Family in Their Time of Need

I am organizing this fundraiser on behalf of my loving parents, Jack and Lisa Stevens. As some of you may already know, Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer back in October of 2017, at just 35 years old. She went through a surgery, chemo, and radiation during her first battle with cancer. It was a trying year and she fought hard and was finally deemed in remission in June of 2018.

However, in July of 2020, Lisa was experiencing some abnormal chest pains and had contacted her regular physician and cardiologist. Her cardiologist ordered a chest CT and then discovered nodules on the top portion of her liver, which is what was visible on that specific scan. From there, her oncologist was involved and further testing and scans were performed to confirm our worst fear… the cancer had returned and they found tumors all throughout her liver and she was diagnosed with terminal metastatic breast cancer. Once again, she began chemo.

Fast forward to September of 2023, Lisa was going for another one of her scans that she was getting every 3 months. She received a phone call from her oncologist that they never expected. The doctor stated that she was in radiographic remission. We all rejoiced and celebrated the wonderful news and thanked God for his healing hands. Unfortunately, just 5 1/2 months later, she had another scan and was told that her cancer had returned for the third time and it had spread to her liver, peritoneum, stomach, lungs, and heart. The oncologist told her that this needed to be treated fast and aggressively this time around, as it had come back with numerous tumors throughout her abdomen and vital organs. She had a port placed within a week and started a new type of chemo the day after. It has only been 5 months since then and Lisa has now been given 1 to 2 months to live.

On Wednesday, July 24th, Lisa woke up to excruciating pain in the middle of the night. She tried to get up to use the bathroom and ended up collapsing and needing to call for help from Jack. She was so out of breath, she ended up having to knock over barstools to wake him up. She was unable to get this unbearable pain under control, so Jack took her to the emergency room. She ended up getting admitted to the oncology wing of the hospital. She stayed there for a total of 6 nights and 7 days. During this stay, she was told that the tumors have begun to spread and encroach upon her bowels and that they believe she had sustained a bowel perforation. The first two days in the hospital were touch and go, as the doctors thought she may not make it and gave her a 50/50 chance of surviving the bowel perforation. They would have normally operated on a patient with a perforation, but due to Lisa’s condition, the physicians felt that the surgery would only hinder her and cause her more problems than help her. She had CT scans and a lot of blood work done to confirm their diagnosis and to monitor her condition. The doctors were afraid of her getting sepsis from a blood infection that would be caused by the bowel perforation, so she was put on two different strong broad-spectrum antibiotics through her port. She ended up not having a blood infection and did not get sepsis, but she was still treated for the duration of her stay with the antibiotics and lots of pain medication. She was also put on ‘bowel rest’ and was not allowed to eat or drink anything by mouth. She had a saline IV going and was only allowed to have ice chips when needed. This went on for about 5 days. After the fifth day, she was allowed to start trying to incorporate clear liquids only. This was a slow start and she could only tolerate very small amounts of water or broth without pain and nausea/vomiting. She eventually was able to keep down small amounts of water, broth, and jello before being discharged from the hospital.

Overall, Lisa’s hospital stay was eye opening for everyone involved. She has been deemed to be at the last stages of her terminal metastatic cancer journey and all the doctors that she saw in the hospital have all stated that she has 1 to 2 months to live. Her oncologist told her that she can no longer receive anymore treatment or chemo for her condition. Therefore, the extremely difficult decision had to be made to have her get sent home with hospice for comfort care only. This has been nothing short of absolutely devastating news for our family. We all love her dearly and to see her in so much pain and agony, has been heartbreaking. However, any of you that know Lisa, know that she has remained steadfast in her faith with God and her strength and resiliency have been amazing to witness. No matter what she is going through, no matter how devastating the news has been, and no matter how much pain and suffering she is going through, she ALWAYS has a smile on her face. I think I can speak for myself and everyone else around me when I say that she is a beacon of light in her darkest hour and it is something of true awe-inspiring power to behold and witness.

Lisa is now home with hospice care. Hospice came in and helped Jack set up a hospital bed, along with some other medical equipment that she needed to have in home for her comfort care. She is being monitored to keep her comfortable and as pain free as they can make her.

She and Jack have 6 wonderful children and two of them are still living at home. My two youngest siblings are both graduating this coming school year. My father, Jack, has two jobs and works very hard to keep our family afloat. Lisa has been able to work a part time job, which she loves, but is now unable to at this point.

There are so many medical expenses associated with a lengthy hospital stay and in-home hospice care, but Lisa does have insurance that should cover the majority of these expenses for now. While we know this could change, there are still a lot of other expenses that are already adding up that our family is dealing with. As hard as it is to think about, let alone talk about, we unfortunately have to worry about what’s to come in the near future. We will have funeral expenses that need to be taken care of, along with any other medical supplies or needs that may arise.

My two youngest siblings still have all of their school supplies, books, sports equipment, cap and gown for graduation, double graduation parties, etc that need to be taken care of. Also, one of Lisa’s last wishes is for all of her immediate family to be able to go on a trip after her passing to spend time together and share in her memories and try to create new memories with love and laughter to be able to heal. I can only imagine the pain and sorrow all of our family and friends will go through after Lisa passes, but we know she will finally be home with our Lord and Savior. We are in need of your prayers, love, and support and would be extremely grateful for any donations that are made to Lisa and our family.