At 38 years old, on July 21, 2022, I was dancing in the kitchen with my husband while cooking dinner. It was just another normal weeknight acting silly in the kitchen while the kids ran around the house. When I slid my hand down my side I felt a hard lump on my left breast. I instantly ripped my shirt and bra off, my husband got excited as he thought he was about to get lucky, but right then and there our lives changed forever. I made Mike touch my breast and feel the lump I felt. I called my doctor the next day – after many scans, tests, doctors appointments and biopsies – fast forward to September 1, 2022 and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Terminal Triple Negative Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, grade 3 that had started in my left breast and spread to my lungs. This disease has no cure, so keeping hope alive is so important, though I find myself discouraged often. I started treatment immediately, with the red devil itself; Doxorubicin. I have been compared to “Murphy’s Law” for most of my life and the side effects from this drug were everything that was written down and proved my “Murphy’s Law” to be an accurate description. From headaches and fatigue, to blisters in my mouth down to my feet, to dry and itchy hands to burning skin all over my body, especially under my arms and down to my elbows. Despite these horrific side effects, the once every 28 day treatment of Doxorubicin was shrinking my tumors, at least after the first 3 rounds of treatment. After six rounds, I was ordered to take another PET scan and this time the Doxorubicin was no longer working – both the tumors in my body, my left breast and on my lungs had doubled in size and spread to my lymph nodes under my left armpit. I just recently began my new journey with a new chemo cocktail. I have these treatments more frequently now and the side effects include hair loss, severe nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and neuropathy that consumes my whole body. I pray everyday this will be the right combination; chemo and immunotherapy, to give me as much time on this earth as God allows. I am a mother of three amazing little boys, Dominic (8), Parker (5) and Bennett (4) and a husband who is defined as my personal superhero of 10+ years. Mike works for the local police department and busts his butt to keep us afloat each month. He is my rock! Together those 5 boys give me the drive and motivation to keep going even in my darkest hours.
Kasey’s LifeList:
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A Family Trip to Orlando