Hey Lincoln, our favorite photographer needs us!!

Hello friend and colleagues!  We are trying to raise support for a family that means a lot to all of us in the Real Estate community. I am sharing Jessica’s story in hopes we can raise funds to help them out during a very difficult time. 

Below are Jessica’s words she shared. If you are not aware please read below.  

I suppose it’s time for an update, this one has been a little harder to put into words. We met with the oncologists on Thursday (radiation and medical oncologists). They were both great, and I’m comforted by the fact that they are very personable as well as straight to the point. A few things were made clear that we may have only suspected before, or not really have thought about, but it definitely made things more real. The first Dr. I met with was really great, and I’ll be seeing a lot of him for a while here, but he made it clear that I should be making sure to do the things I’ve always wanted to do - travel, be with family, etc. I should still live life like normal, but also make sure to do these things. The second Dr. made us aware that chemotherapy will likely make me infertile, so we were faced with a decision we weren’t planning on having to make. We had hoped that since my GBM is only a molecular GBM, and not histological, that would mean a better prognosis. But this is apparently not the case. He explained that the median survival is 2 years, with 5 years being at the high end of life expectancy. This was the most shocking part to hear. I will be doing treatment, which hasn’t completely been set in stone yet (there are a couple of options to consider, which we will decide in about a week). But most likely, I will be starting radiation at the end of the month along with chemotherapy. I will do the radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks, as well as the chemo during that time, then take a month off. Then I will do a higher dose of chemotherapy alone for 6 months. Then, we watch and wait. One of the more grim realities really set in that day, and that is that this treatment is not to provide a cure, but at best, it hopes to slow down or stop the growth for as long as possible. There is no cure, there is no remission, it is only buying time. After treatment, it will eventually become aggressive and start to grow, and it can also grow in other areas of my brain that it is not showing up in now - that’s one of the worst things about this cancer, it has “fingers” that spread into other surrounding tissues, but it doesn’t necessarily show up on scans right away. While on chemo, I will have regular blood draws to watch my platelets and white blood cell counts. If those get too low, which is a possible side effect, then I will be more susceptible to infections and Illness. The radiation will also make me extremely fatigued, so I’m hoping to be able to have a schedule that still allows me to work some. The really scary part is the fact that the bulk of my tumor is in my thalamus. This means that the radiation will also be affecting my thalamus, which scares me to death - there’s a reason this thing is inoperable, and it’s the location. SO, here’s where we are: Things are getting real, and everything feels very “final”. Treatment starts at the end of November, right after Thanksgiving. We are praying for survival beyond 5 years. We are praying for little to no damage to healthy brain tissue during the treatment process. We are praying that my symptoms remain minimal. We are praying for minimal side effects, and good quality of life during treatment. And we are praying for wisdom for my medical team, peace for me and my family, and hope for the future. The absolute best thing anyone can do for us right now, is pray. I know that prayers aren’t always answered the way we think they should be, and that’s ok. But prayer is powerful, and I know I could use a lot of it right now. Love you all, thanks for reading, and for all of your love and support!