Kathy's Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer

When the doctor came in to deliver the biopsy results and the words 'pancreatic cancer' cautiously fell from his mouth, it seemed to be in slow motion & all of the oxygen was sucked out of the room. Kathy is my mother, my best friend, and the life blood of our family. After losing her husband, my dad, to esophageal cancer 7 years ago, nothing could have prepared any of us for this blow. I can't even believe what I'm typing. Kathy is 63 years young, the eldest of 5 and the mother of 1, step mother to 4 and THE best grandma on the face of the earth. She has been a sales associate at Pier One Imports for more than 22 years now and has been a life long resident of New Jersey, but did love living in North Carolina for a brief time. We come from a large family and there isn't one that doesn't feel like she's their mom too. She has helped to raise, guide and love every single one of us. At some point in our lives, I'm almost certain every one of us has lived under her roof because that's where you go for refuge...Aunt Kathy's. She is our peacemaker, the gentle hand that never fails to reach out, the one who never forgets the important things, and our ever present strength to depend on. Somehow, her love is tangible and is written on the souls of every single one of us...and has saved many of us more than once. Her faith in God is fierce and her example is true. She is the stuff of legends. It started with some abdominal pain that would come and go. The pain was put on the back burner because double cataract surgeries quickly led to a double retinal detachment repair. Time was of the essence as she had lost all vision in one eye overnight and the damage would be permanent if not corrected immediately, so the repairs became first priority. As she recovered from the eye surgeries, the abdominal pain grew stronger and was now constant & refused to be ignored any longer. An ultrasound revealed a mass. A PET scan and endoscopic ultrasound/biopsy confirmed cancer; a 2 inch mass on the head of the pancreas involving local lymph nodes and veins...and 8 tumors in the liver. Stage 4 adenocarcinoma. Her oncologist and surgeon agree that chemo is the only option in this war. And make no mistake, this is war. An all out, all hands on deck, front lines battle for her life. Kathy is a woman of faith and a believer in healing and she is fighting with everything she has. Chemo begins this coming week and, in the meantime, the pain and ongoing treatment will require her to stop working and her insurance coverage is limited. Medical costs are overwhelming and now the one who has helped so many needs help herself. Please pray, as we know prayer changes things and please give what you can, as often as you can, and share this request far and wide with everyone you know. Please help to ease the financial burden and give my mom some peace of mind during this battle. Thank you!