Kylie Stoddard's Stage 4 Breast Cancer Battle

10/17/2024 A very overdue update, the delay of which was for such a good reason! My cancer has been plateaued for almost a year now. I have been so incredibly thankful to God for this extra time with my family. I - of course - still consistently undergo all of my treatments. I get chemotherapy every three weeks, and every three chemotherapies I get my bone marrow infusions. I routinely get nuclear bone scans and the findings have always been hopeful, showing no spreading. My blood tests before every therapy measure my cea (carcinoembryonic antigen) ceas are a protein that is a type of "tumor marker." Tumor markers are substances that are often made by cancer cells or by normal cells in response to cancer. The cea blood test is used to check if cancer treatment is working. On September 18th, my cea results had crept up for the first time in a year, and my heart stopped. I didn't take one second of the year long "plateau" for granted. I have no regrets about how much life I lived throughout it! But we knew the cancer was either already spreading again, or was about to. On October 9th, I was unable to breathe. I was sick but definitely didn't feel too terribly. As the day went on, though, I started getting very scared. It became more and more difficult to breathe. I tried to rest and take it easy, because I had chemo that afternoon and would be in the hospital surrounded by my team in no time. If I had to go to the emergency room, I'd experience the same issues that I do each time - slow wait times and medical professionals that have no expertise or experience with oncology, let alone with someone that is late stage 4. I managed to make it to my chemotherapy "appointment", and they quickly got oxygen tube's in my nose and put my husband Andrew and I into a private room. They assaulted my brain through my nose with a covid test, also testing for rsv and influenza. They all came back negative! I begged them to approve my chemotherapy despite my illness, as it was then documented to not be anything serious. We were already in a private room and were no risk to others. They kept me on oxygen the whole time, even having to switch to a new canister, as they only last a few hours. My condition did not improve. So, after my chemo and zometa infusions, they sent us over to radiology for chest xrays. It was determined that my cancer was causing inflammation against and around my lungs. I was prescribed a new, steroid inhaler and ordered to take it easy. On October 15th, I was using my carpet cleaning machine on Landon's rug in his bedroom, trying to tidy up his room before he got home from school. I was struggling; it was less than a week since chemo and I was still a bit sick, so I was slow-going. Suddenly, I felt like I got shot in my lower abdomen and began to black out from absolute, indescribably agony. I dropped to the floor and managed to crawl towards his bed, pulling myself up onto it. It somehow continued to get worse. I could hear myself screaming, like an out-of-body experience. It was the sounds out of nightmares. I writhed and howled as my insides burned on fire and felt like they would spill out of the "gunshot wound" sensation. I started to get nauseous from the torture and tried to crawl into Landon and Luke's bathroom just across the hall. I laid on their floor bellowing and bawling. With my next miraculous fragment of energy and strength, I hauled my body over the side of their tub and turned on the hot water. I tried taking my clothes off but they were stuck to me and I was spasming and contorting. When a couple inches of hot water filled the tub, I tried to lay my stomach into it, praying to God that I could find some amount of relief, like hot baths help abdominal menstrual cramps. It continued to get worse. My stomach was swelling up and I was giving up. My mother in law had already called my parents, and 911. I kept hearing everyone worrying that I was going to drown, but I just prayed they wouldn't pull me out of this hot bath. Oh God, what if it would be worse back out there. I continued to black out, seeing stars and listening my mom talk in my ear. I told her things that broke her heart. My blood pressure was double what was normal and healthy; my heart rate just as dangerous. Suddenly a fireman was lifting my head up and shoving syringes into each of my nostrils and my brain was firing off information that I was struggling to understand. I was able to open my eyes for the first time and saw so many people in our boys' small bathroom. I heard a few firemen speaking about their relief that my eyes were open and that "that much fentanyl will do that!" They got me out of the bathtub and into a gurney on an ambulance. I could hear myself boys sobbing and it broke what little of my heart was still beating. The medic couldn't access my port but after multiple attempts to place a catheter in my right hand, managed to hit a vein in left my arm and start pumping me full of morphine. About half way to the hospital I was able to speak and finally point to where the pain was. The medic agreed when I asked: it was my liver. She was right. They finally let Andrew come to me after I had been settled in a room; he didn't leave my side until I went home on Thursday. After a plethora of tests and scans - including both ct and mri - they determined that I had an obstruction in my pancreas, causing it to inflate (pancreatitis) which was incredibly painful and life-threatening enough... but then my liver got the memo and panicked, going into liver failure. I recieved treatment after treatment and slept throughout most of the next couple days. This was only the second time that I thought "this is it".

It wasn't.

I got home this afternoon and haven't let go of my children since!

12/14/2023 My very overdue November and December cancer update

The most important occurrence is that because I've been in treatment for 6 months, they were able to observe and document the rate of my cancer spreading and it's response to treatments. This allowed my team to finally have a mathematically calculated "prognisis estimate". It was hard to hear, knowing that this time, it was accurate and not a guess based on statistics and other people's journeys.

As I mentioned in my October update, we were preparing for my major surgery; it was on October 9th. I was very worried about my mental and emotional health after such an invasive and traumatizing surgery - what else could breast cancer possibly take from me? I didn't feel like a woman anymore. Only a couple days after my surgery, it was Brisket's costume contest. I had worked so hard on making her costume that I wouldn't have missed it for just about anything! My mom kept Luke and my dad drove Landon and I and stayed with Landon so he could do the scavenger hunt and enjoy the party. We ran into one of my best friends, Crystal, who utterly couldn't believe I was even out of bed let alone leading my goat on a halter at a competition. She also noticed another thing... I wasn't in my wheelchair.

I thought a lot about if and when I'd announce the incredible news that I temporarily made it out of my wheelchair. Because, I have been reminded throughout this particular portion of my journey that the bone marrow infusions could get me out of my wheelchair, but for how long? I have so many fractures in my bones that the bone marrow would constantly be slowly leaking out, and if my osseius metastasis got any worse, I would no longer be a candidate for those infusions. But, I have been out of my chair for a little while and walking fairly well with a cane or my walker. Brisket and I hung out with Crystal and ended up winning first place.

On November 21st / 22nd, my husband made my dreams come true by arranging an incredible trip to an elephant rescue here in our country so I could snuggle and love on them for what may be the last time, knowing and understanding that we may not be able to make it to Kenya for my exclusive invitation to the elephant orphanage. I hadn't wrapped my arms around an elephant in so long, hadn't breathed them in and covered them in cuddles. I have loved them since I was a toddler. It was the most thoughtful, beautiful gift and experience my husband could have possibly made happen.

I'm still getting chemotherapy every 3 weeks but the new patches are working remarkably well, so I'm not nearly as bedridden during chemo recovery.

Between the scars from the dozens of different surgeries I've needed, and the radiation treatments all over, I started hunting for my Christmas gown early. By the grace of God, the very first one I ordered and tried on fit me like a glove and made me feel beautiful for the first time in so long. I cannot recommend it enough. It took so many tries to piece together outfits for the three boys, trying to get all four of us to match whilst also keeping up with the current trend of "not matching" - I'm still a little confused but my amazing friend Andrea helped me every step of the way, even complimenting my terrible photoshop collages of the purchased outfit pieces.

Even though we ourselves are struggling this year, I was desperate to continue our annual tradition of adopting a family to bring them Christmas. It is so important to me that Landon always sees that as bad as things seem, there are still children that have it worse. I saved the money I made from the last couple breastmilk jewelry orders and we went to Ross - God bless those amazing, affordable stores, I've been so obsessed for so many years - and bought lots of gifts for their three little boys. We wrapped them together last night and and talked a lot, for a long time. Landon is the strongest person I know.

It has literally been a year since the massive tree fell and smashed our house, and the construction is still not finished. I'm stressing about getting the house completed and looking good so that we can sell it and move while I'm doing "okay", since I'll of course inevitably end up back in the wheelchair. Additionally, I'm stressing about the insurance deductibles resetting soon for 2024, and us needing to pay that again so I can get treatment for the next year. We have adjusted our GFM to reflect that.

10/3/2023 My last triple dose of chemotherapy almost killed me, to the point that my oncologist permanently removed them from my treatment plan; I was supposed to endure three more of them over the next few months. This worried us, knowing that I was undergoing them for a reason - they were our strongest attacks. But, she said she was genuinely afraid I wouldn't survive another one.

Stage 4 breast cancer is fueled by estrogen, and because I've been losing my battle, my oncology team decided that my best chance would be to remove all estrogen from my body... and writing that is one of the very few times I've broken down and cried during this journey. My surgery is Monday, and I am mentally and emotionally struggling. It was hard enough to lose my hair and watch my skin burn and corrode through my radiation therapy. But, at least I felt like I was still a woman.

Please pray for my children, I know this surgery is going to be hard on them, especially Landon. I'm going to look and feel different, forever.

I may feel like I won't be a woman anymore, but I am still a mother and I am still a wife. Andrew, Landon, Lucas - I love you more than anything.

8/16/2023 I feel like I can't win. For those that read my last update, I am allergic to chemotherapy and they finally found a chemo cocktail that my body could tolerate and I was so thankful. That week, I didn't even vomit. I was so thankful to God and my team. Well, I started going into liver failure. My AST was 62 and my ALT was 118. That meant more medications and more monitoring via weekly bloody tests.

The next infusion, two different nurses stabbed me with needles and dug around for what felt like forever, shredding me internally and horribly bruising me externally. They thought something was wrong with my port. Finally, they gave up and called in a port specialist. She quickly realized that my port was upside down inside my body. It somehow completely flipped to where the underside of it was right beneath my skin and the topside of it faced my internal muscle. It took two hours - you read that right - and so many tears and agony, for them to flip it back over and access it. If she couldn't have flipped it, I'd have needed surgery. (I posted a video last week, promising to go into further detail when I had the energy to do so.)

Whether related or not, that week's (which was last week) chemotherapy destroyed me. I was horribly sick for the whole week. Most commonly, patients get sick from chemo on day two or three, and it usually gets better within a day or two. However, I remained violently ill for the entire week; I get chemo every week. I havent eaten in more than 48 hours because I can't keep anything down. We have been in constant communication with my team, of course. I relied on liquid IV, ginger ale, and homeopathic antinausea lozenges for calories and hydration.

This morning, August 16th, I was in absolute agony, after hours of emesis and unbearable body aches. I was scheduled to get chemotherapy at 12:40. My mom and aunt both showed up to try to help me get control over my chemo side-effects so that I could get dressed and make it to my infusion. By the time I got to the hospital, I was in such bad shape the nurses wanted to admit me. They got me into a private room and onto IV fluids, after easily accessing my port, thank God. After a couple hours, the on site oncologist - my normal one was unavailable - determined that I wasn't healthy or strong enough to tolerate chemotherapy today.

Please pray for me, because next week, I have to get the 3× dose again. I am scared to death.

7/8/2023 The "big" update is that I was officially allergic to chemotherapy. After my first chemotherapy infusion, my entire body erupted in the absolute worst case scenario burns and internal and external sores, to the point I was unable to eat let alone leave my bed. I was in absolute constant agony. I lost all of my hair at once, as unfortunately predicted because they had no choice but to start me on the hardest chemotherapy to start saving my life. It absolutely broke my heart to wake up and see my scalp on my bed, detached from my body. My incredible husband came straight home from work without second thought or being asked. I didn't realize how much I needed him in that moment until he walked through the door and I just broke down in his arms. I was put on such an extreme steroid regimen to counteract the allergic reactions that my body and face have been so swollen that I have been absolutely unrecognizable.

I am currently going to transfer from what was daily radiation, zometa bone infusions, and the deadliest chemotherapy every three weeks, to an adjusted chemotherapy every single week and radiation and zometa as needed for the osseous metastases broken bones and bone marrow edema.

There is some good news in that! I did not even get nauseous with this last chemotherapy infusion. My body tolerated it remarkably well compared to my last one and for that I am so incredibly grateful to God for the break in suffering. So, they are clearly on the right path as far as finding the right chemo cocktail.

6/24/2023 Today was Kylie's block party that her community through for her! Thank you so much to Belinda and her incredible family for planning and hosting the event. We cannot express our gratitude enough for how much work they put into such a perfect party. Aaron, Joe (and other friends and coworkers of Andrew) worked their tails off planning, prepping, and cooking delicious bbq for hundreds of people. Randy and Cindy, thank you for going so above and beyond in every way, we are at a loss for words. So many small businesses donated incredible auction items! Picker's Corner, our incredible host (and guardian angels!) donated every dollar they made, directly to Kylie's family.

Anchored for Life Customs and Simply Impressed Metal were the first two small businesses to reach out and ask if they could help us, starting an absolute tsunami of community support. There were so many auction items and booths, it was an absolute roaring success. The last thing any young mother recently diagnosed with a terminal cancer should be worrying about is leaving her family in medical debt. She should be spending every remaining moment she has with her three boys and thanks to all of you, she is able to. God bless you all for what you've done - and continued to do - for this little family.

6/13/2023 After so many delays, Kylie was finally able to start chemotherapy today! As a reminder, the reason they had to start her treatments with radiation was because they found her cancer so late and her body wouldn't have been able to handle chemo before first strengthening her up with radiation and bone infusions. Her team knew that even vomiting from chemo would break her bones. She has experienced wonderful success with the radiation in her left hip and lower back, both of which caused her the most pain. She is currently in the process of requesting further radiation on her fight hip and femur, praying for blessings of similar results to that of her left. All things considering, her first chemotherapy went about as well as it could have. Her predicted 6 hour infusion ended up taking 9 hours, but better slower and safer than sorry. The original chemotherapy plan was to start her off with Doxorubicin, which is considered the strongest and deadliest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer ever invented; it is referred to as the red devil. Usually, you would lose the majority of your hair with the first infusion and suffer the typical side effects a few days after your chemotherapy. Her oncology team decided against doxo, ultimately deciding the risks outweighed the benefits of the stronger chemo. Unfortunately, Kylie got very sick that same day including extreme chemo burns throughout her treatment area as well as violent nausea and vomiting. It's hard to imagine how much worse it would have been had they stuck with the doxo. Her next chemotherapy is on July 5th.

6/8/2023 Kylie is home from the hospital after being admitted twice due to bone radiation complications. On Tuesday, she seized during radiation and they had to rush her to the ER. She was admitted for a few days and then got to go home once they got her stable. Two days later, her L3 (spine) broke because important medical equipment was not delivered on time and she suffered a preventable accident and it was the first time they had to call 911. Landon had to see it all unfold and it was traumatizing for him. Between her broken bones and inaccessible house, it took hours to get her from their home and onto an ambulance. Her seizure(s) lasted over six hours in ICU and she woke up the next night, Andrew by her side, not knowing what day it even was.

Her wheelchair was delivered after that hospitalization, finally! They are thankful to no longer have to borrow them from the hospital, which is also safer and healthier for her.

Unfortunately, because they couldn't complete her radiation treatment on Tuesday, she needs to get double the bone radiation tomorrow in order to stay on track for her treatment plan. This of course means double the pain, discomfort, and burns of bone radiation. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers tonight, she checks in at the hospital at 7:45 a.m.

Thank you everyone.

5/30/23 (BY JOSLYNN, COUSIN)

Due to an emergency complication during Kylie's bone radiation today, she was admitted into the hospital and needs to stay overnight. This is her first time needing to be admitted to the hospital, even her two recent surgeries were both short stay. She has never spent a night away from baby Lucas and it's traumatizing for her to be here. She and Andrew have been absolutely blown away by the support and generosity of you all. As their expenses continue to increase exponentially, I have increased their goal to $25,000.

Thank you all from the bottoms of our families hearts for showing her so much love. We can never thank you enough.

5/29/23

Kylie graduated veterinary school in 2013 as a veterinary technician and continued to volunteer at the Humane Society and Oregon Zoo as she completed her externship. She walked across the stage at graduation while 9 months pregnant with Landon. She worked multiple jobs to support the two of them, including working for the state as a caregiver for children with disabilities and CIIS - Children's intensive inhome services, and multiple veterinary clinics.

She became interested in pet grooming in 2014, realizing it would be an increase in income and that she could better provide for herself and Landon. She completed a year long grooming program and opened up her small business, Kanine Kouture, in 2015. She pioneered the mobile nail trim on Facebook and her grooming salon exploded in popularity. Over the next few years she quickly became the most popular dog groomer in Oregon, earning multiple awards from Google, Nextdoor, and local acknowledgements of achievement, including multiple shout outs on the News and social media. She has always prided herself in free services for veterans and dedicating herself to keeping approximately 20% of her work probono for pets in need, from shelter animals to neglected pets. She has been a dog foster parent for over ten years, for multiple animal shelters. She also volunteers for many charities and nonprofits, such as Battle Buddies, Pet Pals, Agave Dogs Rescue, WWF, The Humane Society, and the Oregon Zoo elephant conservation program. Despite seemingly dedicating her life to dogs, her heart has always belonged to elephants. She has been a benefactor of WWF and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for over a decade, sponsoring dozens of elephant and rhino calves and donating formula bottles monthly. She has hosted annual fundraisers for Sheldrick every year for her birthday, requesting and collecting donations from family and friends as their birthday gifts to her. The founder of Sheldrick passed away from breast cancer, and Kylie has been invited to stay for an exclusive trip at Sheldrick in Kenya, as a thank you for all she's contributed to their program and conservation efforts.

She and Andrew got married in 2020, and recently celebrated their six year anniversary together.

They also bought their first house in 2020, quickly delving into her lifelong dream of having her own small farm and homestead. She is Sandy FFA alumni and an ADGA Nigerian Dwarf breeder. She loves her goats more than any of her other animals, and does volunteer service work with them at many local organizations including elderly care facilities and schools.

She gave birth to Lucas in 2021, completing their family. After weaning, succeeding their year long breastfeeding journey (during which she donated gallons of free breastmilk to multiple other babies and premies) Kylie began to suffer from extreme "mastitis". She was put on multiple rounds of antibiotics, and went to Urgent Care twice. (Health care providers do not recommend mammogram screening until the age of 40; most breast cancers are diagnosed after the age of 50.)

After seven months of incorrect diagnoses and suffering, Kylie was diagnosed with stage 4 metastastic invasive ductal carcinoma at the age of 29. Her doctor's name was Dr. Jacob Casey. Kylie established care with him as her new primary physician, absolutely desperate to recieve some relief and answers for her debilitating lower back injury and chronic "mastitis". He took one look at her and got her in for an ultrasound, which was required before a mammogram would be approved by insurance. An hour after the ultrasound, they got her into a mammogram. That afternoon, they had her under the knife for biopsies.

They told Kylie and Andrew that it was late stage breast cancer, and that they had very little time.

That Monday, they got her in for surgery for her chemo port in her chest.

Only a few days later, they had to utilize and access the brand new port and give her radiation and contrast for nuclear bone scans. The results revealed that she had fractures all over her body, including a shattered left hip and tumors and lesions throughout her skeleton; she had osseous metastases.

The next week, they started bone radiation on her, which has been taking everything out of her. She has lost her ability to walk without assistance, and spends most of her time sleeping. As soon as she finishes this round of bone radiation, she starts chemo.

Last Tuesday, her oncologist told them that she is officially terminal. There is no cure, it has taken over her bones. She will need to do chemotherapy for the rest of her life.

She has no expiration date, they don't do those anymore. There are too many factors, including how young and otherwise healthy she is. Her oncologist says her personal goal is "keep her alive as long as possible, for her kids." She specifically said she wants to get Kylie to 6 years, that way her youngest son would remember her.

Thank you for anything and everything you are able to contribute, every share helps this incredible small town family and brings awareness to this devastating disease.