Kindness For Kendra-Medical and Funeral Expenses

Hi I am Amanda and I am Kendra’s oldest daughter. Kendra was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer in August 2021. We are now further into this awful journey way sooner than we ever imagined we would be. Our mom is the strongest, most caring person in the entire world and would do anything for anyone so it’s our turn to take care of her. Please read her story below….

Let me start at the beginning for anyone that might be new here. Kendra was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in August of 2013. She underwent a double mastectomy, chemo and radiation.

She remained cancer free until August of 2021 when a routine scan showed the breast cancer was back and in her bones. She was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Kendra took it with Grace and strength as she always does with everything! She has been working and living a normal active life while on a target therapy for her bones. 

In Spring of 2022 she had some neck pain. A scan and biopsy found a lymph node in her neck with mutation of the breast cancer. She started an additional target therapy for that mutation but did not tolerate it very well so the Oncologist was working on a different plan.

She had a follow up Pet Scan in August 2022 due to increased tumor markers. The scan was relatively good showing the disease of the bone was responding well to treatment with only one tiny new spot on her tailbone. The lymph node had also shrunk but still there so she started an oral all around Chemo. This was great news and we all had sigh of relief, but not for long.

She began to have a lot of bloating and a very tender stomach. A CT scan of her abdomen was ordered. There was only 3 weeks between her PET scan and the CT scan. 3 WEEKS. THAT’S IT.

On September 14th we received devestating news. The cancer had spread to her abdomen, Liver and bowels. It is pretty rare for breast cancer to spread to the abdomen (peritonial carcitomanoma) and it is hard to treat. In just 3 weeks this appeared. We are all still trying to swallow this news. Kendra being the strong and courageous women she is has chosen to FIGHT this beast. We know MBC is not curable but there are many emerging studies and research to help people live longer thriving lives with MBC.

Kendra did not want to start her infusion chemo until after the trip to Lake Tahoe for Adam’s wedding. They had an AMAZING time! They returned and on October 6th met with the Oncologist to go over the treatment plan.

October 20th. She had her first day of Chemo. Grandma Judy (her mom) was with her for the infusion. It seemed to go great and she said she was feeling good. We had an appointment at Nedia Salon in Minnetonka to look at wigs for when she loses her hair again. The appointment was great and we found the perfect one. We were setting an appointment to go back when the wig arrived to have it styled and what not when Kendra grabbed her stomach in pain. She then became very clammy and sweaty and passed out. She was partially responsive but we had the salon call 911. When EMTs arrived her blood pressure was EXTREMELY low. They got her on stretcher and into the ambulance where once fluids were started she began to stabilize a bit. I rode with her in the ambulance to North Memorial Robbinsdale. Rachel and Grandma followed us to the hospital and Adam, dad and grandpa headed out to meet us. We spent the night in the ER. They gave her lots of fluids and did scans. The scans didn’t show us anything we didn’t already know but also didn’t show any signs of bleeding so that was good. They did show she was very backed up ( ) so they tried several things to help move things along but nothing was working and her BP continued to fluctuate. She was admitted and finally got a room on Friday.

She is on the Oncology floor at North and they are working to get her some relief. She is very nauseous and has a lot of stomach cramping. She has not been able to eat and is just wanting to feel some relief. They did another CT scan. The GI doc came by to see her and discuss a plan. He is reviewing her scans to see what we can do to get her some relief. She now has an NG tube in to relieve the pressure in the stomach, but has also become neutropenic from the chemo so we all need to be very careful not to get her sick. They are working to get her counts back up before they can do much else.

This isn’t the plan any of us had in mind when she had her first round of chemo. This journey is bringing about many expensive hospital bills and missed days of work for both Kendra and Brad. Anything we can do to help support them and our family at this very difficult time is greatly appreciated.

We believe in the power of prayer and it is important to Kendra. We will continue to post updates on her Facebook page Kendra’s Fight.

we are hosting a benefit for her on November 19th from 2-6pm at the Rogers’s Event Center. There will live music, food and a silent auction! Unfortunately, this journey does not come without expense and we want to the best care possible for her.

With Love

Brad, Amanda, Rachel and Adam