Suprise! It's Cancer

Hello and God Bless! My name is Jill Worrell, I am a 56-year-old wife, mother of four, grandmother of 11, and I have stage IV Gastric/Stomach cancer.

Let me go back a little in time, to the end of 2019, with the shocking news that my husband, Scott, has congestive heart failure and needed a double bypass ASAP. They called his condition the “widow maker”. His surgery took place Jan 30, 2020, just before Covid-19 lockdowns hit. Due to Covid and my husband’s new health issues, he was forced into early retirement, which put him into a depression. Fast-forward back to April 2022, we were in a decent place financially and I was able to take a “temporary” retirement, hoping to help Scott’s depression funk. While my daily presence helped his mood, his motivation was unfortunately unyielding, and I decided it was time to return to the workforce.

February 6, 2023, I started a new position as a logistics manager, YAY! I was ready and eager to return to work after almost a year. Then my previously diagnosed gastritis (Jan 2022) seemed to start acting up. Just one month into my new employment, March 14th, I ended up in the ER, vomiting and defecating blood, I was admitted to the hospital for further tests. A CT scan showed signs that I had an ulcer, my diet was drastically changed, and antacids were increased.

I returned to work on March 20th, still being optimistic about my new position, I jumped gung hoe into my training, while fighting stomach pains and being unable to keep solid food down. April 6th, I ended up in ER again, with the same symptoms as in March. I was again hospitalized. This time an endoscopy was performed, and it was confirmed that I had a severe ulcer, blocking my intestines (therefore trapping food in my stomach). Five (5) sections of the ulcer were taken for biopsy. The biopsy results were negative for cancer and H-pylori (a bacteria that causes ulcers). Stronger meds were prescribed, and I was released from the hospital (with no given restrictions).

I returned to work again on April 10th (this time not so optimistic) and was asked to resign from my position. I had missed 14 days and had only been employed two (2) months. I was physically becoming unable to perform necessary duties due to lack of nutrition. Over the next 2 ½ months, I lost over 30lbs as I could not eat solid foods. June 20th another endoscopy was performed, bad news – the ulcer was not healing, good news – new biopsies taken showed NO CANCER or H-Pylori! Scott and I did a big “High 5”!! I was scheduled to have a partial gastrectomy on July 14, 2023.

I woke up in recovery feeling good, excited at the prospect of eating solid food again! Then my surgeon comes in to give me my post-operative results; You have stage IV, highly aggressive, adenocarcinoma! There is no cure, only therapy to control quality of life! The most shocking news of my life!

They say when it rains, it pours! Not only am I now in a fight for my life (literally) medical bills are rolling in now, but we also ended up owing a large sum to the IRS this year, and our washing machine and dryer died at the same time (two weeks ago) and had to be replaced. The emotional toll of this situation is immense, and I want to be able to focus on recovery without the burden of financial stress. I would love to return to the working world, but chemotherapy treatments really make that an unrealistic hope at this time.

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Jeremiah 17:14

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.”