The Jensen Family

Hello, there.

Thank you for stopping by. This has been some time coming, and after several very difficult months for Steph and Travis, we wanted to take a minute to both share a little bit about what is going on, and also ask that you consider coming alongside us as we help them navigate these waters of uncertainty, emotional strain, and financial burden.

From the Jensens:

Where to begin? Today I write this with the intention of updating everyone on the journey we have been on the last few months but also to thank each and every one of you that have supported us mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially. Some have contributed in all ways, some in one or two ways, and from the deepest depths of our hearts, we thank you. It is our family, friends, and community that keep us going and give us hope for better days to come.

We initially had hoped to write this update as not only a thank you but also as an end to this battle we have been fighting. Unfortunately, that is not how it’s worked out. Instead, we have gotten bad news, on top of bad news, on top of bad news. For some of you, you may just now be learning about what we have been facing, so I will just start from the beginning and try and spare you all the small, tortuous details.

Back in August of 2022, Travis began experiencing some pretty significant lower right back pain. Some days were worse than others but it started to become a constant, steady pain that was now only increasing in intensity. After several doctor appointments where Travis was told it was likely an injury from lifting weights, one night (now Feb 2023) as he laid in bed he noticed a bulge on the right side of his belly. He called his doctor first thing in the morning and they scheduled him for an ultrasound later that week. Just to make the story more interesting the day before his ultrasound Travis was informed that the company he has worked for for 10+ years was cutting his position company-wide and that in 4 weeks' time he would no longer be employed. Blow number 1. Friday comes, Travis has his ultrasound on his belly and 20 minutes after leaving his appointment his doctor called and informed him that he has a very large mass on his right kidney that is consistent with Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer - Blow number 2) and this is where it all began.

After more scans, labs, and a biopsy it was found that Travis has a very rare form of Kidney Cancer called Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma. About 5% of all annual kidney cancer cases are Chromophobe. Chromophobe in most cases is slow growing, doesn’t spread, has a better prognosis and is best treated by surgical resection. But in about 5% of the 5% of cases, they turn into a metastatic form and unfortunately, Travis is in that very, very small percentage. We knew from the additional scans that there was lymph node involvement but we were still hopeful that would be the end of it. So next stop was surgery.

In late March 2023, Travis had what they call a radical right nephrectomy with an abdominal lymph node dissection. They removed his right kidney, the 14cm mass, 39 lymph nodes, and his right adrenal gland. Only 5 of those 39 lymph nodes had positive cancer cells so we were encouraged by that. We knew that this was a very extensive surgery and recovery would be 12 weeks long. Travis was not able to hold our babies for 6 weeks while he was on a 10lb weight restriction. At about 5 weeks post-surgery, Travis started having some significant leg and hip pain. He then went in for repeat scans of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis where they then found spots in both his right and left lung. We then were scheduled for another biopsy where they confirmed the cancer has now spread to his lungs. We were then on a path to start treatment, however, Travis’s leg pain continued and was increasing. After another look at his scans, we then found out that the cancer has also spread to his bones. He has multiple lesions on his pelvis and one large area on his left femur. Ultimately because of the progression/size and location of the lesion, surgical intervention was needed and needed fast. After a couple of opinions, the recommendation of 2 surgeons and our new Oncologist, we decided to go through with a hip and partial femur replacement -- this surgery was July 6, 2023. This recovery will be another 12 weeks until he will be full weight bearing on his left leg. And to top it off, after a week or so of experiencing some new neck pain, they recommended we do a CT of his neck first to make sure it was safe to do surgery. The results came back that there is also a lesion on his C2 vertebrae. We do not know for sure what our next steps are. We are really just focusing on his recovery after another 5-day hospital stay and pray he responds well to treatment. We are set to start treatment on 07/19/2023. Chromophobe, being such a rare form, is typically nonresponsive to treatment as there isn’t much out there to treat it. We need a miracle and we pray for one every day.

We are having some issues getting our insurance to cover our treatment. So we are currently working on getting those kinks worked out, and we have a long, long road ahead of us. We would appreciate all the prayers we can get. We again thank each and every one of you for all that you have done for us. We hope you know that it has not gone unnoticed. Sending all our light, love, and peace to you all.

ATTENTION: Let this be a reminder that you are your own advocate. It is so important to be persistent when you know something isn’t right. Listen to your body and trust your gut.

Much love,

The Jensens

As we walk alongside them on this road of uncertainty, I am sure there will be many things that they will need help with. As we identify those needs, we will be sure to share them here so everyone knows how they can help, and most importantly, how they can be praying for them. Our hope is to ease the burden of sharing details. With so many who love them, they are getting many messages every day. This is such a blessing, but it also puts so much more on "the to-do list" for Steph, so we hope to funnel as much of the information sharing and questions through this site and take as much of that off her plate as possible.

There are not currently any physical needs Steph and Trav need help with, but in the meantime, we can be praying for the following things:

We just want to say in advance -- THANK YOU all so much for the love you've already shown them, and the ways we anticipate you will continue to do so over these next weeks and months. We know they feel the love, and are so encouraged by it. So, thank you. A hundred times, thank you.