Help Julie Tipton Fight Cancer

August 26, 2015….the day that would change Julie Tipton's life forever. It started as any other day with a doctor’s appointment. She had developed a cough with slight shortness of breath for about a week and a half. The “normal day” began to spiral downward when the doctor told Julie the chest xray was “abnormal.” Next came the CT scan of the chest. As Julie waited in the exam room, she heard her doctor talking on the telephone, and he said, “Hold on it’s the oncologist calling.”  She texted her husband Devonn, “Pray. He’s talking to an oncologist.” What Julie did not know was that the doctor had already told Devonn to come to the office.

The CT scan showed a mass the size of a grapefruit on her chest, a large pleaural effusion (excessive fluid around the lung), fluid around the heart, and fuzzy spots on the spine. She was immediately scheduled to see the oncologist the very next day in Southaven. Due to severely low oxygen saturation levels at the oncologist’ s office, she was immediately admitted to Baptist Desoto for multiple tests. Thankfully, she was discharged for the weekend, so she could spend time with her family. 

She was readmitted to Baptist Desoto on 9/1 for surgery including biopsy of the mass, chest tube placement, and possible placement of a port. What was supposed to be a two-day admission turned into a 4-day very painful hospital stay. 

On 9/4, Julie was given the difficult diagnosis of lymphoma. She requires a PET scan on 9/10 and another surgery on 9/15 for insertion of a port. She will begin chemotherapy on 9/17 and every 3 weeks thereafter for 18 weeks. After chemotherapy is complete in January, she will begin radiation therapy. The doctor has already warned her that she will lose her hair after the first couple of treatments. She is a nurse and is having a hard time playing the role of the patient.

Julie is only 31 years old and the mother of 3 children (Cooper, 7, Anna Kate, 5, and Ava, 2) and wife to Devonn Tipton. She is also drama team director and co-youth director with her husband at The Pentecostals of Grenada, MS, nursing instructor, a nurse, a student, and now a cancer patient.

Help us help them. The bills are starting to mount, and they are doing everything they can to stay positive. Other costs include dental work that needs to be done before she starts chemo, travel/expenses for a second opinion, consultations with a nutritionist, a wig, cold cap therapy during chemo, just to name a few. All donations will go towards her treatment and travels to the doctor. 

If you wish to contribute to them directly, you can use any of the following addresses:

The Pentecostals of Grenada (tax deductible)
Julie Tipton Medical Fund
34 Bruce Road
Grenada, MS 38901
 or
Julie Tipton
P O Box 1201
Grenada, MS 38902

Julie and her family are so grateful and thankful to everyone for the calls, texts, and Facebook messages of encouragement. More importantly, your prayers have brought them strength and peace. Please continue to pray for Julie and her family.

Her friends,

Trae and Bethany Miller