Deb Allen Deborah Allen

Mom’s journey began about 6 months ago with what she thought was a cold virus. Having just come back from another fun adventure in late November with her travel buddy, Louise, she was feeling a bit run down as what appeared to be a cold virus put her in a bit of a slump for a couple weeks.  As the winter progressed, she was in and out of urgent care a couple times, sure she had the nasty flu bug that plagued so many of us.  By February she still couldn’t kick it and went back and asked for chest x-ray, which showed pneumonia.  She treated the pneumonia but after another couple months, she still wasn’t up to par.  Exercise was leaving her breathless and wheezing was apparent when talking.  After some gentle nudging Mom called her GP the end of April and shared her symptoms.  During the follow up appointment the x-ray showed a large mass in her left lung.  Within days they ordered a CT scan.  Mom completed the scan on May 4th. 

On May 7th, Mom received a call from her doctor asking her to come in to discuss the CT results.  Mom bravely listened to the doctor tell her the mass appeared to be large cancerous tumor, encompassing the bottom portion of her left lung.  Over the course the past couple weeks, Mom has undergone multiple tests and procedures to determine a clear diagnosis, including a bronchoscopy, PET scan, and MRI to name a few.    Yesterday afternoon (5/24/18), we received the full diagnosis, which is Extensive (metastatic) Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), with an 11cm tumor in the lower left portion of her lung, and multiple smaller tumors in her brain.  For those who are unfamiliar, SCLC is a very aggressive form of cancer, where the majority of diagnosis occur when the patient is already in extensive stage, which is what we are experiencing with Mom.   

For those that know Mom, you know she is fighter, and this battle is no different for her!  She is determined to remain positive and hopeful as she gives this cancer the fight of its life!  She is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love and support she has received from all her family and friends.  As she moves through her treatments, it will be necessary for her to put her self care as top priority, which may delay her response time.  We ask that you use this website as the main source of updates/information on her battle.  This page will also serve as a link to sign up pages to assist with transportation to and from treatment, meals, and dog walking for her 3 precious pups

Again we are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received these past weeks and ask you continue to keep her in your prayers!  We would like to encourage you to leave your positive thoughts of encouragement for her on this site!