We are using this site to keep family and friends updated in one place. It can be overwhelming for my mother and family to update each person individually.
Cheri, after a few months of not feeling well was diagnosed in November, 2013 with ovarian cancer just two short months after her first grandchild being born. Just a few short days later and a whole lot of prayers she underwent a total hysterectomy. At this time her oncologist was unsure if she would make it out of surgery. Thankfully Cheri fought through and awoke by her family and friends by her side. Her fight wasn’t even close to being over. She then was discharged home for just another few short days before her aggressive chemo therapy would start. This aggressive form of chemo left Cheri almost bed ridden, but never the less she made it through and went into remission!
For the last 6 years Cheri has battled hard. The cancer started to spread more and more every time it had came back. Her second remission had come about after she started a trial drug at Karmanos Cancer Center, in Detroit, MI. Sadly once the cancer returned while on the trial drug she was no longer a candidate. Thankfully to chemotherapy and a whole lot of fight, Cheri went into remission one more time beating cancers a**!
Sadly in April 2019 she was given the diagnosis again. The cancer had indeed returned, and Cheri started living her nightmare once again. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and liver. After sometime she felt that she needed a second opinion. She traveled to see her daughter, Amber in Houston, TX to have a second opinion at MD Anderson. The oncologist that assessed her case believed that the cancer center here in Kalamazoo, MI was treating the cancer exactly as MD Anderson would. They also had mentioned that there was no trial at the current time that she would be a candidate for.
This news didn’t set Cheri back one bit! She knew she wanted to fight, and fight hard for her babies and loved ones. Upon receiving her chemo, Cheri starting having terrible abdomen pain. After a few tests and a whole lot of pain later, her physician had concluded that her ureter had collapsed and that her kidney function was declining. This was due to disease progression and the spread of cancer pushing up against it. They had placed a stent in her ureter to help her kidney. This caused excruciating pain on top of the chemotherapy side effects. Around this time she had also found out that the cancer was growing and enlarging her lymph nodes even more,. Cheri had also received news that there were two small spots in her brain that were inoperable, and were most likely cancer.
Cheri had fallen ill a few months after her stent placement , with what they thought was pneumonia after a chemotherapy treatment. A few ins and outs from the hospital and she found out that her diagnosis turned terminal. Since then Cheri has been in and out of the hospital with fluid on her lungs making it terribly difficult for her to breath and excruciating pain. She has received a procedure called a thoracentesis where they drained this fluid off her lungs so she could breath better once again. Around this time Cheri had found out that not only was the cancer that was previously there was growing but there was new lesions on her pelvis and liver. The fluid from her lung was tested, and sadly showed cancer as well.
Her oncologist thought that if they could get her healthy chemotherapy could give her up to a year to live. Tragically this isn’t the case anymore. Hospice has been contacted and Cheri’s time on this beautiful earth is limited.
I will be placing dates with updates from here on out. Please reach out to me personally if any of you have questions. I will do my best to answer them as soon as I can, and give the information to my mother. Sending all my love to each and everyone of you! -Amber
Hello all! Once again, it’s been a while since I updated once again. Mom has been having more bad days than good. She’s been sleepy and in a lot of pain, and has had a lot of difficulty breathing. We’re so very thankful for Southwest Michigan Hospice. They have been working on getting a medication regimen that works for mom to allow her to stay home close to her loved ones. Her birthday is this Saturday, so please send your prayers for a good day! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support, thoughts, prayers and kind words. ❤️
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