Prayers for Meg

• Posted by John Slaten March 27, 2012 - #  - 719 views

  When you ask Meganne Campbell how she gets through the day, her answer is simple: She has her faith.
  
  Meganne is only 22, but she’s fighting an aggressive form of cervical cancer that has halted her former way of life. Her life now is hospital visits, cancer treatments, long hours of resting, and pain. A lot of pain.
  
  Meganne was only 21 – a month shy of her 22 birthday – when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer after doctors discovered an aggressive tumor that had started to affect some of her organs, including her kidneys.
  
  “They knew immediately when they started there was a huge tumor there,”said Meganne’s mother, Kera Cash.
  
  The diagnosis followed months of pain and nausea that Meganne – or Meg – had fought, all the while believing she was dealing with a case of polycystic ovarian syndrome, a genetic and relatively common ailment that affects many women.
  
  Doctors chose an aggressive treatment program for Meg, reasoning that she was young and healthy. In fact, she was so young when she was diagnosed that Kera said doctors informed them she was one of the youngest adult patients to be treated for cervical cancer at Markey Cancer Center in Lexington, Ky.
  
  “It was a brutal treatment,” Kera said, remembering the external radiation and chemotherapy program Meg underwent.
  
  The external radiation focused on the tumor, labeled in stage 3b because it had grown large enough to spread to Meg’s pelvic wall. Before three weeks had passed after treatment started, on May 31 2011, the tumor began to shrink considerably.
  “The tumor responded very well,” Kera said.
  
  In June, Meg missed a chemotherapy appointment because doctors determined her hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells, was too low. A blood transfusion was scheduled on June 21. Meg began seizing during the procedure, and she was rushed to Lexington while doctors worked to determine what had happened.
  
  In essence, Meg had experienced a severe negative reaction to the radiation. Doctors diagnosed her with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Parts of Meg’s brain had swollen in response to the radiation, leading to the seizures and other symptoms.
  
  The radiation was stopped. Meganne remained in the hospital while she recovered until July 9, 2011.
  
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  Meganne and her mother continued to hold tight to their faith. They prayed often. They invited nurses and doctors to pray with them. Many of them did.
  
  Yet the complications continued. Meg turned down another round of radiation due to exhaustion during her stay at UK in June and July.
  
  Doctors and nurses found soon after that her heart was beating irregularly and they took steps to correct it.
  
  “I just woke up and all these people were in my room,” Meg said, about that day.
  After Meg recovered, she was sent home. But the tumor wasn’t gone. The sudden halt to radiation meant that tiny areas were still left in Meganne’s body. Those spots would grow quickly and merge to form another large tumor.
  
  Meganne and her family and friends discovered in January that the tumor had returned for sure, and this time it had moved into the hip bone area.
  
  The odds of survival given by medical professionals before Meg’s first round of radiation had only been around 20 to 30 percent. This time, it was worse.
  
  “He (Meg’s oncologist) told me the best he could offer was palliative care if this turned out to be cancer again,” Kera said.
  
  Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stresses of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis.
  
  The management of Meg’s pain was important, and doctors said she would undergo a round of chemotherapy around once a month.
  
  Meg was in the hospital from January 9 through January 23 while doctors worked to get her immense pain under control.
  
  Now home again, she has strong painkillers delivered into her body by an IV. The tumor has caused severe discomfort and pain yet again. Meg rests much of the day, when she’s not in too much pain, and she tries to eat as much as she can in hopes of putting some weight back on.
  
  “She has good days and bad days,” Kera said.
  In the age of social networking, Meg’s struggle has led to the creation of a group of well-wishers on Facebook. “Team Meg” boasts nearly 1,000 members, and Kera and others post about Meg’s progress – and about any setbacks – for group members almost daily. When Meg is feeling up to it, she posts as well in thanks to those who have prayed and those who are thinking of her.
  
  “I want to thank you all for the words of encouragement and prayers that
  have been said,” Meg wrote on the group’s wall on Jan. 22 – a day before
  her discharge from her latest stay in Lexington. “It has definitely been a
  big help for me keeping up such a positive attitude through this whole thing. I know everybody is here to support me but just remember, the biggest supporter that is holding me right now is Our Lord.”
  
  Alongside that, Kera’s daily e-mail list has grown from a few close family members to a few hundred friends and family members.
  
  It seems that Meg and her family have developed a support group. For that, they are immensely grateful. Kera is planning on attending the “Sprit
  Raising” concert for Meg, organized by family and friends, on Feb. 25 at the Hal Rogers Training Center in Somerset. The event is unique in that only written prayers, Bible verses, words of encouragement and even clean jokes will be taken as admission in hopes of lifting Meg’s spirit.
  
  Meg is hoping she’ll be able to attend.
  
  “I just go day by day,” Meg said simply. “That’s all you can do.”
  
  Kera hasn’t left her daughter’s side since the diagnosis in May 2011. She said her daughter’s indomitable spirit is an inspiration, especially in the face of constant radiation and chemo treatments, consistent pain and the health complications that have left the family reeling.
  
  “She (Meg) can choose to curl up in a ball and stop, or she can do what she can do,” Kera said. “ …. Me, as a human, I can do nothing. As a mom I can pray and heat up her rice, change her bed sheets … and wash her hair.”
  Meg is scheduled for chemotherapy this upcoming week, which will take place at Markey Cancer Center instead of in Somerset in case Meg experiences any complications.
  
  When asked how she’s dealing with everything – the pain, the treatments, and the uncertainty – Meg is matter-of-fact.
  
  “It’s all in His hands,” she said. “I’m not worried at all … what happens, happens.”
  Although Kera and Meg and their family received news they didn’t want to hear, they haven’t stopped hoping for a turn-around. They haven’t stopped smiling.
  
  “I really believe that she’ll get healed at the end of all this,” Kera said.
  And they haven’t stopped praying. Kera said their devotion to their faith has even given Meg’s oncologist pause.
  
  “He (the oncologist) said that with her attitude and her moral support and her faith … he said ‘I think there’s a chance we can lick this one,’” Kera said.
  “We’ve had a great opportunity to minister to people and to witness to people,” Kera continued. “That’s been such a blessing.”
  
  They’ll continue to pray, as they have since the beginning. Meg’s home is host to many, many visitors, many of which go there to pray with the ailing 22-year-old and her mother and others.
  
  “I’m hoping that any minute, she’ll stop having to push the (epidural) button or get her rice heated, and she’ll say how good she feels and start bouncing around,” Kera said.
  
  But until then, they’ll do what they know how to do. Pray.