A big thanks to all of our community supporters - We appreciate you!
A big thanks to all of our community supporters - We appreciate you!
Sign up to hear from us about updates on Kensley's progress.
Kensley began chemo treatment. Her current treatment plan is scheduled for 18 months. After receiving the chest port, some fluids, and receiving a negative bone marrow biopsy, she's well on her way to recovery.
Doctors have reported a significant decrease in the size of the internal mass from 16 x 6 x 5 cm to 12.5 x 4.5 x 4 cm.
Her weight is back up to 23lbs and her blood counts are amazing. She has developed a bit of neuropathy - where she says it feels like her "legs are broken" and sometimes a little drooping in her right eye which is a known side effect of one of the chemo meds she is taking.
The activity in the tumor cells decreased from 11 cm to 6 cm. And there is no longer any activity n your lymph nodes.
Kensley's tumor had minor shrinkage this time around from 12.5cm to 11.8cm. She had a vaginoscopy on 5/12/21 to check for the origin of the tumor again. The surgeon was able to resect a large amount of her tumor (about 6cm). They now believe her tumor may be attached to her uterus. After her team meets to discuss these findings and the best option we will move on to the next steps to get the rest of the tumor removed.
On December 2020, our 2 year old daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma or RMS. Since January of 2021, she began an intensive set of chemo treatment, radiation and multiple surgeries to remove and reduce her cancer cells. This January, after completing 8 rounds of radiation, she was scheduled for what we thought was her last surgery to try and remove an isolated piece of the tumor from her vaginal and bladder areas. Several hours in to the delicate surgery, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to her abdomen and her liver. Kensley is now 3 and continues to fight her refractory tumor with a very caring team of doctors at Children's National Hospital. Some of her journey was shared here on the Children's Hospital Website .
With the spread of her tumors, they are no longer operable and her current care of intensive chemotherapy requires 24 hour hospitalization. Her parents have been by her side for the last 30 days and will continue to stay by her side through her current treatments and our prayers are for her tumor growth to stop. As both parents have exhausted their paid leave at work, we're actively working to support their non-medical bills (mortgage, food, care for Kensley's 10 year old brother DJ, etc.). We've set up this fund for anyone who would like to contribute to their monthly household expenses for this year while they continue to focus on fighting with Kensley.
We could not be more grateful for the kindness and generosity that so many of you have shown to Kensley and our family. And the outstanding care she continues to receive from Healthcare Heroes and people who have offered help in so many ways. We Thank You. #kensleystrong
The beginning of March Kensley had a clinic visit to see how she was doing and she WALKED into the office, the doctors were shocked and immediately agreed that they should try another cycle of chemo to “stabilize the tumors”. Kensley had a scan yesterday and I couldn’t keep the results to myself. Below you will see the image of her stomach a month ago (on the right) and her stomach on the left is from 3/16/22 with MAJOR tumor shrinkage (green lines are the tumor measurements). MY GOD is a miracle worker!!! I thank you ALL for the prayers, God is hearing our cry! PLEASE continue to pray for Kensley that we continue to see these positive results. They counted her out! But God counted her back in!!!
On May 30th Kensley went into the hospital for 3 days of radiation treatment. While the treatment was successful and Kens got to ring the bell - the mass on her liver increased. Even with this news Kens is still doing well and thriving. While Kensley’s last scans was not what we had hoped for but not completely the worst. Her liver mass increased a bit everything else remained stable. We have been in constant contact with a Dr. at Mayo Clinic who wants to cure her!! She has been scheduled for surgery next Thursday 6/23. We will be flying to Minnesota PLEASE keep her in your prayers: we are praying that the tumors remain stable and that she has a successful surgery. We are praying and believing that Kensley is coming out cancer free 🙌🏾🙏🏾. The finish line is near, complete healing is loading. Thank you all for the prayers during this long journey. Let’s get Kensley into remission for GOOD!
On Thursday June 23rd, 2022 Kensley was admitted to surgery at the Mayo Clinic. There was a lung nodule they were concerned about but tested it and it is negative for cancer. During a 12 hour surgery they removed ALL of the tumors that were present and she began HIPEC which is a heated chemotherapy that is applied directly to the abdomen to kill any remaining microscopic cells. After the surgery she remained in a sedated state for a couple of days with a breathing tube and vent to allow her body to rest and heal and to give her right lung some time to heal as it took a little beating from being compressed by her diaphragm that was being pushed up due to the large liver tumor.
She is tugging on heart strings here at Mayo, she always touches people wherever she goes! so many here are already inspired by her story and I give GOD all the praise for making her the fighter that she is. She is SO strong that she has been fighting the sedation today and trying to pull out her breathing tube 🤣🤦🏽♀️. I am SO incredibly grateful for her team here at the Mayo Clinic, the Doctor in charge is a servant of God himself and I could never repay him for saving my baby and giving her a fighting chance, something no other doctor was willing to do! I highly recommend the Mayo Clinic to anyone!
It is with our deepest sorrow and gratitude to everyone who prayed and gave and stayed on the journey with us that we are heart broken today as God has called Kensley Brielle back home to rest. She was our princess warrior, a bright spirit who gave us more than we knew we needed. She taught us how to be brave, how to laugh, and how to love deeply.
Thank you for your prayers, your gifts, your outreach and your love. We will continue to need it in the coming days ahead. For now we ask for your continued prayers especially for her parents Nkenge, Tania and her brother DJ. We may all need a little time of solitude as we try to heal and stand together. We love you forever Kensley #kensleystrong
Copyright © 2024 Kensley Strong - All Rights Reserved.