Kelly is a wife, mom, and an 11-year synovial sarcoma survivor.
In 2013, she stubbed her big toe, injuring her left foot. After a clear x-ray, she tried to stay off her foot, kept it elevated, and took anti-inflammatory meds, yet after a month, she could still hardly walk on her foot. She also noticed a bump on the ball of the foot area on the bottom. After seeing a podiatrist and having a CT Scan, MRI, and ultrasound, she was diagnosed with what was thought to be a benign tumor of the big toe tendon.
Kelly proceeded with surgery in Ames to remove the bump. However, when she woke up, she was told the tumor was possibly sarcoma. During the surgery, they looked at it under a microscope and decided to abort the removal.
She was immediately sent to Dr. Ben Miller at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Sarcoma Multidisciplinary Oncology Group. Two weeks later, she had successful surgery removing her 2cm tumor and big toe tendon. As soon as her stitches were removed, Kelly had 32 radiation treatments at Bliss Cancer Center in Ames.
For the past 10 years, Kelly has had CT scans and x-rays of her lungs. All have been clean, with no evidence of disease! Being 10 years cancer-free, she no longer needs to have regular checkups.
Word of Wisdom
Kelly shares her story often to give others fighting this disease hope that they, too, can get past this.
