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youngest children, Ashlee (17), Bryan (15) and Zak (14), down in the kitchen to inform them of her condition.

"She came back from the doctor crying and I asked her what was wrong and she told me," said Bryan during a recent interview.

Before Deb's treatment could begin the doctors had to wait for her hemoglobin count to rise back to a normal level because it was dangerously low. Once she was cleared for treatment, they inserted a port right above her heart that would make it easier to administer her chemotherapy treatments and to take blood for further testing. Once treatment began, it was intensive and included daily treatments of chemotherapy and radiation for a six week period. The next four weeks was a waiting process for Deb and her children. Before any type of surgical procedure could begin to remove the cancerous tumor, every trace of chemo and radiation had to be gone from her body. Initially, the surgery seemed to be a success.

When I asked how the treatments have affected her, Deb said, "The only thing that is affecting me is the chemo. Other than the surgery, I haven't felt ill from the cancer."

During the first round of treatments, her hair and fingernails became brittle and she lost her eyelashes. For the treatments she's getting now, Deb's only reaction is extreme drowsiness.

After a full recovery from surgery she began her second round of six week chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Once again, Deb had to wait for the next step in the process. The doctors were waiting to see if the combination of treatments and surgery were successful. It was then that the news broke: her cancer had spread. The cancerous cells had moved into her liver and one lung pushing Deb into stage four of her cancer. She felt that everything she had just been through was a waste of time and money because it seemed like she would have to start completely over.

"It was disheartening and seemed like a waste of my time," said Deb.

The fourth stage of cancer occurs when it has spread to distant organs and tissues such as the liver and the lungs. Treatment in this stage usually includes surgery and chemotherapy. However, the goal for surgery at this stage is not a cure unless the number of cancerous cells is small according to the American Cancer Society.

The decision was then made Deb's doctors to begin a third, stronger round of chemotherapy treatments. Presently she is in the midst of her chemo treatments that are scheduled to last for the next six months. She has rapidly

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