Read Time: 7 minutes
鈥淔arming families stick together. We always have. And that is what I love about Huntsman Cancer Institute. That communal care you receive. Everyone pitches in.鈥
Farming is a demanding and challenging profession that requires hard work and dedication. Farmers must be able to persevere through difficult times and adapt to changing conditions and new technologies.
鈥淗aving cancer is like farming because you don鈥檛 have any control over it,鈥 says Kaci Popp, a young mother of two boys living in rural Montana. 鈥淪o many things can go wrong. You do a lot of praying: 鈥業f not this year, maybe next season will be better.鈥 This whole journey has helped me embrace patience as a virtue.鈥
Kaci鈥檚 journey started in February 2023 when she lost vision in her left eye while driving. 鈥淚 thought I was having a stroke.鈥 Within five hours, her vision returned. She had no other symptoms and after an MRI, she was diagnosed with atypical migraines.
Two weeks later, she noticed a lymph node behind her ear was swollen. After it grew a little, Kaci鈥檚 primary care doctor put her on antibiotics. 鈥淚 was more tired than usual鈥攁t least more than I thought I should have been. Initially, I thought it was my thyroid, but all my tests were normal.鈥
鈥淚 kept saying over and over to myself, 鈥楶lease Lord, silence my mind and open my heart. Open my heart to this journey before me.鈥欌
Kaci expected fatigue because she also happened to be pregnant with her third child. Yet when the lymph node became hard, she had an ultrasound that showed a mass on her thyroid. A biopsy confirmed abnormal cells that were malignant. 鈥淚t had wrapped itself completely around my internal jugular and created a clot. I went into the weekend knowing I had cancer, but nothing else. I was trying to remain as patient as possible and remember how I feel when we are farming.鈥
After the biopsy, Kaci had a neck scan that showed masses on her thyroid and chest, reducing her oxygen levels by taking up a third of her lung space. 鈥淚 flew to Salt Lake City that day.鈥
During this time, Kaci leaned on her family and community. Her husband flew with her while her mom and dad, who live down the road from her in Park City, Montana, watched over their two young boys. A town that originated as a stagecoach station remains tightly knit, but also far away from the cancer care Kaci needed.
Kaci arrived at the University of 极速六合彩 Hospital Labor and Delivery Unit on March 4 and stayed one week. 鈥淚 was having waves of emotions. We knew we were in the right place though. We had just received a DoorDash order when they told us they needed to induce me.鈥 On March 11, Kaci鈥檚 daughter, Allison, came into the world.
鈥淚 was having waves of emotions. We knew we were in the right place though.鈥
鈥淓verything we needed, we got. I feel that Huntsman Cancer Institute treated my whole family.鈥
Two days later, Kaci moved to Huntsman Cancer Institute, still unaware of what type of cancer she had. 鈥淚 had so much neck pain and couldn鈥檛 sleep, but as soon as I had Allison, the symptoms went away, and I got a good night鈥檚 sleep. A couple of days later, my tests weren鈥檛 great. There was no conclusion on what type of cancer I had after five neck biopsies. At that point, they were waiting on genetic testing to come back, but the tumors kept growing, so I started an aggressive chemotherapy regiment, with the hope of slowing down growth.鈥
On March 15, the masses had become so aggressive that doctors decided to take the entire lymph node, sending Kaci back into surgery. 鈥淭he mass was so big that the cardiothoracic surgeon would not clear me for intubation. I was consciously sedated during the operation. The lymph nodes had kind of gelled together, so they took the whole cluster.鈥
The official diagnosis was poorly differentiated papillary thyroid cancer (PDTC). 鈥淚 was told it was incurable. I was an emotional wreck. Every time someone came to the door, I wanted to cry. I could not have quiet. I had to sleep with the television on. I had to get past that. I have a type A personality鈥攖hings were out of my control鈥攕o I had to get that support from others.鈥
That support Kaci needed? It was everywhere. 鈥淓verything we needed, we got. I feel that Huntsman Cancer Institute treated my whole family. Looking back, everything happened so fast. In less than three weeks, I鈥檇 had biopsies, scans, tests, and given birth.鈥
Another worry of Kaci鈥檚 was that of being a good mother. 鈥淚 kept thinking, 鈥楬ow can I be a mom? Will this cancer take me away from them?鈥 [Two of] my kids weren鈥檛 around, and I struggled. But the care team had me FaceTime them. I didn鈥檛 know how I was going to tell them about my cancer but one of the specialists, Tara, gave me some books about how to talk to young kids about it. The people here really collaborated with me on my mental health. They said, 鈥榊ou have the chance to be here today and that鈥檚 all you can focus on.鈥 I kept saying over and over to myself, 鈥楶lease Lord, silence my mind and open my heart. Open my heart to this journey before me.鈥欌
鈥淚 kept thinking, 鈥楬ow can I be a mom? Will this cancer take me away from them?鈥
鈥淣ow, whenever I have negative thoughts, I put them on a piece of paper or a sticky note and crumple it up.鈥
Soon, Kaci鈥檚 perseverance would start to pay off. On April 7, genetic testing came back with a gene that could be targeted by medication. On April 10, Kaci and her baby Allison were discharged and went back to Montana. By June, her tumors had decreased in size. 鈥淢y thyroid tumor was completely gone by August. The mass in my chest had decreased from the size of a softball to that of a ping-pong ball and I wasn鈥檛 having any side effects from the medication.鈥
Kaci is currently on Alecensa, a she takes twice a day orally. 鈥淭his is the best I鈥檝e felt since 2020,鈥 she says.
When Kaci returned to Montana, she wasn鈥檛 ready to go back to work after the toll of the previous two months. 鈥淚 always wanted to start my own wellness center, so I quit my job as a nurse practitioner and started that. I wanted a better work-life balance. I rearranged my priorities so I can walk my kids to school or take them to work. The integrated approach at Huntsman Cancer Institute made me realize I can help in so many ways.鈥
Kaci talks about the positives she takes with her every day. 鈥淚n the hospital, walking from the NICU to the cancer hospital was an accomplishment. One of my doctors advised I journal. I was resistant because I didn鈥檛 want to recreate my thoughts. But now, whenever I have negative thoughts, I put them on a piece of paper or a sticky note and crumple it up.鈥
鈥淚 always wanted to start my own wellness center, so I quit my job as a nurse practitioner and started that鈥he integrated approach at Huntsman Cancer Institute made me realize I can help in so many ways.鈥
The time spent at Huntsman Cancer Institute helped Kaci find an inner strength she didn鈥檛 know she had. Her center, Mokara Wellness, named after the orchid and meaning 鈥渁rmy of support,鈥 is flourishing and Kaci was named in , celebrating her community鈥檚 best and brightest people.
Kaci is home now. As she prepares to go harvest corn late on a Friday afternoon, with the summer days getting shorter and the air getting colder, she finishes by talking about family. 鈥淔arming families stick together. We always have. And that is what I love about Huntsman Cancer Institute. That communal care you receive. Everyone pitches in.鈥