The story of Jennifer Hayse,
a
courageous young mother and her battle with cancer
1971 – 2006
Jennifer Ann Hayse age 34, of Plymouth, Michigan, died February
10, 2006,
in Jerusalem, Israel, after a courageous battle with
breast cancer. Her husband, father, and
some close friends were with her at the end. Her health had been declining for several weeks, but
her spirits remained surprisingly good (mingled with difficult times, of
course). She still commented on how
fortunate she was to have such great friends, so much help, and that she was
able to see God working in her situation.
Jennifer is survived by her husband, Keith,
whom she married February 14, 1993, and her three children; Nicholas,
Natalie, and Angelina. Please see below
for Jennifer’s story of her battle with breast cancer, and her gift of life to
baby Angelina.
New! Share your
memories of Jen!
Jennifer’s story
Jennifer Hayse,
a Visteon engineer, was 31 and a mother of two.
When she found a lump in each breast in July of 2003, she dutifully went
to her doctor, and had a mammogram done.
But, because she was so young, and the statistics were in her favor, the
doctors did not biopsy the lumps, assuming they were just cysts. So Jennifer and her husband Keith, assured
that she was fine, went ahead with their family plans. In January of 2004, Jennifer was delighted to
find she was pregnant with her much-longed-for 3rd child. A few months later, she noticed increasing
pain in her breasts. A follow-up
mammogram confirmed that she was a stage IIIC cancer victim. The doctor’s advice: terminate the pregnancy,
to save her own life. Jennifer would not give up her child. She researched her options, and found that
some chemotherapy treatments were safe for pregnant women and their
babies. She started treatment in March
of 2004, a week after her diagnosis, at the Karmanos Institute in Detroit. In September, she gave birth to a healthy,
beautiful little girl, Angelina. Two
weeks later, she underwent a double mastectomy, with additional removal of many
lymph nodes. But there was a tumor under
her left arm which could not be removed fully – it had grown around nerves and
into the wall of a blood vessel.
Subsequent chemo and radiation therapy were not effective. In March of 2005, she began going to Cancer Treatment
Centers of America, for monthly chemo treatments. By August of 2005, she found out that the
cancer was continuing to spread. She was
referred to NCI in Bethesda,
Maryland, but soon found that her cancer
had progressed beyond their capabilities, and they would not accept her as a
patient. In October, she was referred to
the Hadassah Medical Center
in Jerusalem, for treatment which
was not available in the States. She
left for Israel
on November 11th, 2005 She was admitted to the hospital in Jerusalem
on November 28th, 2005. She was accompanied by her father and sister,
who are needed as DNA-matched donors, and by her devoted husband Keith.
Jennifer started her treatment in early December with high-dose chemo and
full-body radiation. She remained in
isolation for the duration of the treatment, since it basically destroyed her
immune system. She had a bone marrow
transplant, and was also treated with white blood cells from her father. Early indications had been that the treatment
was a success – her immune system had been replaced with that of her father,
which was the goal. However, it was
unclear if the cancer was going away, and the doctors could not subject her
delicate immune system to a PET scan to find out. She was released from the
hospital in early January, but remained in Israel
so she could be tested every few days.
In late January, she was re-admitted to Hadassah struggling with side
effects of the treatment. She died from complications of the cancer &
cancer treatment on Friday, February
10th, 2006.
Click here for a picture
of the Hayse family taken just before Jen and Keith
left for Israel.
Throughout her whole ordeal, Jennifer’s strong faith in God
sustained her and her family and friends.
She was very upbeat and positive on the whole, and her few down moments
(although well justified!) were brief.
When interviewed at the 2004 Race
for the Cure, her first comment was “I’m so lucky”, in appreciation of the
support shown to her by her family, friends, co-workers, and community. She was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Jennifer’s story has been featured on Channel
4 WDIV news, and in the Detroit News. In 2004 she was
awarded the Karmanos Institute’s Geri Lester Courage
Award.
Jennifer’s message to
other young women is that they should not let doctors ignore warning signs
simply because they are young – cancer can strike at any age.
Links to media coverage of Jennifer’s illness:
Karmanos
Geri Lester Courage Award
Jennifer’s interview
on Channel 4 November 21, 2005
http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/5375919/detail.html
Community support
The Isbister Elementary School and Red Bell Preschool and
Daycare center in Plymouth, MI,
attended by the Hayse’s older children Nicholas and
Natalie, have rallied around the Hayse family. Generous families from these communities and
their neighborhood provided meals, laundry service, and help with the
housecleaning. The Red Bell community also “adopted” the Hayse
family for Christmas in 2005, and raised money to help with Jennifer’s medical
bills.
Jen Possible
Jen Possible
started as the Visteon Corporate team
name for the 2004 Race for the Cure in Detroit. Jennifer’s fondness of “Kim Possible”, along with her amazing
faith and positive attitude, inspired the logo at the top of this page,
designed by co-workers. Carrying a
banner with this logo, and get-well messages from dozens of Visteon employees
and friends of the family, several co-workers walked with her and her husband
during the Races in 2004 and 2005.
Sharks!
Jennifer used the
imagery of sharks gobbling up the cancer cells to help her get through the
chemo. The messages on the Jen Possible
banner were shaped as sharks and hearts.
Prayer support
One of the most important ways to help Jennifer’s family is
to pray for them. Jennifer firmly
believed in the power of prayer, and drew strength from the knowledge that so
many people are praying for her. Please
pray for her husband and children, this time has been difficult for them, and
they will miss Jen terribly. The Hayse family has been added to prayer lists and prayer
chains around the world, please add them to yours!
New! Share your memories of Jen!
A close friend of Jennifer’s would like to compile stories
and memories of Jennifer, and how her love, courage, and faith were such an
inspiration to all. Click here for more
information. Send your stories to mailto:jenpossible@jenpossible.us. Thanks!
Fundraising updates
Our fundraising efforts are now completed. Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of
people, enough funds were raised to cover the bulk of Jennifer’s medical
expenses. Thanks to you all!
