Friends have set up a gofundme page for a Weyburn mother of four who is dealing with cancer.
In early 2019, Jasmine Ozmun was diagnosed with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma (a kidney cancer with mets to the bones and lymph nodes). Most individuals diagnosed with kidney cancer don’t present symptoms until the cancer has spread and unfortunately, this was the case for Jasmine.
According to information from her friend Melissa Periard, who set up the gofundme page, October marked the one-year anniversary of the appointment Jasmine made to figure out what to do with what she believed was a pulled muscle in her hip. Up until this point, she was extremely active in every aspect of her life. The diagnosis she received following that first appointment was a shock to Jasmine and everyone around her.
She and her husband have 11-year-old twins, and a nine and six-year-old who keep her on her toes.
Jasmine needed to have a hip replacement, which she had in 2019, and was also treated with 10 rounds of radiation to help combat the pain. This was strictly for palliative reasons, as this particular cancer does not respond to radiation. As a result Jasmine now experiences compression of her vertebrae.
Jasmine had started her first treatment of a targeted therapy just prior to her hip replacement. Unfortunately, this treatment came with many side effects that made her extremely sick.
Jasmine received the results of her treatment in October 2019. The results confirmed her greatest fear that the immunotherapy was not successful. During the five-month period the tumors grew by over 50 per cent in size and she developed several new ones. She also found out that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
Knowing that the treatment was not effective, her oncologist switched to a different targeted therapy, but within two weeks Jasmine was hospitalized with severe side effects and promptly taken off treatment. A second opinion along with information about other treatment options is being sought, including consulting with the Mayo Clinic.
Periard said of the fundraising efforts, “The goal of the fundraising is to assist Jasmine and her family with costs associated with getting a second opinion and costs associated with exploring other treatment options. It is also our hope that this will help support any travel and accommodations needed once a new treatment plan is in place.”
If you would like to follow along with Jasmine on her journey, see her journal at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jasmineozmun
To see the gofundme page to donate, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jasmine-win-her-fight-against-cancer?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=dd483db71f56450fa0b4e3d0178b6dfb&fbclid=IwAR3V8lzKlm2BczJgV5cgefCNHr4j4V00Pz3uFz778N_6XDsigBHfTzhGV0M
