Lung Cancer Spread to the Adrenal Glands

School Bus Driver With Stage 4 Cancer Overwhelmed By Students' Support

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (KARE) - A Minnesota school bus driver is used to picking up kids, but now, those kids are the ones picking her up, as she battles stage 4 cancer.

In 64-year-old Heidi Carston's 10th year as a bus driver for Independent School District 196, life took an unexpected turn. She got back from her morning route in late November to a phone call from her gastroenterologist.

"In one phone call, my life was changed forever," Carston said. "The biopsy showed that I had cancer in my stomach."

Life took an unexpected turn in Heidi Carston's 10th year as a school bus driver when she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic gastric cancer.(Source: Heidi Carston, KARE via CNN)

Carston, whose family has a history of cancer, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic gastric cancer. It was inoperable.

In December, she had to tell her students she wouldn't be their bus driver in the new year. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is an extreme intolerance to cold, so she couldn't continue her route.

"I miss it every day. I've passed my bus on the road, and now, it's hard," Carston said. "Stage 4 cancer is really kind of a tough pill to swallow."

She is now at home in Rosemount, going through chemotherapy.

As much as Carston misses her students, they miss her, too. Noah Webber, a sixth grader at Black Hawk Middle School, was in his first year on Carston's route when he heard about her cancer diagnosis.

"I started thinking about trying to do something, and I really couldn't just stand there and watch it happen. So, that's why I chose to start fundraising," the 11-year-old said.

Sixth grader Noah Webber raised $1,000 for his school bus driver, Heidi Carston, after her cancer diagnosis.(Source: KARE via CNN)

Noah came up with a bake sale, making apricot muffins and his grandmother's homemade banana bread, each treat baked with love. He raised $974 then added $26 of his own money to make an even $1,000.

The family delivered the money, a card and baked goods to Carston and her husband.

"I just couldn't even believe it," Carston said. "Pretty awesome kid."

With gifts, flowers and cards, the students from Carston's bus are staying with her as she steers a new route.

"Just thinking about all of this gives me a little more will to fight," she said. "Who knew that a bus driver could make an impact on them?"

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Carston as she navigates new expenses from her cancer diagnosis.

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Co-workers Organizing Fundraiser For 32-year-old Claremore Mom Fighting Stage 4 Colon Cancer

TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa business is rallying to support one of its own, a 32-year-old mom from Claremore who's fighting metastatic stage four colon cancer.

FOX23 met with Jordan Henry, who works as a medical assistant for Tulsa Dermatology to learn more about how the doctors and staff are rallying behind her.

Henry said this journey actually started with an unexpected diagnosis back in July after she went in for a colonoscopy.

"It was a shock, did not expect it at all," she said.

Henry said what began with stomach issues, resulted in the discovery of a 2.5-inch tumor in her colon.

The married mother of a 3-year-old daughter named Hadlee, says she underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy.

She was prepped for surgery to remove the tumor in her colon, when her surgeon made another discovery, spots on her liver.

She and her husband flew to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, for a second opinion as far as how to proceed.

"I was supposed to be cancer free, I was supposed to wake up cancer free," she recalled. "That was everybody's impression."

Instead, she's preparing to undergo a clinical trial in Oklahoma City next week with a new drug as part of a chemotherapy regimen.

Her oncologist told her she is a surgical candidate to have the cancer removed from her liver and her colon.

His prognosis?

"'We're going to get this out and we think that we have a plan and we think that you're curable,'" she recalled.

"I mean that's the hope," she noted. "That they can get rid of it and I can live cancer free without the fear of it coming back."

She'll return to MD Anderson in Houston for the surgery.

Jordan's not on this journey alone. Her colleagues at work, dressed in "Her fight is my fight" t-shirts are launching a second fundraiser for her right now. They organized one after they found out she had colon cancer.

Regan Geisinger, a certified dermatology tech, is one of the organizers.

"It's hard being a mom to a 3-year-old, let alone a mom working and having to fight for her life right now," Geisinger said.

And it's not just the financial support that matters, the staff and the doctors are very supportive of their colleague.

"We just try to be there as much as we can for her always, 24/ 7, anytime," Geisinger said. "If she wants to come into work, she can come into work. If she doesn't want to come into work, that's fine."

"Whatever she needs us to do, we're going to do for her," she added.

Jordan said this journey has given her a new outlook on life.

"That life is short, I mean life is very short," she said. "Take every moment that you can to enjoy life."

She said she's determined to beat cancer.

She also said being a mother has strengthened her resolve.

"My baby, my baby girl, my 3-year-old, she's my fighting grace for everything, I want to be there when she…for all the things, I've got to get through this so I can."

Her message to others is that 32-years old is not too young to have stage four colon cancer. And don't ignore the symptoms.

She had experienced stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and blood in her stool before meeting with a GI specialist.

Regular screening, beginning at age 45, is the key to preventing colorectal cancer and finding it early according to the CDC.

To learn more about colon cancer click here.

For more information on how you can help with fundraising efforts for Jordan Henry, you can reach out to Kellie Kirby at Kelliek@tulsadermatology.Com or Regan Geisinger at regan@tulsadermatology.Com .

Stomach Cancer News And Research

Pioneering Genomic Progress: An Interview with Rami Mehio, Illumina's Software and Informatics Expert

Rami Mehio

In this interview, Rami Mehio, head of software and informatics at Illumina, shares his experiences and contributions to major genomic projects like the UK Biobank's whole genome sequencing. He discusses the challenges and innovations in genomic data analysis, highlighting Illumina's role in advancing genetic research and precision medicine.

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