Tasha Kann fought brain cancer while she was pregnant. After delaying cancer treatment to make sure the baby was born healthy, she was told she had about 12 months left to live.
“I didn’t know what really to think. I guess in my mind, brain cancer, I thought I would die. To be honest, I thought I would anyways. So I thought I would just keep my baby alive,” said Tasha.
The 30 year-old mother tears up thinking about the day her world was turned upside down. She was 20 weeks pregnant at the time.
She says she was told her best option for survival was to abort her baby and to start chemo and radiation right away. Tasha says giving up her child was never an option.
“I was going to keep her and fight and go home and fight it,” said Tasha.
Tasha says being a hospice nurse, she knows the odds are against her. She wants to beat them and watch her baby grow up. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Gracey back in October.
The hospital said treatment was still an option after she gave birth, but that all changed a few weeks ago. Her oncologist discovered more cancer that regular scans missed. Her prognosis of survival was shortened from years to months, and now doctors are saying radiation and chemo won’t work.
“There’s a spot of cancer in my central nervous system where the cancer is coming from. They’re actually surprised to see that I’m walking and talking and living a normal life,” said Tasha. “My prognosis isn’t good, so they don’t even want to try. I’m not giving up. I won’t.”
The Kanns have since turned to a Texas clinic to seek alternative treatment. It’s pricey, costing thousands of dollars a month, and it’s not covered by insurance. Friends of the family have started a GoFundMe to help ease the financial burden.
Taylor, her husband of four years, is an Oscoda County Sheriff’s deputy. He says he’s been blown away by the support of the community.
“It’s pretty overwhelming. It gives you hope,” said Taylor. “We’ve exhausted our financial resources through retirements and savings that got us down there for the first month of treatment. And now to know that we have a second month locked in, that’s a good feeling.”
The Kanns are hoping to raise enough for a year’s worth of treatments, at the high cost of $200,000. While they know the prognosis doesn’t look good, they say they’re still praying for a miracle.
“She’s already beat the prognosis time. It was June 6 of ‘22, and we’ve passed that. And, you know, every day past that is her proving somebody wrong.”
Tasha agrees. “It’s scary, but I don’t really listen to them. How do they know? They told me I shouldn’t be walking or talking and living normal. And I am, so. ...”
