Kate Maese - Holy Spirit Mom of 3

In October of 2024, my life changed forever. After more than three years of dealing with persistent and worsening GI issues, I was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. The cancer had already spread to my hip bone & muscle, upper spine, lungs, and liver. Hearing those words felt like the ground disappeared beneath my feet. In a single moment, my world and my beautiful family’s world shifted.

The months leading up to my diagnosis were incredibly difficult. The summer of 2024, I was very sick. I had gained over 30 pounds rapidly within a year. I struggled constantly with bowel issues that were extremely painful. I was exhausted all the time. Just getting my kids ready for school would take everything I had out of me, and I’d find myself back in bed, fast asleep, with no energy left to give.

Three years earlier, during my last pregnancy, I had a colonoscopy due to bleeding. It came back clean, and I was told I wouldn’t need another until I was 45. So, when I returned to my GI doctor in 2024 explaining that something wasn’t right, I expected help. Instead, I was dismissed and told it was probably IBS. I was advised to take medication and “figure out how to handle it”, I pushed for answers and eventually saw a colon specialist at the end of July. I was told I had a fissure and was prescribed ointment. By September, I still had little improvement and was told it was likely pelvic floor weakness from having three babies and a C-section. I left that appointment feeling hopeless.

On the morning of October 21, 2024, I woke up very sick. That’s when I called one of my best friends, who was the director of nursing in a colorectal department. She urged me to go to the ER and request a CT scan of my upper abdomen. I’m so grateful she did. Shortly after arriving, I had the scan. About 45 minutes later, the ER doctor came in and asked me if I knew what a certain word meant, I didn’t. He proceeded to tell me there were cancerous lesions all over my liver.

That was the day everything changed.

Treatment began immediately. I was given three different chemotherapies administered biweekly. I have had to stop taking one of these due to the neuropathy it began to cause in my hands and feet. Currently, I receive two chemotherapies and an additional IV medication. One chemo I receive at the treatment center; the other goes home with me, connected through my port to a pump that runs for 48 hours. Every two weeks, Wednesdays are now known as chemo days. Over the past year, I’ve had well over 30 rounds of treatment.

I have sought second and third opinions and meet quarterly with specialists in Houston. I’ve traveled to Minnesota for consultations and am pursuing additional expertise in New York. All my doctors agree with my current treatment plan, and while the prognosis wasn’t easy to hear, I am determined to prove them wrong and fully intend to outlive the statistics.

In between treatments, my life revolves around doctor appointments, acupuncture sessions, and researching holistic therapies. Acupuncture has been one approach that I truly believe has helped strengthen my body and allowed me to continue regularly with chemotherapy. I hope to incorporate more holistic treatments red light therapy, sauna sessions, Vitamin C IVs, meditation, and other healing modalities because while chemotherapy keeps the cancer asleep, it also takes a dramatic toll on my body and energy. Unfortunately, many of these therapies aren’t covered by insurance and come with a heavy financial cost. Sometimes I wonder why staying alive and healthy has to be so expensive.

The day I was diagnosed, I had a choice: I could spend whatever time I have left in fear and depression, or I could grow stronger in my faith and choose a positive mindset. That doesn’t mean every day is rainbows and sunshine. Some days I cry off and on. Some days I feel like I can take on the world. It’s a constant balancing act of emotions. But I choose hope.

Before cancer, and still today, my greatest joy is being a mom. I have three incredible children Gracie (10), Lucy (9), and Billy (4). They are my heart walking around outside my body. Being their mama is the most important job I will ever have. I have been blessed with an extraordinary community of friends who show up in ways big and small heartfelt texts, porch drop-offs, spontaneous playdates, flights across the country just to sit beside me.

This is not the story I would have written for myself, but it is my story. I am still here, still fighting, still believing.

Pink Out 2026

Together We Fight 💗