Refill with Randy – Albion man keeps the faith after brain cancer diagnosis in 2000

Posted 10 March 2024 at 8:00 am

By Randy LeBaron

Good morning! Grab your favorite cup. Fill it up. And let’s start this day right… TOGETHER!!!

At the end of January 2012, right after my mother had been diagnosed as having a Glioblastoma tumor the size of a softball (aka terminal brain cancer), I received an invitation to grab coffee with Kevin Lemcke, someone who knew all too well what it was like to receive that same news, and ask him any questions I might have.

I took him up in his offer and was grateful for his compassion and insight as my family walked through some rough waters over the next few months until mom’s passing. I am thankful to have forged a friendship with Kevin and privileged to have been his pastor for a number of years when I was at Albion Free Methodist. I continue to minister beside Kevin these days on the Hands 4 Hope Street Ministry Truck and was grateful that we could grab coffee once again so that I could ask more questions and retell his story to you.

On March 7, 2000, just three days shy of his 30th birthday, Kevin was living in Canandaigua with his wife when he started to feel dizzy and disoriented. After a couple hours he went to the ER where they did some testing only to discover that he had a brain tumor, later diagnosed as Glioblastoma. Just like that Kevin was taken by Mercy Flight to Rochester General Hospital with an initial prognosis of 24 hrs.

After those first 24 hours passed by, Kevin continued fighting as he had his first of what would be nine surgeries over the next 5 ½ years as well as starting chemo and radiation treatments. It was an uphill battle to be sure and not only on the physical front.

In the midst of his treatments his wife would file for divorce and so in 2002 Kevin moved to Florida where he worked full-time while continuing to get treatments, have more surgeries, and go through gamma knife procedures at Orlando Regional. When I asked Kevin how he could persevere through so much at that time, especially having to go through much of it alone, he stated, “I was too busy trying to survive to feel sorry for myself and I knew I would get through with God’s help.”

Kevin continued to hold onto that hope, based on a faith in Christ that had been instilled in him throughout his entire life, even when his doctors told him in 2005 that there was nothing more that they could do and that he should essentially get comfortable and spend what remaining time he had with his loved ones.

While keeping a positive attitude Kevin followed the doctors’ advice by retiring and moving home to Orleans County to be close to family. In the spirit of not giving up, Kevin continued to seek help through Roswell Park Medical Center and that is when his hope started to take shape.

For those not familiar with this type of brain cancer it is invasive and aggressive meaning that you cannot totally eradicate it with surgery but simply slow it down. Kevin’s case was no different as the cancer’s “fingers” reached into parts of his brain that would lose function if removed. However, where his tumor was located made a more aggressive treatment possible.

Having removed the majority of the tumor along with a small portion of his brain, Kevin was given a new lease on life. It did come with side effects, such as loss of peripheral vision on one side and narcosis in his joints. But after more treatments there were no more remnants of the cancer.

This particular type of cancer is never considered to be gone and even after 16 years his doctor has never even uttered the word “remission.” But checkup after checkup after checkup it has been good news. Kevin only needs to go for an MRI annually now which is pretty amazing! When I asked him what he would tell others who receive a difficult diagnosis he said, “Don’t ever give up because God’s got a plan we don’t even know about.”

For Kevin those plans ended up including much more than just an extension of life. In 2007 he started dating, and then 6 months later married, his wife Sheila. The blessings didn’t stop there though because, even after being told that because of all the treatments he had received they would never be able to have children, in 2010 their daughter Keira (aka Curly) was born.

In addition his girls, which he considers his two greatest blessings, Kevin has continued to pursue God’s purpose for his life. He has been Jack Burris’ right-hand man since the start of Hands 4 Hope Street Ministry, active in his church, and even went to Washington D.C. with me one year as part of Christian’s United for Israel.

His story almost came to an abrupt end when I fell asleep driving home after while on an 8 Lane Highway but that’s another story. The fact remains that not only did Kevin’s story not end with his initial 24-hour prognosis back in 2000 but continue on 24 years later as he continues to hold onto hope and help others find it whenever possible.

And if you are reading this on March 10, be sure to wish Kevin a very Happy Birthday!!!

See you in 2 weeks!

Pastor Randy