Tara Lowrean Castoe was born on April 28, 1980, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She moved to Mesquite, Texas, during the summer of 1993 and graduated from Poteet High School in 1998. She is the mother of 9-year-old twin daughters and an 8-year-old daughter. She is also a member of Lake Point Church.
Tara was diagnosed with Rectal/Colon cancer in Oct. 2007. The surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and hospital stays began. Everyone says I wish there was something I could do and our response is always the same: "Just Pray." We believe in the power of prayer. Our goal in creating this Web site is to tell Tara's story and get as many people as possible to pray for Tara.
Tara is at Stage 4 and the cancer has spread to her right lung, the bone in her left shoulder and has wrapped around the drain from her right kidney to the bladder. She has had the rectal tumor removed and it has returned. She has undergone radiation for the rectal mass and for her right lung at the spine. She had approximately half of the top lobe of her right lung removed. The pelvic tumor she has was pushing on her small intestines and caused a bowel obstruction. The doctor's removed a section of her small intestines to bypass the tumor. She is currently recovering from the intestine surgery so she can start chemotherapy and "control" the cancer.
The symbol for Rectal/Colon cancer is a blue ribbon with a star at the bottom in the color blue. The ribbon is for awareness and the star represents the people who have passed. The symbol looks like a person walking. Cancer is a tough disease to walk through. We are completely convinced that with the power of prayer Tara can walk through this. Our prayers are for anyone who reads this to have Tara's story touch their hearts and lives and begin to pray for Tara and spread the word. Tara has been placed on prayer lists over several states.
Since Tara was diagnosed with Rectal/Colon cancer at a young age the disease was misdiagnosed several times. According to Tara's doctors, it is uncommon for someone this young to develop Colon cancer. Doctor's and insurance companies don't reccomend having a colonoscopy (the best way to diagnose Colon cancer) until the age of 50. Tara was 27 when she began having problems, therefore, the doctor's did not think it could have been Colon cancer.
