Cancer fight tests Aberdeen family's mettle

To understand where Mackenzie Keplin's life is at now, you have to go back to February, when doctors discovered a football-sized tumor growing in her stomach and pressing against her organs.

 Keplin, who was then a 17-year-old senior at Central High School, began to feel pain whenever someone touched her stomach.

 On Feb. 17, Keplin's mother, Sherilee Pacheco, took her daughter to Sanford Aberdeen Clinic for an exam. Doctors there sent the mother and daughter to Avera St. Luke's for an ultrasound exam.

 "She really wasn't sure what was going on because it just hurt to touch her stomach," said Pacheco in a phone interview.

 The results were not good: The ultrasound showed a tumor the size of a football in Keplin's stomach.

 "They came right out and said that we had to go now," said Pacheco. "The transportation was coming to pick us up and it was very serious and it was a very large tumor."

 In 45 minutes, the two were flown by helicopter from Aberdeen to Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls.

 Keplin couldn't believe a tumor that large was inside her daughter, not only because it was surreal, but because her daughter was fairly slender herself.

 "She's 5 feet 8 inches tall and was 93 pounds, so her waist is the size of a football," Pacheco said. "To try to comprehend there was a football-sized tumor in her was just surprising."

 After arriving, doctors examined the tumor to determine what type of growth it was. The diagnosis was a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas, which Pacheco describes as a rare tumor.

 "You feel helpless, you know. You're sitting there scared and helpless because you can't do anything," Pacheco said. "I think we were scared together."

 While the tumor was determined to be benign, it had to be removed because of its size. On March 1, Keplin underwent a 6-hour surgery to remove the tumor and other organs affected by the growth. After the surgery, the tumor was gone, along with her spleen, part of her pancreas and part of her colon.

 But there were complications after the surgery, and her surgical incisions became infected. The development was treatable, but it kept Keplin at the hospital for until April 15.

 Though Keplin had been away from school for about two months, she kept up with her homework and classes the entire time she was in Sioux Falls.

 "She wanted to definitely graduate," her mother said. "She was trying to get everything done right away. When there were days when she was feeling good, that's when she was doing school work."

 And Keplin was able to graduate, walking with with her friends at Central's graduation ceremony in May.

 "I was proud of her for that," Pacheco said.

 She also celebrated her 18th birthday at home.

 Life became less hectic after that. During Keplin's monthly check-ups at the Sanford clinic in Aberdeen, the doctors didn't find anything wrong, her mother said. Keplin made plans to attend Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls to study business.

 But during Keplin's August check-up, three plum-sized tumors were discovered and her life was once again put on hold. Again, the tumors were benign and, again, Keplin underwent surgery in Sioux Falls to remove the tumors, along with more of her colon and part of her liver. She was discharged Aug. 29.