Tonight more is known about the condition of Kim Simplis-Barrow from Baptist Hospital of Miami - and the news is not good.
An official release sent out from the government Press Office this morning confirms what we reported on Monday night - that she has stage three breast cancer - which means it is advanced - there are only four stages.
And more than just advanced, it has spread. The release discloses that - similar to what you see on this medical illustration from the internet - there are two tumors in her left breast, and the cancer has spread to lymph nodes under her left armpit and lymph nodes next to her chest bone on the left side.
The only good news is that the cancer has not spread to other organs or parts of the body.
An aggressive course of treatment is planned to start immediately. First she must undergo one round of pre-operative chemotherapy, then a mastectomy - which is breast removal surgery.
The chemotherapy will be done in six sessions spaced three weeks apart, and the surgery will be done after that.
Her first chemotherapy session is set for next week Tuesday and after that she will be held in the hospital for a few days of medical observation.
She then returns home on Saturday, November 19 before returning to Miami in early December for the second chemotherapy session.
To be sure, there are many difficult and uncertain days ahead for Kim Barrow. But so far, the unprecedented level of public disclosure of what are usually private details have amply demonstrated her commitment to the ideals she has expressed as a Special Envoy for Women and Children - where she has tirelessly advocated and fund-raised for cancer victims.
Her flagship project is a proposed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the KHMH - which she discussed a month ago when she addressed the Cancer Society - a speech given before she was diagnosed:
Kim Simplis - Barrow - Special Envoy for Women and Children
"And so, I am happy to note that soon, there will be another option, particularly for children stricken with cancer, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Although the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is the national referral hospital for the children of Belize, it lacks a Pediatric Intensive-Care Unit, and the staff is left to do the best they can with what they have. I would like to see that change, and for about a year now, I have been collaborating with the Ministry of Health, and the Administration of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital to establish a Pediatric Intensive-Care Unit. This new unit, which will be built on the grounds of the KHMH, will offer critical care to children afflicted with serious illnesses, including cancer."
Simplis-Barrow has already done substantial fundraising for the project.
The official statement says that she thanks those that have been expressing their solidarity and praying for her.
