I’m Kaci. On April 9th, 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31. Now I’m writing this first post from my chemo chair. Medications are being pumped into my body trying to kill all the things trying to kill me. Ultimately I will have a double mastectomy, 5 months of chemo, 3-5 weeks of radiation, and reconstructive surgery. Because chemo/radiation can impact reproductive health, I also just completed fertility treatment with one chance to retrieve and freeze my eggs. If fighting cancer wasn’t enough, a strange set of symptoms also had my doctors checking for a potential heart attack, blood clot, and brain aneurysm this week.

Sometimes all I can think is how did I get HERE. Where chemo and egg retrievals and checking for brain aneurysms have somehow been placed on my to-do list.

But then I remember that we have a big God doing big things. We don’t always get to know the WHY behind the circumstances he allows us to be in, but we get to choose HOW we show up in those moments.

American Honey was put on my heart a long time ago, with the ultimate intent of creating a business and nonprofit to serve people. I’m not completely sure how that will unfold, but I do know that God has called me to boldly walk through this season of tackling cancer, and I want to share God’s power through it. So this space is about sharing my imperfect heart while pursuing a perfect God. My desire behind American Honey is to lay a foundation of authenticity so that we all might be able to share more openly about our lives.

I struggled hard with whether or not to share this photo because honestly…it’s a lot to look at. Not just for me, but probably you too. My scars are exposed, my blood is on full display, and you can even see the red reaction my body had to taking another shot to the belly.

But if we get to choose how we show up in this life, I want to show up vulnerably. I would much rather you see my war-marks than ever pretend to be picture-perfect. Because behind all the flaws is a heart that beats for Jesus. He is what makes me strong. He is what makes us whole and beautiful. He is what saves us. He is what makes powerful stories❤️