SUNNY CARNEY
After a courageous 10 year fight battling Carcinoid Cancer, Sunny Carney, of Plum, passed peacefully on Saturday, November 3. She was married to her devoted husband, Mark; and was a loving mother to Austen, Logan and Nolan; daughter of Patricia Jennings and the late James J. Jennings; daughter-in-law of Dale and Dottie Carney; sister of Judy Phillips (Ray Jr.), Lynn Pesta (Teddy), Michael Jennings (Vicki Lynn), James Jennings (Sue), Joseph Jennings (Elizabeth), Sheila Fortes (Jim); sister-in-law of Craig Carney (Julia). She is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews, and was a true friend and inspiration to many.
In addition to being an inspiration to family and friends Sunny inspired carcinoid cancer patients across the globe through her blog, and then her book "The Sunny Side of Cancer. She spoke at numerous cancer events locally sharing stories of her journey which led her from Basel, Switzerland to all of the top Carcinoid Cancer specialists here in the states. She was an advocate for better diagnosis of the disease and for insurance coverage of treatments. She fought with grace and dignity, never letting the pain inside challenge her faith or diminish her love for life.
Memorials may be made to "Carney Family Fund", c/o S&T Bank, 2190 Hulton Road, Verona, PA 15147.
Friends received Monday 7-9 p.m. and Tuesday 3-8 p.m. at Unity Community Church, 215 Unity Center Road, Plum, PA 15239.
Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Unity Community Church with Rev. Frank Deluce officiating. Arrangements entrusted to CHARLES W. TRENZ FUNERAL HOME, INC.
VIEW GUEST BOOK Published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After over a decade of suffering from Carcinoid Cancer, Sunny Jennings Carney has decided to fight back. She has currently undergone two proven treatments in Basel, Switzerland and is planning to return for two more. She is also planning on going to Houston, Texas for a six month period to undergo experimental treatments that look promising but are not FDA approved. She has exhausted all the FDA approved treatments here in the United States and will not accept that this is all there is for her. She has dedicated her fight to help others understand this rare cancer and to find successful treatments in the United States. Her strong faith in God and will to never quit has turned a 6 month life expectancy to over two years presently.

Below is an entry that was written by Sunny's husband Mark when she had her third bout. To become updated on her journey please enjoy her posts.

Please check back for updates and event information.

Sunny Carney Carcinoid Cancer Fund
C/o S & T Bank
2190 Hulton Road
Verona, PA 15147

Sunny's husband Mark tells their story...

A mother of three boys, a daughter, the baby sister to a large family, an aunt, a godmother to several, a trusted friend, an outreach volunteer, a business owner and my wife. Sunny Carney lives up to her name every time someone speaks to her; she is beautiful both in and out. She has been my biggest motivator, my rock and my inspiration in tough times, my biggest fan in good times, and most importantly my best friend. Told 14 years ago that having children may not be part of our future because of ovarian cancer, she kept the faith, and is a wonderful mother to our three sons- Austen, Logan, and Nolan. She is always ensuring that they know the Lord, love of life, kindness to others, hard work, and occasionally when to "shape up".

Her boundless energy, healthy lifestyle and positive attitude are infectious. She has served as president of our children’s PTA, organized committees that benefit those who are less fortunate in the community and led drives for those who have been caught up in unfortunate situations. She has done so much for others, usually without letting anyone ever know, I could not begin to list them. Her strong faith in God and modest upbringing has given her a sense of giving that only she can explain. When she successfully started her own photography business, she also started a non-profit division photographing family portraits for area families fighting cancer. Her friends say she is amazing and she simply shakes her head and wonders what all of the fuss is about.

Her mother, sisters, brothers and large extended family will tell you she is the one you can count on to lend an ear when needed and never judge. She was raised by her loving mother and father who was the warden of the Allegheny County Jail and actually spent most of her childhood in the residence connected to the jail. At a young age she witnessed more of life’s tragedies and obstacles through her neighbors, the prisoners, than most of us can imagine.

Although all of the aforementioned is remarkable it is not what makes her truly special. Sunny is a two time cancer survivor and now is currently fighting for a third time. After beating ovarian carcinoid cancer and undergoing serious surgery for carcinoid tumors in her right lung just three years ago, the carcinoid tumors returned in her lymph nodes, liver and bones. The size and proliferation throughout the liver of these tumors mandates immediate chemotherapy in four treatments over the next few months as well as monthly octreotide treatments. These painful treatments will hopefully stop the growth but are not a cure. There are numerous tumors in her spine, her skull, her hip, her leg, and her shoulder...all in the bones and she will wait on potential radiation to fight those.

What my wife has is Carcinoid Cancer Syndrome, an endocrine disease which is rare and spreads from organ to organ. As of right now the only known treatment for remission is administered by renowned clinics in Europe. However the treatment is not covered by our insurance. Our doctors have encouraged us to start raising money and matching grants could follow. Her lead oncologist strongly believes that Sunny would be a prime candidate to be a voice to get the message out regarding carcinoid cancer syndrome, bring this treatment to the United States and encourage approval from the FDA. Without this treatment, the tumors most likely will continue to metastasize in other organs and her fight will be ongoing. Sunny has set up The Sunny Carney Carcinoid Cancer Fund to support her treatments. She believes that once she beats this cancer she can make a difference to others also suffering from Carcinoid Cancer.

Mark A. Carney

Sunny Carney Carcinoid Cancer Fund
C/o S & T Bank
2190 Hulton Road
Verona, PA 15147







Friday, August 31, 2012

Faith...Hope...Love

Faith, hope, and love.  And of course the greatest of these is love.  I am writing today because it is Sunny's 42nd birthday....and of course she is the greatest love of my life.  I know that you have been following her recent blogs and we appreciate all of the prayers and thoughts as she battles the pain of and the potential implications of shingles.  When this first was diagnosed Sunday morning at St. Maggies Sunny's initial comment was "what else can I go through."  We both sort of joked that the "blessings of Job" was once again a dominant theme in our lives. She got over the initial shock of yet another curveball thrown her way and as she always does,  spit on her batting gloves,  grabbed her special Louisville "Cancer" Slugger, and dug into the batter's box.  She went back to bat.  Not for herself,  but for her kids, for me,  for all who love and depend on her.  Our kids started back to school Monday, and Sunday was the last "free" day they would have of their summer, and those that know her well realized how tough it was for her to not be able to do anything special with them as a family that day.  She even had to allow me to be the one to run out with the boys and take care of the last minute BTS(thats back to school in twitter speak I think) stuff which I know scared her as much as the shingles diagnosis did.  (I did manage to get all of the right sizes,  wasn't duped into any teenage impulse buys and came in under budget for those of you at home keeping score).

Monday morning , their first day she struggled ,  it was painful,  I was actually in charge of breakfast(a three course meal of Fruit Bars,  Cold Cereal, and slightly burnt toast...with a shot of Mountain Dew) but she fought through the pain to get the annual pictures.  Not at the bus stop this time...but who cares.  By Tuesday she was back in charge of breakfast,  reviewing homework, and helping to make sure clothes matched and were the right kids gear.    The same for Wednesday.  Thursday added a new wrinkle.  She made three brown bag lunches,  each one customized for each boy.  Apparently as some of you may heard or seen on the news,  Michele O'Bama's new First Lady Frankfurter lunches are not quite the big hit in Plum,  and for the first time in 10 years (besides field trips) she did three MTO(thats made to order in SHeetzSpeak) lunches.  Wow.  She reviewed homework.  She struggled the whole time.  Didn't complain ,but the pain sometimes visible in her usually sparkling beautiful green eyes.

Which brings us back to today.   8/31/2012.  Sunny's big day.  She got up ,  made the toast for each kid just the right shade,  each of my boys shared gentle big hugs with her and then gave them her daily sendoff words..."make good choices today".  She went back to rest.  The pain is there.  Tumors,  swelling,  shingles,  I don't think Elvis had enough pills to ease her pain.  Its hard for her to figure out what is causing what to hurt sometimes but that doesn't slow her desire to be a daily part of the "normal" Carney family house. 

Which brings me back to the title of today's blog.  And the purpose of today's blog.  I went and reread one of our favorite scriptures from Roman's 5.  But from a different translation.  Paul's words are ones that we have chosen to try to live by...."We are joyful when we suffer.  We know that pain produces courage.  Our courage produces character.  Character produces hope.  And hope NEVER disappoints us.  God has filled our hearts with HIS love."(vs2-5)  I highlight NEVER and HIS because I think these are the two absolutes that keep us going,  and I know keep Sunny able to fight.  God will NEVER let us down.  Now, he will do things in his own way and on his own schedule but he will NEVER disappoint.  For those that have the faith,  the faith that Jesus died for us and freed us from our sins,  we can have the hope of what that means.  Eternal life with him in heaven.  HIS love,  like him is an absolute,  its perfect.  We are commanded to Love one another like HE loves us.   Even in all the daily crap that cancer hurls at Sunny,  she is going to do the best on that day to Love like HE loves.  Its quite frankly why ,no offense meant, but you can take Andrew McCuthceon, Sid Crosby,  Big Ben,  or any other type of supposed "hero"...I will keep my hero...You don't how cool it is to be able to say "I married my hero".  

Happy birthday sweetheart.  You are the embodiment of love,  and that gives me the hope that each day will be special,  while constantly having  faith that this too shall pass.

Mark