More information about JJ can be found by visiting his blog at http://justinkukowski.blogspot.com.
Cancer Support Center Opens
By Mollee Francisco, Chaska Herald Staff Writer
It's exactly the kind of place Justin "JJ" Kukowski would have benefited from as he battled brain cancer. It's a place where cancer patients can join together and share their experiences while learning stress management and exploring alternative medicines.
But instead of taking advantage of the center and its programs, JJ serves as its eponym. He passed away on March 12, 2007.
JJ Kukowski"Pretty much the whole program he would have benefitted from," said JJ's mom, Kathleen Hennessy Rehbein.
"I remember him saying, "You don't quite understand what I'm going through, what I'm feeling,'" said JJ's dad, Don Kukowski.
JJ's family believes he would have enjoyed the massages, nutrition classes, music therapy and acupuncture that make up part of the 12-week program.
"He didn't like the pain medication," said Kathleen. "He would have liked to be able to control his pain some other way."
JJ's journey
JJ's family described the 1999 Chaska High School grad as full of life prior to his brain cancer diagnosis.
"He was active," said JJ's stepfather, Bob Rehbein. "He loved sports, loved the outdoors, loved the mountains."
"He was one of the fairest people I ever met in my life," said Don. "Everyone in the world was equal to him. It was a trait he had since a very young age."
JJ was fresh out of school -- a graduate of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs -- and employed as a personal banker at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis when he developed what he thought was an ear infection.
Dizziness and nausea forced him to seek medical care. But when antibiotics failed to cure his problem, JJ returned to the doctor. An MRI showed a tumor in his head.
JJ Kukowski, Dana White, and Andrew HippsJJ was scheduled for surgery in August 2005. The mass was removed, but JJ's brain swelled following the surgery, causing complications.
"It was like he had a stroke," said Kathleen. "He had to relearn everything -- what it meant to sit up, lay down -- all of it."
After a month in the hospital, JJ was sent to rehab for several months. He was frustrated with being there," said Bob.
"He thought he should be able to come home," said Kathleen. "He couldn't learn fast enough."
JJ's cancer treatment regimen began with radiation followed by a year of chemotherapy. For awhile, the cancer seemed to be responding. JJ began walking with a walker and was released from rehab to home in mid-fall of that year. He started seeing an occupational therapist and a speech therapist.
"We saw progress for awhile," said Bob.
JJ even took a trip to New York City by himself to visit friends. "He had them out sightseeing every night," said Kathleen.
The good news wouldn't last long, however. By February 2007, JJ's caregivers were telling him if there was anything he wanted to do, now was the time to do it. "He didn't ever really want to give up," said Kathleen.
JJ, who loved to travel, told his family he wanted to take a trip out west together with his parents and step-parents. The family rented an RV and hit the road, visiting Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon en route to say goodbye to a number of family members and friends.
"It's a great memory," said Kathleen.
When they got home, JJ was physically spent, Don said. He began receiving hospice care immediately. On March 12, 2007, he passed away at home. "He had great faith," said Don. "He lived his life by that. He was teaching us up until the very end."
The center
In 2008, Robyn Swenson, who knew JJ from church, contacted the Kukowski family to inquire about using JJ's name for the center.
"It was pretty awesome," said Kathleen.
Robyn Swenson"I knew where to turn," she said. "What I was really bothered by was that other cancer patients wouldn't know how to do it."
"There are no other programs that address cancer in this way," said Cilla Whatcott, director of CAM services.
"Cancer has reached epidemic proportions," she continued. "We felt it was important to have one place for patients to go."
The center hopes to bring together conventional medicine with complementary medicine to offer a comprehensive treatment program for cancer patients.
"We want to empower them to start healing at a much deeper level than just physical," said Whatcott. "There's a difference between curing and healing
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