#StandBySarah
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#StandBySarah
My daughter Sarah is a 22-year-old Psychology major at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She is choosing this career path because she feels there is a great need to help today’s youth with serious mental health issues. In November 2018 while on a trip, back pains sent her to the ER, a pain that felt like shingles. A Cat Scan in the ER revealed a 9 cm mass on her chest. The mass had grown so large that it began to push on her nerve and put pressure on her lung, causing her pain and pneumonia like symptoms. Sarah came home the next day and we immediately took her to the Hospital for further testing because we suspected it was cancer.
Cancer isn't new for my family. Sarah is my second child to be affected by cancer. Exactly 10 years ago another daughter of mine, same age as Sarah was told she had cancer. We know this villain well and immediately reached out to our Oncologist. Sarah was hospitalized immediately, and a biopsy confirmed our biggest fear. Sarah has cancer. Not the same as her sister who had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but a rare type, Primary Mediastinal Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, stage 3.
We were informed by her doctors that she will need aggressive chemotherapy. She will be given five types of chemo, around the clock for five days at a time during each round. A round is 21 days and she will undergo 6 rounds. She will be hospitalized during chemo and will need to go back to the Hospital on a regular basis while under their care. The Hospital is in Baltimore, MD and we live in Virginia. We expect winter travel will be difficult, and we will need to stay there during times the weather dos not permit easy travel. The doctors are hopeful that she will pull through, but they have explained that it will be a very long and hard road to recovery.
I decided to start a GoFundMe campaign because I was advised by the doctor to start some sort of fundraising for her sister when she got sick ten years ago. She warned me of the expenses we would incur then and I didn’t do it because I thought insurance would cover the cost but I learned the hard way that insurance does not cover many expenses. Like anyone else, my child deserves to get the best medical care available. Chemo is poison and destroys good and bad cells, leaving the body weak and frail. On top of all the doctors can do for her, I want Sarah to get acupuncture and holistic medicines that are medically proven to help aid cancer patients, following and during chemo. My hope is to raise enough money to make sure Sarah gets everything she needs as far as medical and travel expenses.
Sarah is an amazing, selfless, and loving young woman. She is always running to the aid of others, but now she is the one who needs help. Please help me get her the help she needs.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.
My daughter Sarah is a 22-year-old Psychology major at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She is choosing this career path because she feels there is a great need to help today’s youth with serious mental health issues. In November 2018 while on a trip, back pains sent her to the ER, a pain that felt like shingles. A Cat Scan in the ER revealed a 9 cm mass on her chest. The mass had grown so large that it began to push on her nerve and put pressure on her lung, causing her pain and pneumonia like symptoms. Sarah came home the next day and we immediately took her to the Hospital for further testing because we suspected it was cancer.
Cancer isn't new for my family. Sarah is my second child to be affected by cancer. Exactly 10 years ago another daughter of mine, same age as Sarah was told she had cancer. We know this villain well and immediately reached out to our Oncologist. Sarah was hospitalized immediately, and a biopsy confirmed our biggest fear. Sarah has cancer. Not the same as her sister who had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but a rare type, Primary Mediastinal Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, stage 3.
We were informed by her doctors that she will need aggressive chemotherapy. She will be given five types of chemo, around the clock for five days at a time during each round. A round is 21 days and she will undergo 6 rounds. She will be hospitalized during chemo and will need to go back to the Hospital on a regular basis while under their care. The Hospital is in Baltimore, MD and we live in Virginia. We expect winter travel will be difficult, and we will need to stay there during times the weather dos not permit easy travel. The doctors are hopeful that she will pull through, but they have explained that it will be a very long and hard road to recovery.
I decided to start a GoFundMe campaign because I was advised by the doctor to start some sort of fundraising for her sister when she got sick ten years ago. She warned me of the expenses we would incur then and I didn’t do it because I thought insurance would cover the cost but I learned the hard way that insurance does not cover many expenses. Like anyone else, my child deserves to get the best medical care available. Chemo is poison and destroys good and bad cells, leaving the body weak and frail. On top of all the doctors can do for her, I want Sarah to get acupuncture and holistic medicines that are medically proven to help aid cancer patients, following and during chemo. My hope is to raise enough money to make sure Sarah gets everything she needs as far as medical and travel expenses.
Sarah is an amazing, selfless, and loving young woman. She is always running to the aid of others, but now she is the one who needs help. Please help me get her the help she needs.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.
Organizer and beneficiary
Rebecca Diaz Balocchi
Organizer
Tysons Corner, VA
Sarah Ghannam
Beneficiary
