Marissa battle with breast cancer

Marissa’s Cancer journey

I want to share some very raw and personal experiences my family and I have been going through with my daughter Marissa, and how it has impacted my life, my family’s life, and everyone that knows and loves her. My courageous daughter has been battling cancer for the past 4 years, and her fight seems to get harder and harder. My pain runs deep in my soul and has changed me forever. There’s not a moment that tears don’t fill my eyes, and run down my cheeks with sadness, as I write this letter. Cancer is evil, painful, and ugly.

At the young age of 24 (a month shy of her 25th birthday) she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We were all shocked and devastated over the news. She went through genetic testing and doesn’t carry the BRCA gene. How could this happen! Who gets Breast Cancer at 24 years old. Why my daughter? She went through multiple surgeries, 5 months of intense painful chemotherapy, and 36 rounds of radiation. It was brutal watching her battle through this. After all her treatments, we got great news “no evidence of disease”. Best news we could hear. Marissa was hopeful for her future, and she went on with her life. She got married in June 2021, went back to work, and eventually got pregnant and had a beautiful baby girl, on August 16’ 2022. Three weeks after she gave birth to her daughter, she got covid over Labor Day Weekend. She was so sick, she had to be taken to the hospital, when they discovered her cancer was back. It spread to her liver and chest wall. This news was devastating. Her cancer has Metastasized, and she now has Metastatic Breast Cancer Stage 4 No Cure. The worst part is, I can’t make it go away, or make her better. It's so painful watching her suffer through this. She was back on a treatment plan which included chemotherapy, surgery and radiation again. Marissa, again was hopeful, positive and optimistic and went on with her life. It didn’t last long. This past June, Marissa was having wicked headaches and the doctor found tons of swelling and a large cancerous tumor in her brain which was pushing her brain over to the right side of her head. She had brain surgery on June 21st, then radiation to follow. Her recovery was brutal. The surgery caused trauma to her brain, and lots of side effects. Just when we thought Marissa had a little break, "Nope" She wasn’t feeling well again, and her doctor scheduled a full body scan and MRI a few weeks ago (September). We got more bad news. Her cancer spread to both her adrenal glands and femur. Because her cancer spread to her brain we got more bad news that her cancer flipped, and she now has triple-negative which is the most aggressive cancer, and more difficult to treat. Last week Marissa had another MRI to her brain, and we were told she has brain cancer again. I am completely and beyond broken-hearted, and a pain no parent should ever have to experience. There are no words I can use to express how I feel, and the helplessness of not being able to take her heartache away.

Marissa is only 28 years old and she is fighting for her life! My son-in-law (Anthony) is beyond devastated as we all are. We both have been taking care of Marissa and want and need to be with her now more than ever. Marissa unable to work, and needs help, especially with their one-year-old baby girl. Anthony has used up all his paid family leave and won’t be getting paid for any extra time off he’ll need to take later. I work for the Encinitas School District and just found out I only have 30 days paid family leave. I can take more time off, but without pay, and this will add additional financial hardship to our family on top of all the medical bills and other outstanding expenses that are adding up from this evil disease.

She said to me the other day, Mom, why me? My life is just starting. I'm married with a baby, and there are so many things I want to do. This isn't fair and I'm scared, and I don't want to leave my baby or family. OMG, my heart stopped. There were no words to comfort her. Nothing I could say. I’m helpless and there is nothing I can do, except love her, be by her side and hold her. My pain is deep, and completely devastated watching her battle through this. It hurts a lot. But I am not giving up.

Cancer is not who she is, Marissa is precious. She is humble and one of the kindest and strongest human beings I know. She’s loving and her sweetness is infectious to everyone that knows and loves her.

The insurance company continues to deny treatments because they feel they are not medically necessary. Really!! This has been a continuous battle with them, and it makes me mad. The insurance company has no sympathy, and they don't care. It’s all about money and their bottom line. I had to fight with them to get her biopsy and radiation approved for her adrenal gland and femur. I had to get the state involved to help get it approved. That's precious time for those battling cancer. They would let someone die, rather then approve treatments. That's pretty messed up. Regardless, I will continue to fight the insurance company. Marissa’s oncologist said there are still many more treatments and trials she can still try. Unfortunately, some of the trials are expensive and not covered by insurance. I want my daughter to have every opportunity to live. I want my daughter to be here, and watch her daughter grow up. Of course, I’m being selfish too. What parents wouldn’t be. The thought of not being able to see her beautiful smile again, give her a hug and kiss, or talk to her, terrifies me, and breaks my heart. I’m praying and hoping you can find it in your heart to help her fight too. Those who know Marissa know how special she is, and how incredibly strong and resilient she’s been throughout her fight against this evil disease. I want to be with my beautiful daughter and spend as much time as I can with her. So, I am going out of my comfort zone and asking if you can find it in your heart to help our family raise money, so we can continue helping my daughter Marissa battle Cancer.

We are forever thankful for any amount donated toward Marissa’s GoFundMe.

From my heart, I am genuinely grateful for all the support from my wonderful family, great friends, and an amazing work environment, with awesome coworkers in my life. Thank you for all your love. And thank for those special people who don't know us personally, and still donated

to help Marissa my daughter.

Marissa’s mom, Elisa