Adrienne's Journey

Some People come into your lives and make an impact and with that impact it can be long term or short term results leading to a beautiful friendship. I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful family 6 years ago when their beautiful young daughter was battling for her life with a VERY rare and aggressive cancer. Come to find out her mother was already a cancer survivor herself. Having to fight along side her daughter. This family has faced tremendous obstacles. It has made them stronger for that but sometimes we don't need help being stronger.

Now fast forwarding 6 years and now the family is faced with another diagnosis and a rare one at that. Adrienne was diagnosed with CMML - a form of leukemia. Adrienne will out of work, in the hospital for up to 4 months due to the operation, and they are going to sell their home to move closer to her while she is in the hospital recovering from the transplant and going through treatment. The scariest part is the fact that without the operation her prognosis is ONLY 2 years so, a bone marrow transplant is crucial. But what scares them is the cost is from $800,000 to $1,000,000 and insurance is not covering the entire cost they are responsible for 20%. They WILL NOT operate unless they pay $26,000 up front! This family has made such an impact in my life that I felt the right thing to do was ask for help in making this cancer journey for them a little bit easier. They are kind, loving, generous, and wonderful! I couldn't ask for better friends. If you can find it in your heart to donate anything for their expenses I would be forever grateful.



Words Spoken From Shana Sasko (Also a Cancer Warrior):

My beautiful mom Adrienne is a Jersey girl with a heart bigger than her hair. She gives the best advice and even better hugs. She is always there for anyone in need. She has definitely been there for me every single time I need her. My mom was right by my side when I was diagnosed with a rare thyroid cancer. She dropped everything to stay by my side during my entire treatment. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how special and rare our relationship is. She’s both my mother and my best friend. I can’t and won’t even imagine what I would do without her. She is no stranger to difficulties. She has been faced with seemingly insurmountable odds all throughout her life. She grew up in an extremely unhealthy environment. She had thyroid cancer in her 20s with a recurrence in her 30s. She was my strength when I had my own battle to fight. And now, when we all thought the worst had already happened, she’s now faced with another battle. My mom has CMML - a form of leukemia. She’s been unable to do many things she used to do with ease, like chores around the house and work as a talented paralegal. It’s been really difficult for her not being able to give 110% in life like she used to. The cancer has caused her to be in constant pain amongst many other issues. The chemotherapy she takes daily to keep her levels constant barely help with her symptoms. CMML is a very unpredictable disease, therefore she needs to be monitored frequently for any sudden changes. The next step in her treatment is a bone marrow transplant. It will be done later this year, provided there are no changes in her status. While it will certainly be a grueling few months in the hospital for her, I know she will be able to pull through and overcome something so awful once again. She definitely won’t be doing it alone as she has so many friends and family supporting her. If (when) the transplant is a success, my mom will not have any sign of leukemia in her body. We’re hoping she will have a better quality of life than she has ever had before, which has been my wish for her for so long. I’m so grateful to have her in my life and looking forward to a time that this is all behind us.