Becky's Battle with Cancer
Donation protected
This account has been created in support of Becky Russell. Since Becky's family, friends, and former swim and dive teammates are scattered across the country and world, Jordan Burnes and I thought it would be best to start this account in an effort to raise awareness and support for our dear friend (great thinking Jordan)!
Within the past month Becky has been diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of Ovarian cancer. During summer semester finals week of PT school, she started having stomach pain. If you have spent a day, an hour even, with Becky you know how dedicated and focused she is and it won't be difficult to believe that she suffered through it and finished up her classes. A few days later she returned home to Dallas to discover something was not right. After having an ultrasound it was determined that she had a 10 cm tumor on her right ovary and that it was most likely cancerous. Surgery was scheduled a week later, the tumor (which had grown an additional 4cm) was removed, and tests were ran to determine the nature and seriousness of the cancer. The doctors went back and forth - perhaps it is a curative ovarian cancer, perhaps bowel cancer. On August 31st she went to the hospital to undergo what she thought would be her first chemo session, only to be told that things were much more serious than the doctors originally thought. It was decided that she had an extremely rare Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) of the ovary with an unknown chance of survival. Less than 5 people have ever had the type of cancer she has, so the doctors have little to no evidence of what treatment will definitely work. Because of how difficult her case was to diagnose, samples had been sent to Johns Hopkins and Harvard who determined that this form of ovarian cancer presents itself in a similar fashion to Ewing's sarcoma - a bone cancer typically found in children. She will begin a very aggressive chemo regimen while being hospitalized, every other week for 34-51 weeks. Becky is expecting to begin her chemotherapy next Wednesday, September 7th. She hopes to still return and complete her doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. While she is in the hospital, she will finish up classes online and wait to complete clinicals once she is healthy.
No matter your culture, values, race, or religion, cancer is evil. It is a universal enemy. I have no statistics to share with you regarding Becky's specific diagnosis because there are none. Not only is this terrifying, but it is unfair. Becky is the best kind of human, the kind genuinely striving to change the world for the better through her words, actions, and passion. She is the most selfless, compassionate, kindhearted person I know. If you haven't met Becky before, let me paint you a picture from my time knowing her. Becky is the person in your class you can't help but like because she is always smiling and always has something nice to say. Becky is the girl that worked her butt off and walked onto the NAU swim and dive team, tore both of her ACLs, but STILL cheered you on and offered words of encouragement when she was struggling herself. She was the girl that hobbled her way to the weight room on crutches, only to get stuck in a mini avalanche and forced to dig her way out with her crutches, losing a shoe in the process! (The shoe was found in spring when the snow melted haha.) Becky is the girl that will spend a month of her summer vacation volunteering in Tanzania because she has a heart of gold and wants to touch as many lives as she can. Becky will give you a present on her birthday because she believes it is more important to show you how thankful she is for your friendship. Becky is the friend that will drop everything if you need a shoulder to cry on, or advice, or just someone. Becky is THAT person. My best friend who was about to begin her last year of physical therapy school with the hopes of helping others heal, and instead has to enter into the hardest battle of her life. This whole experience is a nightmare Becky and her loved ones cannot wake up from. However, in Becky's own words, the good news is the odds are in her favor because there are none! If that doesn't speak volumes to her character, I don't know what does.
Becky is about to endure the biggest challenge of her life, the last thing she should have to worry about is money. A year of chemo, hospital bills, tests, scans, and who knows what else, is going to be expensive, and Becky and her family could use all the support they can get. We understand as a whole the goal amount looks incredibly high, but anything we can raise over the next year to help out Becky and her wonderful family would be amazing. Any amount, big or small, makes a difference. If you are in a position to make a financial contribution it would be greatly appreciated! If not, that is totally fine too. Please send good thoughts, good vibes, love, and prayers to Becky and her family. Everything helps. We, meaning Becky, Becky's family, Andrea, and Jordan, will be providing updates on Becky's battle through this page. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!
Within the past month Becky has been diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of Ovarian cancer. During summer semester finals week of PT school, she started having stomach pain. If you have spent a day, an hour even, with Becky you know how dedicated and focused she is and it won't be difficult to believe that she suffered through it and finished up her classes. A few days later she returned home to Dallas to discover something was not right. After having an ultrasound it was determined that she had a 10 cm tumor on her right ovary and that it was most likely cancerous. Surgery was scheduled a week later, the tumor (which had grown an additional 4cm) was removed, and tests were ran to determine the nature and seriousness of the cancer. The doctors went back and forth - perhaps it is a curative ovarian cancer, perhaps bowel cancer. On August 31st she went to the hospital to undergo what she thought would be her first chemo session, only to be told that things were much more serious than the doctors originally thought. It was decided that she had an extremely rare Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) of the ovary with an unknown chance of survival. Less than 5 people have ever had the type of cancer she has, so the doctors have little to no evidence of what treatment will definitely work. Because of how difficult her case was to diagnose, samples had been sent to Johns Hopkins and Harvard who determined that this form of ovarian cancer presents itself in a similar fashion to Ewing's sarcoma - a bone cancer typically found in children. She will begin a very aggressive chemo regimen while being hospitalized, every other week for 34-51 weeks. Becky is expecting to begin her chemotherapy next Wednesday, September 7th. She hopes to still return and complete her doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. While she is in the hospital, she will finish up classes online and wait to complete clinicals once she is healthy.
No matter your culture, values, race, or religion, cancer is evil. It is a universal enemy. I have no statistics to share with you regarding Becky's specific diagnosis because there are none. Not only is this terrifying, but it is unfair. Becky is the best kind of human, the kind genuinely striving to change the world for the better through her words, actions, and passion. She is the most selfless, compassionate, kindhearted person I know. If you haven't met Becky before, let me paint you a picture from my time knowing her. Becky is the person in your class you can't help but like because she is always smiling and always has something nice to say. Becky is the girl that worked her butt off and walked onto the NAU swim and dive team, tore both of her ACLs, but STILL cheered you on and offered words of encouragement when she was struggling herself. She was the girl that hobbled her way to the weight room on crutches, only to get stuck in a mini avalanche and forced to dig her way out with her crutches, losing a shoe in the process! (The shoe was found in spring when the snow melted haha.) Becky is the girl that will spend a month of her summer vacation volunteering in Tanzania because she has a heart of gold and wants to touch as many lives as she can. Becky will give you a present on her birthday because she believes it is more important to show you how thankful she is for your friendship. Becky is the friend that will drop everything if you need a shoulder to cry on, or advice, or just someone. Becky is THAT person. My best friend who was about to begin her last year of physical therapy school with the hopes of helping others heal, and instead has to enter into the hardest battle of her life. This whole experience is a nightmare Becky and her loved ones cannot wake up from. However, in Becky's own words, the good news is the odds are in her favor because there are none! If that doesn't speak volumes to her character, I don't know what does.
Becky is about to endure the biggest challenge of her life, the last thing she should have to worry about is money. A year of chemo, hospital bills, tests, scans, and who knows what else, is going to be expensive, and Becky and her family could use all the support they can get. We understand as a whole the goal amount looks incredibly high, but anything we can raise over the next year to help out Becky and her wonderful family would be amazing. Any amount, big or small, makes a difference. If you are in a position to make a financial contribution it would be greatly appreciated! If not, that is totally fine too. Please send good thoughts, good vibes, love, and prayers to Becky and her family. Everything helps. We, meaning Becky, Becky's family, Andrea, and Jordan, will be providing updates on Becky's battle through this page. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!
Organizer and beneficiary
Andrea Derflinger
Organizer
Indianapolis, IN
Becky Russell
Beneficiary