Allow us to introduce our dear friend Ariana Morgan. This sassy, kindhearted 27-year-old woman is a bartender at Colley Cantina, and part-time dog groomer at Dog Town. She and her girlfriend Chandler Nowland are the kind of *couple goals* we all aspire to. They are the best mamas to a full family of dogs and cats on top of providing pet sitting for several loyal clients. They care about their family and friends with a fierceness and show up for everything.

 

Now it’s time for us to show up for them.

 

At the end of August, Ariana began experiencing terrible pain in her side. On Labor Day, she had an emergency surgery to remove a cyst the size of an apple in ovarian torsion. In simple terms, the cyst had twisted so severely that it cut off blood flow to her ovary. It was removed and sent off for testing. One week later, Ariana was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer called mucinous carcinoma.

 

In order to treat and examine the spread of the cancer, Ariana had her second surgery on October 13th and a long list of organs were removed to include 13 lymph nodes and surrounding tissue, peritoneum, omentum, appendix, and left fallopian tube and ovary. All organs were sent off to the lab for further examination, and it was determined that chemotherapy was necessary to make sure that all cancerous cells were eliminated.

 

Ariana will begin chemotherapy on November 11th with a total of four treatments, three weeks apart. Each infusion is five hours long. As chemotherapy has numerous side effects, we have created an Amazon Wish List that is also linked below to help offset some of her discomfort.

 

With hair loss being one of the primary side effects, we are going to do everything possible to save her hair. This includes the rental of a cold cap. This scalp cooling system is a tightly fitting, helmet-like hat utilizing dry ice and worn during her chemotherapy infusions. These devices have helped many people keep some or quite a bit of their hair. They work by narrowing the blood vessels beneath the skin of the scalp, which reduces the amount of chemo that reaches the hair follicles. With less chemotherapy medicine in the follicles, the hair may be less likely to fall out. The cold also decreases the hair follicles’ metabolic activity, which makes the cells divide more slowly and protects the follicles from the chemotherapy.

 

During each infusion, she will wear the cap for 30 to 50 minutes before the infusion, during the infusion, and for a certain amount of time after the infusion. It costs $500 per month and the dry ice will be an additional $50-$75 per treatment.

 

Of additional concern, the roof at Chandler and Ariana’s house must be repaired due to mold that is present in that beautiful old home. We would like to be able to purchase an air purifier that will keep Ariana safe during her recovery.

 

While Chandler will continue to work, she is reducing her hours in order to take care of Ariana who has been out of work since the end of August. While we have a mighty village that will surround these two with homemade vegan meals, housework, and any solitary thing that is needed, the financial assistance and kindness of others is so important.

 

We are planning a fundraiser and benefit for Ariana in the upcoming weeks with a focus on women’s healthcare. If it weren’t for that cyst, Ariana would not have even known about the cancer. Her prognosis is good only because of the early detection. It is her wish that women focus on getting tested and staying current with yearly exams. This saved her life, and she wants to make sure all the other women she loves do the same.

 

But at this moment, with her chemotherapy treatments starting next week, these two need us to show up for them as they begin this transition of care.

 

Of course, we will share updates on Ariana’s recovery and about her benefit soon.

 

With our sincere gratitude,

 

Friends of Ariana & Chandler


AMAZON CHEMO GIFT LIST LINK HERE: https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/1H1Y7SBHESU7K/guest-view?ref=gr_search_page_result