Dear friends and family,

Anyone who has been a part of Denise’s life has a different story to tell. When I think of our mom I think: best snuggles, greatest nana ever, my best friend, adventure taker, green thumb, always worrier/ prayer warrior, and hippy medicine maker. Throughout her life she has been many things and accomplished so much. Pastors wife, working mom, stay home mom, secretary, healthcare worker, and missionary. My parents have been able to meet some pretty incredible people over the years being in full time ministry from Arizona to India to England and now in Tennessee. I am so thankful for the story that is my family. Of course no family is perfect but we love every part of it even the messy parts. We are beyond thankful for all the people who have been praying for our mom over the past few years. We are beyond grateful for every donation she got. Every package, every letter, every gift and every kind word and prayer. Our mom wouldn’t have been able to be here today without you all by her side in this journey.

Our mother, Denise is facing an unfortunate setback in her cancer battle against multiple myeloma. God has been so good and she has spent the last 3 years in remission. However her cancer has unfortunately returned. Since it has returned she has started an intensive new treatment plan with a completely new type of chemo.

We have started this new go fund me page for this new battle ahead. The medical expenses for my mom’s treatment are significant, and we're turning to our friends, family and community for your support. Your contribution will help cover the costs of anything that insurance won’t cover. The cost of her medications, hospital stays, transportation to and from the hospital and anything relating to her care. Our father currently has to take off between work to drive her an hour to chemo stay with her and an hour drive home. Not including the time spent waiting. Some days he isn’t able to make it back to work in time and it affects them financially.

Every penny, prayer, share and like matters more than you can imagine. We love you all so much and thank you again for your support during this challenging battle. With love

Joy Mello & Jessica Sawyer

Update 12-8-2025

We arrived early this morning at the hospital in Knoxville. My mom and I are already settled into a room and preparing to begin phase two of her clinical trial, CAR-T therapy. This is an innovative treatment for her cancer, offering the possibility of a better quality of life and making it one of the closest things to a cure available today.

To explain it the best I can: they took her T-cells out of her blood and genetically modified them in a lab so they can better recognize and attack the cancer. In this phase, those re-engineered cells are being infused back into her. There are many things that could go wrong, but God is in control, and we are stepping forward in faith that she will recover well and have no reactions.

In this next phase, she will remain inpatient for at least a week but it could be a month depending on how well her body responds to the CAR-T treatment. I have taken the week off work and will be staying in the hospital with her the entire time.

Please keep my mom in your prayers pray that her body is strong enough for this treatment, that she stays positive, and that her outlook remains encouraged. Pray that she doesn’t have any bad reactions, that she isn’t afraid, and that everything goes incredibly smoothly.