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Healing for Rebecca Mellish

Rebecca Mellish is a dedicated nurse, a loving wife and mother, and a gentle soul.  In the fall of 2018 Rebecca was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. She endured months of chemotherapy and radiation while still working at her hospital in Mesa, AZ. Then she had lumpectomy in May of 2019. During this time she used up most of her sick leave at work and we incurred some debt to continue her treatments. She returned to work and continued on a chemotherapy tablet. During this time, Joseph, her husband, transitioned to teaching as an adjunct professor, so he could spend time at home with their daughter and tend the home. We worked hard to pay off the previous medical bills. One of things on Rebecca's bucket-list was to go camping. So, we starting camping and hiking around the beautiful state of Arizona once a month, on the weekends. We all loved it, especially our daughter, who will be starting kindergarten this year. Rebecca’s checkups were clear for many months, however, unknown to us and her doctors, the breast cancer had mutated and metastasized in her brain.   She began having some cognitive and coordination issues in late June of 2020. So we had some blood tests done and an MRI of her brain, thinking it may be her thyroid acting up (she has a history of hypothyroidism and endometriosis). On July 11th, we discovered a lime-sized estrogen-receptor-positive tumor crushing the left side of the basil ganglia and cutting off the flow of spinal fluid through the lateral ventricle. Neurosurgery was done on July 13th at Barrow Neurological Institute to remove the tumor. She will be starting cyber knife radiation therapy in mid-August to treat the area in the brain where the tumor was. She has expressive Aphasia, which is similar to the damage done by a stroke. She is undergoing neurological therapy (cognitive-speech, physical, and occupational therapy) in hopes of returning to work by late fall or winter. Fortunately, most of these treatments were partially covered by her health insurance. So, some funds will go to cover the remaining costs. However, her doctors are recommending more months of chemotherapy and radiation. After the brutal failure of chemotherapy and radiation, we are seeking alternative treatments. In late August, we hope to start treatment at An Oasis of Healing, which has a comprehensive cancer care program that lasts for about 12 weeks. Unfortunately, this is not covered by her health insurance, so all expenses for this treatment will be out-of-pocket.  While undergoing treatment there, she will continue her neurological therapy. She may have to continue some alternative treatments and neurological therapy for many months afterward.  We need to raise most of these funds within the next few months. Your generous donations will go to Rebecca's current and future medical expenses and care for our family. Thank you and God bless.
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $200 
    • 3 yrs
  • Cindy Kim
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
  • John Higginbotham
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
  • Marthel Eernisse
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
  • Melinda Rudibaugh
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
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Fundraising team (2)

Joe Mellish
Organizer
Raised $4,095 from 29 donations
Mesa, AZ
Rebecca Mellish
Team member
Raised $5,470 from 17 donations
This team raised $22,290 from 229 other donations.

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