Hi everyone,

Life update: On September 2nd I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. A very rare blood cancer of the lymphatic system commonly affecting many young adults. If you haven’t heard of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma before, it is a cancer that is rare but it is extremely treatable and I feel good about the prognosis.

** Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a rare but treatable form of blood cancer that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Most of these cases are people 18-35 years of age, and fewer than 3 out of 100,000 people are diagnosed with HL every year.

It all began in March of this year, it started out as a simple dry cough. This dry cough I thought and as many doctors thought too, was just allergies. This dry cough continued and only got more frequent that I felt it wasn’t just allergies. This cough lasted a good 5 months before I went to the E.R. after a night of non-stop coughing and night sweats. Once at the ER, I had a CT scan done and they told me I had a 10 cm mass on my upper left lobe of my lung. I spent the night in the hospital so more tests could be done. I had my first biopsy done on July 21st. The following week, I was informed that no cancer cells were detected but I was still left with the same symptoms as before. I then had a bronchoscopy done 3 weeks later to do a 2nd biopsy. That biopsy also came back negative for cancer cells. At this point, me and my family were hopeful that it wasn’t cancer, and that I just needed to have the tumor removed so I could be back to normal and healthy. Doctors still weren’t sure what this “mass” was and wanted to do one last biopsy before removing it. On August 26th, I had a major surgery done, an open-lung surgery that was supposed to be 2 hours and ended up being 6 hours. I was only supposed to have a piece of the tumor removed for testing but doctors seen how big the tumor was and how it was growing into my heart, so they decided at that point to remove the majority of it. They also had to remove the upper left lobe of my lung in case cancer cells had infected it. I spent a week in the hospital recovering and let me just say, that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Not only was it very painful, but it was also very hard being away from my daughter for a week and not able to hold her or see her. Sadly, her birthday was September 1st and I had to spend it in the hospital. On my last day in the hospital, September 2nd, test results came back and the news was broke down to me that I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Just when I had thought I was in the clear, this devastated me. I then had to have a cancer port placed for when I start my next journey.... chemotherapy. These last couple of weeks, I’ve spent recovering from that surgery. Having a part of your lung removed is a lot harder than you think. But I am also now preparing for these chemo treatments I am about to undergo.

These next 2-3 months are going to be very difficult as I start chemo, but I just have to continue staying positive when I can, listen to my body, and following all my treatments. I know that by investing all my energy I have into my health in getting better, I will beat this. My family has been very supportive in being by my side through this new phase in my life. It does hurt knowing that my sweet baby girl Cataleya will be seeing me fight through this but she knows that mommy is strong and determined.

I’m starting this go fund me so that I can do just that, focus on beating this cancer. I know medications, treatment, and missing out on working will only make this journey even harder for me to overcome. I appreciate any and all help, and please reach out if you have any questions or are in a similar situation!

After receiving treatments, I hope to be cancer-free by year 2022!

By donating, you are helping fund the following expenses:

● Subsidizing Emily’s income as she had to take a step back from her career to undergo treatment and focus solely on getting better.

● Medical expenses not covered by insurance.

● Personal & family necessities (food, medical, lodging, transportation, etc.) during this difficult time.

● A wig, and other physical and mental health services that help Emily feel like herself while undergoing treatment.

● Fertility treatments and annual fees to freeze her eggs so that when she beats this cancer, she'll have the option later in life to have more kids

Anything and everything is appreciated, even just a simple share.