Help Mellie while she fights cancer

Hi, I’m Caitlin, Mellie’s first cousin once removed. Mellie’s mother Margot and my grandmother Ellen are sisters.

Right now Mellie is fighting colorectal cancer and I have decided to make this GoFundMe to help her financially. As much as I don’t like the idea of asking for money, I did not want to regret not trying to help her in this way.

Two summers ago Mellie was trying to get on top of some health issues and discovered she had a cancerous tumor. Over the past year she has been staying in Cambridge, MA to treat the cancer with radiation and chemotherapy at Dana Farber. Her partner, Bruce commuted every weekend from their home in Sullivan, ME to be with Mellie. From what I gather, the treatments were unsuccessful and Mellie has chosen to travel to seek alternatives.

About six weeks ago in Mellie and Bruce’s travels Bruce’s back gave out and he has been unable to walk. Bruce is scheduled for surgery in Massachusetts in two weeks and will be unable to work until January. This page is for Mellie, but I needed to tell you about Bruce because he has been the person that has stood by Mellie most importantly through her cancer diagnosis.

Just to tell you a little bit about what Mellie means to me: Mellie is a guiding light in my life. When I was a kid, Mellie was one of a few adults I can remember that talked to me like I was a person, not just a kid.

Now that I’m older, I owe a huge chunk of my sobriety to Mellie because she held my hand as I let go of a lifestyle that was killing me. I should also mention Bruce has been a part of the support I received.

Mellie is entirely selfless and has given me so much of her time and when I don’t know what to do, I call Mellie. Nowadays, she is my go-to for prayer and she has encouraged me so much in my relationship with God.

This past year Mellie, Denis, Leigh and I planned our Family Reunion, we did this because we know without a doubt, how important family is. She remained a part of that even through her treatments.

I know you love Mellie just like I do, and if you’re looking for a way to help her out I wanted you to have an easy way of doing it. I’ve set the amount at 15,000 because it is the number that spoke to me. Any money collected will go to Mellie directly to help pay for bills. Feel no pressure from me.

With love,

Caitlin

(The cover photo you see is a picture of Mellie observing seaweed on our Alaria hunt about a year and a half ago here on Swan’s Island.)