I am Nancy Gallo. Hello Friends,

In January 2020, I was diagnosed with “Central Nervous System (CNS) lymphoma” … a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which malignant cancer cells form in the brain. Upon recommendations from friends and family, I was taken to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for immediate surgery to remove one of the two cancerous tumors. It was so critical that once the craniectomy (brain surgery) had started, I was told that my brain literally wanted to jump out of my skull because it was so inflamed. Today there are still tender places in my skull where it was opened.

After surgery and a multiple day stay in the ICU, I was released to return home to begin fighting the non-operable tumor with chemotherapy. For several days after surgery, my doctor did not speak of a prognosis. He told me that he didn’t mention that word because I didn’t have one. After much testing, he finally gave me the news that they’d determined my cancer was a type of lymphoma which, in his eyes, was good news. He said that it would be a very difficult battle using one of the most powerful chemo drugs available. The last thing he said to me was …“but you can live.”

Those were the four words that I had to focus on … “but I can live.”

During the next two years, I spent much of time admitted to the hospital (over 100 days in 2021) going through chemo treatments and was unable to work most of this time. I’ve incurred significant expenses during this process. Thankfully, the treatment was successful and I was declared to be in remission after 16 rounds of chemo. I had my last round in the spring of 2021. It took several months to begin to regain my strength and to start to feel human again. However this is an aggressive disease and the cancer has now returned. My oncologist has determined that I need to repeat the chemo process. As difficult as it is to ask, I am at the point where it's time to raise funds to help cover mounting expenses. The funds would be used to pay down medical debt incurred so far.

It is overwhelming to think that I’m going to be starting the process all over again. I just need to stay focused on the target and to keep fighting.

I have a 10-year old grandson and an 8-year old granddaughter … two of the most wonderful grandkids anyone could be blessed with. I want to see them grow up. I’m not ready to give up on life. Please help me focus on getting well instead of the financial burden that cancer has caused. Thank you so much for your support. If you are unable to donate, please share my story and keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Help me kick cancer for the second time!