Help Kristina Beat Cancer!

 

2020 was a tough year for everyone, but Kristina Ferrari had it particularly bad. During lockdown, while homeschooling her two young boys as her husband worked on the frontline at the hospital, Kristina underwent a hysterectomy to remove a large and uncomfortable tumor in her uterus. After the surgery she received shattering news: the tumor was not merely a fibroid, as she had originally been told, but a cantaloupe-sized, malignant nuerofibrosarcoma, an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer. Her local doctors sent her to specialists at Stanford to monitor her recovery, hoping that the original hysterectomy had removed the cancer for good. Kristina completed radiation and, over the following months, underwent intermittent blood tests and PET scans to check for recurrences. After several negative test results, hope was high that the worst of it was over. But recently, Kristina and her family received the devastating news that the cancer has returned in the form of numerous peritoneal (intra-abdominal) implants. She is currently undergoing an aggressive, targeted chemotherapy. Later this month she will travel to Stanford for Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion, an arduous, 8+ hour surgery combined with direct intra-abdominal chemotherapy treatment.

 

For those of you who don't know them, the Ferraris are some of the absolute best people you'll ever know, and it's heartbreaking that they have to go through this. For the last year, they have faced Kristina's life-threatening disease with incredible bravery and strength, but now they could really use the support of their community as they face their most difficult chapter. In addition to prayers and good thoughts for the Ferrari family, please consider making a monetary donation to assist with mounting medical bills, travel expenses to Stanford, and other needs as they arise. Let’s pitch in to help Kristina, Ian, and their boys, so they can put their focus where it needs to be: beating cancer!