Lauren's Team: Fighting an Incurable Cancer

Image: Lauren keeping positive at the flower wall at Fox Chase Cancer Center!

I was one of those people; you go through life seeing other people experience struggle, endure horrifying disease, and you hurt for them. But it doesn't happen to your family - until your 34 year old sister is diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer. 

In the fall of 2017, my younger sister Lauren Milano collapsed at work and was taken to Muhlenberg hospital. She was bleeding from her intestinal tract and was extremely weak; A doctor called me late at night asking me to come to the hospital, she had been rushed to the ICU. When I arrived, she was terrified and crying; they shared they found a large tumor in her abdomen and weren't sure what it was. After they stabilized her, they transferred her to LVCC and operated. They found a large mass on her intestine.  After a painful recovery, she was diagnosed with a benign tumor.

Two years later in 2019, living what she felt was her best life, she ended up back in the hospital with abdominal pain - after additional scans, they discovered the tumor was back, and worse, had also spread to her liver. 

She was officially diagnosed with GIST - Gastrointestional Stromal Tumor - rare in itself, and very rare in people younger than 40 (Lauren was 32 at the time of first occurrence). There is NO CURE for GIST. The goal is to keep her on chemo medication which will keep the tumors at bay, and surgery as needed to remove tumors, but the medication will eventually stop working. Once they stop working, ongoing surgery to remove the tumors is the only treatment. 

Lauren transferred her care to a top GIST specialist down at Fox Chase in Philadelphia. Her medical bills are mounting and she is absolutely unable to keep up with them. Our family's fear is she will avoid treatment/medications if she's unable to pay for them. Due to COVID & her doctor's desire for her to work from home, Lauren was demoted in position & salary at work. As if Lauren didn't have enough struggle going on, the recent Lehigh Valley flooding on August 4th displaced her from her town home & destroyed the first floor; she has a great deal of furniture and personal belongings that needs to be replaced. She has nothing extra for her medical bills at this time. 

Lauren is such a good, kind person and has the biggest heart; during the flooding on August 4th, she spotted 3 little mice who were trying to escape the water and she took the time to rescue them from the flood, despite needing to save as much of her own things as possible. She's maintained as positive an attitude as anyone I've ever seen, and it would be so wonderful if she could have more people on her team cheering her spirit on. 

Please consider donating to help Lauren tackle this UNFAIR burden. If you can't help financially at this time, sharing costs nothing - and we would be so grateful.

Thanks for reading her story - we are so appreciative for every donation, share, and encouraging words.

Lauren and her niece (my daughter) Emelia, who I hope gets to grow up knowing & loving her aunt Lauren.