Help Lisa Overcome Stage 3 Cancer
Donation protected
Last month, my sister-in-law was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer.
Lisa (or you might know her as Mel) is my brother Ed’s wife. Together, they have four amazing kids. I’ve known Lisa since I was four, because she and my brother were high school sweethearts. They’ve been together for 25 years, and ever since I’ve known her I’ve always been in awe of her incredibly generous spirit, and her determination to put family first. She is truly at the center of our family––she’s always the one to host holidays and throw people parties––and I know she would do anything for any of us. The news of her illness has been devastating and despite her and my brother’s reluctance to ask people for money, I wanted to put this fundraiser together in the hopes that we can at least minimize the financial hardship for them.
About Lisa’s cancer diagnosis:
Lisa has been struggling with her health for months, but the doctors had a hard time getting to the bottom of the issue. Then, this past July and August, she had acute kidney failure, and was diagnosed with Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) which they thought had caused the kidney failure. She was able to get through this with dialysis and emergency surgery to implant stents in her ureters, and was hospitalized for 14 days. In October, she was hospitalized again, and after numerous scans and labs the doctors found a tumor, which they confirmed was stage 3 cervical cancer (squamous cell carcinoma stage IIIB). The cancer had spread to impact the function of her kidneys, ureters, and bladder and was the actual cause of her prior kidney failure.
We were able to bring Lisa home after the stents were implanted, but she’s been bedridden and in extreme pain from her condition. She’s also very weak, having lost over 25 pounds in the hospital (if you know her you know she was tiny in the first place, so this was a lot).
Obviously, Lisa, who’s been working as a caregiver for the elderly as well as young kids, has been unable to work. My brother works at Target, but their family, which was already no stranger to financial issues, doesn’t have the means to afford this on their own. We’re raising money to cover her medical bills, medications, and any other urgent expenses their family will have because they’re going through this.
I can’t tell you how heartbroken I was when I found out about Lisa’s cancer. To me, she’s more than a sister-in-law. I’ve known her almost my entire life. I have always looked up to her and loved her like an actual sister, and I’m so grateful to her for the role she’s played in bringing our entire extended family closer together. Not to mention the fact that she is everything to my brother, who has been working full-time to try and keep up with the bills while going back and forth when Lisa is in the hospital, and taking care of the kids when he's at home. He is the kindest guy ever and one of the most important people in my life, and he and Lisa have given so much to raise amazing, good-hearted kids that I’m obsessed with. I can’t think of two people more deserving of support.
Please give what you can to help us all out and keep Lisa in your thoughts and prayers. We’d also really appreciate it if you can share this with your friends and family as so many of you have seen the pain cancer causes. If you know her personally, you can absolutely reach out to her with love and well wishes. I know she would appreciate that.
We’re so grateful to have such amazing family and friends who have already been a tremendous emotional support at this exceedingly difficult time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lisa (or you might know her as Mel) is my brother Ed’s wife. Together, they have four amazing kids. I’ve known Lisa since I was four, because she and my brother were high school sweethearts. They’ve been together for 25 years, and ever since I’ve known her I’ve always been in awe of her incredibly generous spirit, and her determination to put family first. She is truly at the center of our family––she’s always the one to host holidays and throw people parties––and I know she would do anything for any of us. The news of her illness has been devastating and despite her and my brother’s reluctance to ask people for money, I wanted to put this fundraiser together in the hopes that we can at least minimize the financial hardship for them.
About Lisa’s cancer diagnosis:
Lisa has been struggling with her health for months, but the doctors had a hard time getting to the bottom of the issue. Then, this past July and August, she had acute kidney failure, and was diagnosed with Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) which they thought had caused the kidney failure. She was able to get through this with dialysis and emergency surgery to implant stents in her ureters, and was hospitalized for 14 days. In October, she was hospitalized again, and after numerous scans and labs the doctors found a tumor, which they confirmed was stage 3 cervical cancer (squamous cell carcinoma stage IIIB). The cancer had spread to impact the function of her kidneys, ureters, and bladder and was the actual cause of her prior kidney failure.
We were able to bring Lisa home after the stents were implanted, but she’s been bedridden and in extreme pain from her condition. She’s also very weak, having lost over 25 pounds in the hospital (if you know her you know she was tiny in the first place, so this was a lot).
Obviously, Lisa, who’s been working as a caregiver for the elderly as well as young kids, has been unable to work. My brother works at Target, but their family, which was already no stranger to financial issues, doesn’t have the means to afford this on their own. We’re raising money to cover her medical bills, medications, and any other urgent expenses their family will have because they’re going through this.
I can’t tell you how heartbroken I was when I found out about Lisa’s cancer. To me, she’s more than a sister-in-law. I’ve known her almost my entire life. I have always looked up to her and loved her like an actual sister, and I’m so grateful to her for the role she’s played in bringing our entire extended family closer together. Not to mention the fact that she is everything to my brother, who has been working full-time to try and keep up with the bills while going back and forth when Lisa is in the hospital, and taking care of the kids when he's at home. He is the kindest guy ever and one of the most important people in my life, and he and Lisa have given so much to raise amazing, good-hearted kids that I’m obsessed with. I can’t think of two people more deserving of support.
Please give what you can to help us all out and keep Lisa in your thoughts and prayers. We’d also really appreciate it if you can share this with your friends and family as so many of you have seen the pain cancer causes. If you know her personally, you can absolutely reach out to her with love and well wishes. I know she would appreciate that.
We’re so grateful to have such amazing family and friends who have already been a tremendous emotional support at this exceedingly difficult time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Organizer
Erika Best
Organizer
Laguna Niguel, CA
Begin your fundraising journey
