My name is Gabby, and my older sister Maria was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer and has tested BRCA1 positive. She has been facing the most difficult chapter of her life.

Cancer has turned our lives upside down when our then 16-year-old nephew was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer) back in 2018. In November of 2020, our older sister Teresa was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma and HERS 2, which is 2 types of Breast Cancer. Then, in March of 2022 our mom was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma ER and tested PR positive (a form of breast cancer).

As soon as our mom was done with her cancer treatment, my sister Maria had started to get bloated and was in pain. She ended up going to urgent care where they had done a CAT scan and found a tumor on her left ovary the size of a grapefruit, that was causing malignant ascites in her belly. A biopsy was done and after 3 trips to the ER, to get her belly drained from the ascites fluid. She was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. The cancer was spreading to her other organs and the fluid from her belly was also filling in her lungs, she had to be admitted to the hospital for 3 days.

My sister has gone through 6 rounds of intense chemotherapy and has undergone a major debulking surgery, called Total Abdominal Hysterectomy with Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy. This surgery pretty much removed all her reproductive organs along with her Omentum and a piece of her bladder that had cancer. During this surgery, she had another procedure called HIPEC done. This is heated chemotherapy delivered directly into the abdomen, with the goal of killing any microscopic cancer cells left.

My sister is a strong determined woman, she’s a single mother of 3. She’s kind, caring, hardworking, family oriented and has a great sense of humor. If you know her you know exactly what I’m talking about. She loves to make people laugh and always has a smile on her face. With her being unable to work during her cancer treatment, she has been stressing over the increasing cost of medical bills, medication expenses, and the general cost of living. I invite you to consider contributing to ease some of the stress of financial burden during this challenging time, so my sister can continue fighting this nasty disease and to also help with the upcoming mastectomy surgery.

Thank you to anyone who helps, any donation big or small is heavily appreciated as anything helps! Please keep her in your prayers and please share the link!