Marilyn vs. Pancreatic Cancer
Donation protected
The Short Story
My Mother, Marilyn Colletta was diagnosed with stage III Pancreatic Cancer in February of this year. For 5 months she experienced symptoms that were common of several conditions that Doctors tested for a variety of diseases until the CT scans showed a tumor in her Pancreas. Over the past 7 months she has undergone Chemotherapy infusions, and a major surgery to remove her tumor which was resting on the Mesenteric Artery in the Pancreas and resect the head of the Pancreas.
We are grateful to the Doctors who were able to save her life and are now asking for your help in raising the funds necessary to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and personal finances to cover the surgery for her tumor removal at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, as well as follow-up appointments and postoperative Chemotherapy treatments.
The More Detailed Story
In March, we learned that Marilyn's tumor was resting on the Mesenteric Artery in the Pancreas and was deemed inoperable- basically granting her less than a year to live, with the treatment option of Chemotherapy to help extend her life another few months. We weren’t going to go down without a fight, so we sought out a second opinion at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
The immediate course of action was an aggressive Chemotherapy treatment plan with the goal of shrinking the tumor so that it could be surgically removed from the artery, without giving it a chance to spread to any other part of her body. At Sloan, we met with the Surgical Chair who told us he was 90% sure the tumor could be shrunk and removed, and if so, he would perform the surgery to remove it himself- which he did on June 22, 2018 while also performing a Whipple procedure.
It has been a long, difficult and painful road and the journey is not yet over. She is halfway through a 6 month postoperative Chemotherapy treatment schedule which should be complete by December 2018, but the good news is that her Cancer markers have been coming back NORMAL!
As you can imagine, since the initial diagnosis there have been several trips to the Emergency Room for complications (including infections, body tremors, jaundice), surgeries, Chemotherapy treatments and weekly check-ups.
She has devoted her life to helping others (whether they ask for help or not), sacrificing whatever she could in the process. She is a phenomenal Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunt and Friend and has been such a bright light in countless lives, but she is now asking for help in her fight.
With such an aggressive course of treatment and invasive surgery, Marilyn has been unable to continue working- which has been hard since she is such a workaholic! So, we’re asking for your help in raising the funds necessary to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and personal finances to cover the surgery for her tumor removal at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, as well as follow-up appointments and postoperative Chemotherapy treatments.
Any sized donation is helpful and greatly appreciated! If you aren’t able to make a donation at this time we ask that you please share this page with your social circles and keep this wonderful woman in your prayers.
My Mother, Marilyn Colletta was diagnosed with stage III Pancreatic Cancer in February of this year. For 5 months she experienced symptoms that were common of several conditions that Doctors tested for a variety of diseases until the CT scans showed a tumor in her Pancreas. Over the past 7 months she has undergone Chemotherapy infusions, and a major surgery to remove her tumor which was resting on the Mesenteric Artery in the Pancreas and resect the head of the Pancreas.
We are grateful to the Doctors who were able to save her life and are now asking for your help in raising the funds necessary to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and personal finances to cover the surgery for her tumor removal at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, as well as follow-up appointments and postoperative Chemotherapy treatments.
The More Detailed Story
In March, we learned that Marilyn's tumor was resting on the Mesenteric Artery in the Pancreas and was deemed inoperable- basically granting her less than a year to live, with the treatment option of Chemotherapy to help extend her life another few months. We weren’t going to go down without a fight, so we sought out a second opinion at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
The immediate course of action was an aggressive Chemotherapy treatment plan with the goal of shrinking the tumor so that it could be surgically removed from the artery, without giving it a chance to spread to any other part of her body. At Sloan, we met with the Surgical Chair who told us he was 90% sure the tumor could be shrunk and removed, and if so, he would perform the surgery to remove it himself- which he did on June 22, 2018 while also performing a Whipple procedure.
It has been a long, difficult and painful road and the journey is not yet over. She is halfway through a 6 month postoperative Chemotherapy treatment schedule which should be complete by December 2018, but the good news is that her Cancer markers have been coming back NORMAL!
As you can imagine, since the initial diagnosis there have been several trips to the Emergency Room for complications (including infections, body tremors, jaundice), surgeries, Chemotherapy treatments and weekly check-ups.
She has devoted her life to helping others (whether they ask for help or not), sacrificing whatever she could in the process. She is a phenomenal Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunt and Friend and has been such a bright light in countless lives, but she is now asking for help in her fight.
With such an aggressive course of treatment and invasive surgery, Marilyn has been unable to continue working- which has been hard since she is such a workaholic! So, we’re asking for your help in raising the funds necessary to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and personal finances to cover the surgery for her tumor removal at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, as well as follow-up appointments and postoperative Chemotherapy treatments.
Any sized donation is helpful and greatly appreciated! If you aren’t able to make a donation at this time we ask that you please share this page with your social circles and keep this wonderful woman in your prayers.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sarah Colletta
Organizer
Jordan, NY
Marilyn Colletta
Beneficiary
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