Hi, my name is Lindsay. Marsha and I have known each other for about twenty years. We met toiling away in the basement of the Mae West building, while working on the Dr. Phil Show.

It was my first entertainment industry job, and Marsha took me under her wing as a friend and mentor. Over the years since we both ended up relocating to Northern California, Marsha has become a part of my family; a bonus auntie.

These past two years have been incredibly rough on Marsha. When Covid-19 struck, my partner Dan and I started bringing Marsha groceries and supplies during lockdown. Over the next few months Marsha suffered several falls, and we convinced her to make the transition to assisted living. Unfortunately, the falls continued after the move and somewhere along the line she fractured her hip. She required more care than the assisted living facility could provide, and in the end she ended up moving three times between June and December of 2021. She is no longer able to stand or walk. 

Just when she had finally settled in at an amazing care facility, and things seemed to be looking up Marsha discovered a lump, a little smaller than a golf ball, on the back of her head. What we originally thought to be a cyst, turned out to be a cancerous tumor. Since it’s discovery in January, the tumor has grown exceptionally fast. It is now about the size of a grapefruit and is very painful for her.

 

Marsha has been diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, (RMS). It is a very rare cancer, normally found in children. Unfortunately, adults with this type of cancer do not usually tolerate the chemotherapy needed to treat it. The survival rate is only 25-30% IF they are able to complete the entire fourteen cycles of treatment, (most people over forty are not). Because of the location of the tumor and how fast it is growing, surgeons are not able to remove it. As of right now, we are hoping palliative radiation therapy will help reduce the size of the tumor and offer her some pain relief.

Currently, Marsha’s cancer is classified as stage one, but clinically stage three. It hasn’t spread yet, but it is not a curable cancer and there aren’t a lot of options to treat it.

My goal with this campaign is cover Marsha’s medical co-pays, transportation costs, and quality of life expenses.

 

Marsha is living on a fixed income and most of that goes towards the care facility where she lives. The copays for the various scans, doctors appointments, and medications are already starting to add up. On top of that, because she’s unable to stand, we have to take special wheelchair accessible transports to get her to her appointments. The public transit options can be difficult to book, unreliable, and are exhausting for her when we are unable to take a direct route. The private options cost $116 per trip and they are not covered by insurance.

Marsha has an uphill battle ahead of her, what it will look like is still very uncertain. Anything you can do to help or lend your support during this difficult time will be greatly appreciated.