Hi! My name is Lisa Ikley, known to close friends and family as “Chrissy”. I am 39 years old and I have a beautiful, intelligent 18 year old daughter starting college in the fall and a goofy, fun loving son who is 7 and will be starting second grade this year. And I have recurring stage III cervical cancer.

I was initially diagnosed on November 6, 2021 with stage III cervical cancer, which also happened to be my 36th birthday.

Strangest birthday present I’d ever gotten. I won’t say worst because I met some wonderful people during my treatment. Also, feeling like you’re knocking on death’s door definitely gives you a new lease on life and a higher appreciation for those you love and what’s really important.

After receiving radiation and chemotherapy for 6 months, I went into remission for 3 years-3 more wonderful years that I would not have had if it weren’t for the amazing doctors and nurses I had that first go round.

But during that time, I never felt quite right-my body was telling me something was wrong even though every follow up appointment the scans showed nothing.

Then on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2024, I woke up feeling incredibly fatigued. I made myself push through it to go to work as usual (I’m a shift manager at Homegoods, a pretty awesome company), but once at work I started feeling really ill. I had to call another manager in to cover my shift and by the time I got home, I started vomiting. That lasted for an unprecedented 2 days.

I didn’t think it had anything to do with my cancer coming back, and the next few CT/PET scans and follow up appointments showed nothing. But I continued to get violently ill about once a month over the next few months, starting out the same way each time, with me waking up overwhelmingly exhausted.

Work started to get frustrated with me calling out and I started to become frustrated with my body, not understanding what was wrong.

Then in October 2024, my oncologist ordered a PET scan, noting that my hemoglobin (blood) level was down to an 8.3 (normal is between 12-14).

I received the results of that scan while at work, my doctor confirming what I had been dreading, my cancer had returned and was now not only in my cervix, but in my ovaries and lymph nodes already as well.

It felt like being hit by a truck. Even when I was diagnosed the first time with cancer, the news did not hit me as devastatingly as that phone call confirming my cancer was back. I was so calm the first time that the doctor had asked me if I understood my diagnosis. I did and I had faith that God would see me through, just as he had during every other hardship in my life.

Over the next few months after confirming my cancer had returned I dealt with never ending doctor’s appointments as well as getting sick more often and inevitably missing more work.

I had to go on LOA (leave of absence) at my job for 6 months to keep up with the doctor’s appointments, second opinions and eventually treatment.

I found out that radiation wouldn’t be an option this time, my body wouldn’t be able to withstand it again due to where the cancer was located and the area already having been previously radiated.

That pushed me into further despair, realizing I might not be able to beat the cancer this time.

My doctor put me on a mixture of immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Before I knew it, my 6 months allotted for my LOA had ended. I still had the cancer, I was still going through treatment every 3 weeks. But I had to return to work, there was no other option.

So that’s where my journey is now- working 2 weeks on and missing work every third week while also missing the money due to the treatment that will best case scenario hopefully put my body back into remission and worst case scenario leave my children orphaned in approximately 2 years according to data on similar cervical cancer cases.

So that is what has brought me here-the hope that there are people out there willing to donate whatever they are able to donate to help my children and myself so that I might be able to be a little more financially secure during this difficult time in our lives.

Prayers and good wishes accepted as well!

My ultimate goal, if I go into remission, is to go back to college to finish my teaching degree, so if this gofundme does really well I might squirrel away some money for that (although honestly with my daughter starting college, all the money raised might end up going to her textbooks haha).