Help Alissa Continue Her Fight Against Stage IV Sarcoma

I've known Alissa for years, and if you're reading this, chances are you have too — and you probably have your own story about a time she went out of her way for you. That's just who she is.

In our community, she takes her work seriously and treats every resident like family, always going above and beyond. I'd bet nearly every one of us has a favorite memory of an interaction with her.

What many of you may not know is that Alissa has spent nearly ten years quietly fighting an extremely rare cancer — endometrial stromal sarcoma — that has now progressed into an aggressive Stage IV disease. Even through all of it, she has kept showing up for this community, determined to keep working and keep fighting.

She has sought out the best care available anywhere — treated and evaluated at centers including Moffitt Cancer Center, University of Miami Sylvester, Mount Sinai, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Baptist MD Anderson, alongside international sarcoma experts. She has been through surgery, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted treatment, and countless specialist evaluations.

That level of care has come at an enormous cost. Between high insurance deductibles, treatments and scans that insurance did not fully cover, specialist consultations, pathology reviews, travel, and years of ongoing medical bills, Alissa and her husband ultimately took a mortgage on their home just to keep up. They are still making monthly payments toward medical care from earlier treatment, even while continuing to face new expenses.

And through all of this, Alissa is still working every day — despite living with Stage IV cancer and increasingly limited treatment options — so that she can maintain her health insurance, income, and ability to continue pursuing treatment.

Now they are facing another critical decision.

Alissa's oncologists have recommended that she pursue a clinical trial at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, studying a drug that may be especially relevant to the biology of her cancer. But Dana-Farber is out of network, and even the consultation, required screening, and routine costs associated with the trial may not be covered — in addition to travel and lodging if she is accepted.

They are also exploring an evaluation at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, one of the world's leading cancer and sarcoma centers, where additional specialists, clinical trials, and treatment options may be available. Until now, financial and insurance barriers have prevented them from pursuing care there.

This fund isn't for one bill, one hospital, or one clinical trial. It's to help Alissa pay down the medical debt accumulated over nearly ten years of cancer treatment and, just as importantly, to help her continue pursuing every reasonable treatment option available — whether that is Dana-Farber, MD Anderson Houston, another clinical trial, specialist consultation, travel for treatment, or whatever opportunity may come next.

Alissa has given so much of herself to this community. Now it's our turn to give back.

Every contribution helps her keep fighting on her terms, not insurance's.