Hi! My name is Desiree Shroyer and this is my story...

It will be a little happy, a little sad, but ultimately, it will be good just as He designed it to be.

We had adopted a sweet baby girl back in 2017. She was an emergency foster placement and she came straight from the hospital into our home. We had no idea what we were doing since we didn’t have any children and I had just started nursing school but, we knew this sweet baby deserved a safe and loving home. God definitely knew what he was doing in my life and I had no idea about the storm He was preparing for me to sail through.

When I finished nursing school in the middle of 2019 my husband and I started to focus on raising a family and decided we wanted more children. My first pregnancy resulted in an ectopic pregnancy which prompted us to be hyper aware of everything when I got pregnant again for the second time in 2020. I noticed a spot that was concerning for breast cancer and my Dr. was quick to check it out. I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma when I was 28, pregnant, and absolutely heartbroken. A few days after my cancer diagnosis I found out the pregnancy was non viable. Looking back now, God kept me from having to make a difficult choice between saving me or my baby. He knew my oldest still needed me and blessed me with an opportunity to jump right in and fight. I did the standard treatment with chemo, then a lumpectomy, and finished with radiation. I responded really well to treatment and my dr was hopeful that we got everything!

After a short period of healing, we decided to try again to grow our family. We had two more failed pregnancies and my heart was broken into so many pieces that I didn’t know if I could survive trying to have a baby again. But, we prayed about it for 3 years and decided to try again. Finally, in late 2023, we got pregnant and were able to hear a precious heart beat that was strong and healthy! Everything went so well until I was about 7 months pregnant and we learned that my cancer had come back. This was absolutely devastating news. Our baby was a miracle that we prayed and longed for and God gifted me a team of professionals that were able to get her earth side safely so that I could glove up and fight again. We delivered sweet Chloe at 34 weeks then shifted our focus to fighting for my life. I was able to get a port placed, staging imaging, then chemo started all within 1 week of being postpartum. We started all the standard treatment again but unfortunately, it was failing. My tumor continued to grow. We rushed more testing and I landed in surgery to keep it from spreading even more and then tried a different chemo regimen. This attempt also failed. We learned that the strongest chemo we have on the market was not strong enough to kill my cancer.

My Dr. recommended us consult with MD Anderson and I went to Houston in December of 2024. My visit with them did not go as I had hoped. They told me to come home, have the hard conversations with my loved ones about my final wishes and make sure I got my legal documents in place. I was told that I should only do radiation for palliative care and we could try another type of chemo that might give me more time with my family or not work at all. I believe God wouldn’t allow peace in my heart until I kept pushing and asking questions. We prayed more in that one week probably more than I ever have and finally decided to do radiation anyways since the cancer had remained localized. I knew God wasn’t done with my story yet.

I completed radiation in Feb 2025 and had repeat imaging in May 2025 which showed that my initial site of disease was clear but the disease had learned to travel and spread to my right side lymph nodes and a complicated location in the middle of my chest. With this information, we went back to MD Anderson and they had a clinical trial that I was a good fit for. After accepting my spot and signing agreements, my job changed insurance companies and MD Anderson pulled my spot for the trial with no warning. While at first I was angry and frustrated about suddenly being dropped from the trial, I had an unexplainable peace about the decision to find something else. Throughout my journey, I had been told on three separate occasions about this hospital in Mexico. After some thorough research and prayer, I truly believe this is the next step for me.

The protocol is broken up into 3 month chunks. I will be required to remain inpatient for 16 days, then go home and wait 3 weeks before starting a home regimen. This will consist of supplements which are included in the cost for the first “chunk” and possibly prescription medications that range anywhere from $500-$2000. The cost of the first chunk of the protocol is about $40,000. The second part of the protocol is similar to the first but the inpatient visit would only be 9 days and would include the supplements and possibly more prescriptions. This chunk of the protocol is about $25,000. **I updated the goal to include what was already raised and used for previous medical bills***

We feel very fortunate to have found another option for treatment but with it being out of the U.S., my insurance will not cover any of the cost. This will be entirely out of pocket. I am unable to work due to the time requirements for treatment and travel. Any donations will be used for medical/living expenses.