Support Holly in Her Fight for Life with Colon Cancer

My name is Melissa and I am asking you to join me in supporting my sister Holly in her fight against colon cancer. If you know my sister, you have been graced with her amazing smile and aura. She is the most positive person I know, always spreading kindness and generosity even when she had nothing to give. She has always seen the good in people, she has always fought for the world to see the good in people. She has a beautiful family including her son Ashton, daughters Audrey and Ailyn and a Saint of a Husband Elchin. She is in extreme pain every day, and every week it gets worse. There are so many expenses she is unable to pay for including traveling to treatment, medications, her medical equipment and she will be starting palliative/hospice care soon which will not be fully covered by insurance. Inevitably we look to the future for her children as well. If you can help in anyway, even by just sharing this fundraiser Holly and our entire family will be grateful.

Holly was first diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2021 after suffering for two months awaiting an open appointment for a colonoscopy. When she awoke from the procedure on Friday, she was told she had colon cancer, but the tumor would be removed that Monday. Relieved knowing it would be removed but scared of complications, she had the surgery. She recovered and enjoyed a summer feeling as though she had beat cancer and was going to go on living for many years, her time was not going to be cut short. She made it to Thanksgiving before she started feeling sick again. After much back and forth and appointments she had a petscan done in May 2022 and that showed an aggressive tumor on her duodenum (the first part of the small intestine that connects to the stomach). Because the tumor was sitting on multiple organs including pancreas, liver and stomach a whipple surgery would need to be performed. Unfortunately, the tumor was too big to perform surgery. She began chemo treatment to shrink the tumor and traveled from Syracuse to MSK Hospital in New York City to see if she would be a candidate for radiation therapy. This therapy includes multiple procedures where she would have to lie still for hours in a mold in order to pinpoint the lasers to the duodenum tumor. She celebrated her 40th Birthday that December feeling again optimistic that the radiation would work, and the tumor would shrink enough to perform the surgery. Still not feeling well come February 2023 her CEA levels would continue to increase over the next 6 months and chemotherapy was again suggested to help get the CEA levels down and shrink the tumor. This worked and she was able to have the whipple surgery in January 2024. Since this surgery was performed, she has been riding a roller coaster of highs and lows. From the surgery date to April she was unable to eat food, all nutrients coming through IV. She has spent more time in the hospital than out. There was a complication with the surgery that left a kink in her intestine which was not allowing her to digest anything including liquids. She had to have a feeding tube inserted in March, then in April she had pancreatitis, and they found out her gall bladder was filled with stones. Another surgery was scheduled for April 9th. While removing the gall bladder the Dr. also looked at her previous surgery finding the kink that was causing blockage. He straightened out the kink and replaced it at the bottom of her stomach so things would naturally fall with gravity. He removed her gall bladder and some of her stomach as well. She was finally able to start eating again and the feeding tube was removed, she was able to celebrate her wedding anniversary at home April 20th. In May she returned to the hospital for pancreatitis and pain. Then in June she was able to celebrate her daughter's graduation, only to come down with jaundice two days later. The hospital would send her home mid July stating there was nothing more they could do for her and to contact her cancer Dr. She did and had another scan performed; the cancer has spread to her liver and pancreas, she is Stage 4 terminal, she has five tumors now. She will continue to battle for the rest of her life. This has been an extremely hard thing to write and also to allow everyone to know how much she has been suffering, she does not want to inflict pain or sadness on anyone. Please pray for strength and healing. Thank you.