Dear friends, family and community members, thank you for reading.

This is Mars. My beloved partner and our dear community member, Reese Brindisi, has been diagnosed with breast cancer at the very young age of 42. For those of you who know Reese, you know they are a giver and a lover, always serving their community and those that they love selflessly with their huge heart! They are the first friend to show up to help you move, tackle a house project, or build your art. They shine such a bright light wherever they go (quite literally, with that delightful flashlight they carry with them always!!), flashing their beautiful smile and dimples, going on adventures and getting into silliness and mischief! We love you, Reese!

If you want to help, the best way you can support is to share this GoFundMe far and wide with your networks! Of course we are grateful for your direct donations as well; any amount is helpful (you can Venmo directly @PayReese).

We are so blessed to have such an incredible support system of family and friends! Thank you for being there for Reese.

In addition to their cancer diagnosis, Reese has chronic back pain and pinched nerves from a car accident two years ago. For years they've been working many different therapies, but recently Reese has accepted recommendations for multiple back surgeries to happen this year. Their chronic pain and the cancer diagnosis has made it harder for Reese to work lately. Frequent medical appointments and planning for their upcoming surgeries was already taking up a lot of their time. Now Reese will have multiple surgeries followed by a month of radiation treatment and months recovering for their cancer alone. Then they will also have a lot of recovery time from their back surgeries.

In addition to this health diagnoses, Reese has been slammed with unexpected bills lately. Their sweet doggie, Dexter, who many of us know and love dearly, has had two expensive emergency vet visits this past year (don't worry, the little buddy is doing great now!) In March, Reese's van was broken into, their door window was shattered and photography equipment was stolen. Reese does has insurance, but with 2 deductibles for the broken windows and for the gear that was stolen, it was still expensive.

The breast cancer is stage 1 and luckily was caught early. This is great news! As of this moment the treatment plan is for Reese to get a lumpectomy to remove the cancer, followed by a month of radiation treatment. Radiation treatment is safe, but very tiring, and Reese will need lots of rest to recover. It's not likely that Reese will need a mastectomy but it is still possible; we're still waiting for some further test results to confirm. We are still waiting for the dates of the cancer surgery. The back surgeries will not happen until all of the cancer treatment has been completed.

Thank you for reading! We love you, Reese!

With love and in community,

Mars (Reese's Partner!)