Support Sarah & family during her cancer battle

Hi, my name is Alexis Schlau, and I am fundraising to help support my sister-in-law, Sarah Panilawon (Schlau), and her family during her fight to beat stage IV colon cancer. Sarah has two daughters, Kaia (7) and Mila (3), and two bonus daughters, Lily (16) and Samara (17).

Sarah’s story:

2021 was quite an eventful year for Sarah and her husband Sean. A high-risk pregnancy led to a 21-day hospital stay for Sarah and 13 weeks in the NICU for Mila. Mila was born on 2/16/21 at only 2lbs and 10.3oz. Many months later, intense pain brought Sarah back to the hospital, and they discovered her appendix burst. She had an appendectomy on 10/2/21 and was later informed that they also had performed a right colectomy due to a mass noticed on her colon. Doctors also noticed 7 lymph nodes that appeared to be compromised. The mass came back as stage III colon cancer.

Sarah immediately started chemo and went through 12 rounds of one drug and 11 on another. After a lot of pain and side effects, her cancer test (Signatera test) came back negative. Sarah was officially cancer-free and rang the bell in April of 2022.

A routine MRI 3 months later revealed her cancer was back and two spots had appeared in her lung – her cancer had metastasized. Sarah qualified for a clinical trial with immunotherapy and participated on and off for three months. A grade 3 rash from her scalp to her stomach developed and tests later revealed that her cancer had spread substantially. She was removed from the trial and scheduled to restart chemo. Sarah underwent 23 more rounds of chemotherapy and had a whole new slew of terrible side effects like twitching, trembling exhaustion, and brain fog. She felt like a zombie.

In March of 2023, doctors discovered a cyst-like tumor growing near her right ovary. In May 2023, she went through an ovary and tube removal that later turned into a hysterectomy. Additionally, they removed 6 lbs. of fluid, 5 tumors (one the size of a baseball), and her right pelvic wall. At this point, she also has lesions in her lungs, abdomen, neck, and liver. The tumors spread throughout her body range from 1.1-2.3 cm.

Sarah recently started a new clinical trial on 1/15/2024 and has had two treatments administered. She is in a lot of pain but continues to push through for some much-needed relief. If you are more interested in learning the specifics of Sarah's story, please check out her YouTube channel which was recently created to spread awareness and keep family and friends up to date. Check out her first video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YUYbwCFhWM

The money raised through GoFundMe will go directly to the Panilowans as they continue to navigate through the ongoing challenges life throws at them. Sarah has continued to work through all her medical issues, but her hours have been drastically cut with sickness and hospital stays. This money will be put towards things such as daycare costs for the girls, gas to get to the hospital/treatments in STL, food, utilities, mortgage, medical bills, etc.

Sarah is the strongest person I know and has persevered through unimaginable pain and stress. Sean works full-time and takes care of Sarah and the girls around the clock. They never ask anyone for anything, but I felt it necessary to offer up any support we could rally. The trials and tribulations of this journey are plentiful, and we are all hoping and praying for Sarah to get well soon.

If you would feel more comfortable donating a gift card, dropping off a meal (St. Louis area), or sending a card please let me know. I can be a liaison to coordinate these kinds of efforts.

Thank you so much for your consideration. If nothing else, please keep Sarah and her family in your heart and prayers as she takes on each new day.

With love,

Alexis Schlau