Support Sara's Battle Against Brain Cancer

Sara was diagnosed with Astrocytoma Grade 2 IDH1 almost 3 years ago now. After weeks of migraines and what she would later discover to be seizures, Sara went to the ophthalmologist to see if she could get to the bottom of her migraines. Upon looking at her optic nerve, the doctor immediately sent Sara to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in her right frontal lobe.

The world stopped spinning for her, her husband, their 2 young boys, and all of Sara's friends and family with that news. It was September 18, 2021. Sara was just 37 years old and her 2 sons Ben and Nate were 13 and 8. She had no idea of the long, intense journey ahead of her.

On September 22, Sara had a craniotomy to remove as much of the tumor as possible. After a long surgery, she started her recovery with screws and plates in her skull, a new haircut, and lots of staples-- and hope that she would begin to feel better.

In mid-October, pathology reports came back and Sara learned she had cancer. Brain cancer. She would need 30 radiation treatments to stop the growth of the marginal area left after surgery. She went for 6 weeks, Monday- Friday to receive radiation. On December 28, 2021, Sara did her last radiation treatment and looked forward to getting her life back. She returned to work in January 3 days a week. She was so ready to feel more like herself and get to enjoy things with her husband and sons.

Then Sara learned she would also need chemotherapy. Sara had 12 rounds of Temador, chemo in a pill form. She had to take the pill for 5 days and then have 23 days off. The nausea, vomiting, headaches, fatigue, exhaustion, joint pain, inability to eat, digestive issues, and mental load of it all was so very taxing. Once again, Sara marched on and did the next right thing to get her through this part of her journey. Finally, after 11 months of this hell, she took her last chemotherapy pill December 30, 2022.

Then January came with news of some more brain swelling and all of the nasty side effects that come with that- seizures, headaches, exhaustion, etc. She began Avastin Infusions in August 2, 2023 as a treatment for the necrotic tissue and swelling in her tumor area. She continued to get these infusions at a cancer care center through October of 2023. She spent some time recovering from that process and started 2024 with hope.

Over the last few months, Sara has started to notice some memory concerns. She has had increasingly more seizures over the past few weeks and her memory has become a hot topic. She has taken a few trips to the ER for her seizures and had a CT scan and multiple MRIs.

Currently, Sara and Ross are awaiting the reading of her most recent MRI from August 9 to determine what they are looking at and what steps are next.

I'm Meghan, a friend of Sara's for 18 years. We met our first year teaching fresh out of college. We taught math to 7th graders while we navigated our first "real jobs", marriage, and then parenthood. I think I speak for us both when I say we needed each other then as we do now.

The expenses that come with a craniotomy, radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and infusions are some of the highest medical expenses there are. On top of that, she has an oncologist, a radiation oncologist, optometrist, a headache specialist, neurosurgeon, and neurologist as specialists she has to visit very often. She has MRIs every 2 months. She has had many ambulance rides and hospital stays. The amount of expensive medications she has to take is overwhelming. Not to mention Sara and Ross missing work.

Sara is starting her 19th year as an educator in Prince William County. She is a giver through and through. Ross is also a teacher in Fairfax County. They work hard, earning master's degrees and National Boards Certification, to make sure they can provide their boys with everything they need and make an awesome life for their family.

I want to work together with you, her friends, family, and community the Bosse family pours into, to support Sara and her family with this financial burden. Sara needs to focus on her health right now without worrying about money. Ross needs to focus on being Sara's advocate, caretaker, and best friend without worrying about finances. This is how we can help and where we come in.

Please consider donating and share this GoFundMe and let's see how we can rally around Sara and her family to show them how much support and love they have!