Supporting Marion through the Big C!

To those that may not know Marion, but know me or someone else that shared this page, please consider donating to support your friend who truly cares for someone special. Your unexpected random act of kindness will undoubtably bring you a sprinkle of positive vibes and maybe some good karma!

Let me explain…

Over 20 years ago, I met Marion on my freshman year floor at Boston University. Simply stated, she became my partner in crime, my ride or die, and confidante through those pretty memorable moments we all experience in college.

As the years have gone by, she’s moved from New Jersey, to Boston to California and spread her love and humor to so many of us. There’s no doubt that once she’s in your life whether as a friend or family member, she’s made a forever imprint on your heart. No one can resist her dry sarcasm or wit, chill attitude, and honesty. We’ve all been lucky enough to earn her trust, love, and friendship.

Now, it’s time for us to give back to someone special that has touched our lives.

If you don’t already know the cold hard truth, Marion has cancer. Yup! That’s right! The Big C. But, she’s up for the challenge to fight and she and her family need some backup in her corner of the ring.

So, below are the details to bring you up to speed…

What they thought a couple of weeks ago was yet another flare-up of endometriosis has been diagnosed as cancer. She has a tumor in her pelvic region about the size of a small fist. It has been pressing against her sciatic nerve and other nerves in the area, causing significant pain. She was admitted to Mass General Hospital on Oct 11th.

Their first priority was pain management and gathering as much information as possible about the cancer. Her treatment started this past Monday and the course of treatment was originally going to be 5 weeks of radiation and one weekly chemotherapy infusion. However, a CT scan showed nodules in her lungs, close to her diaphragm. They did a PET scan and the results came back malignant.

Because they are now dealing with cancer in two different locations, they are going to change course with her treatment. They will start systemic chemotherapy that is much stronger and will help reach cancer cells wherever they are. This is an aggressive cancer and they want to be aggressive in treatment. This will mean she’ll see more of the typical chemo side effects, like nausea and hair loss.

Things have been continually shifting as they gather more information. They expect to continue to learn more about the tumor, how it’s reacting to treatment and as they learn more the treatment could potentially shift again. So stay tuned.

Marion and her family are at the beginning of a very precarious journey and I’m hoping we can all provide some support as they deal with endless medical bills, travel expenses, missed worked, and simply the lack on continuity they’ve became accustomed to over the past few years together. I’m also hoping there’s a little extra support around to help her indulge in some much needed relaxing medical massages between chemo treatments, that aren’t easily covered under insurance.

Marion and her family humbly accepted my offer to start this GoFundMe. This will inevitably be a life changing situation for all of them. I’m hoping we can collectively make their unexpected journey a little easier.