Rosie's fight
Donation protected
This has been a trying year already for our family. We had the miracle with Brandon, Todd's brother in law, recovering from basically lung failure due to an extreme case of Valley Fever. We are now begging for another miracle for Todd's younger sister, Rose.
Rose and her loving husband Chris are private people but are in need of some help so I'm sharing their story.
On April 5th, Rose had gone to her dermatologist to have some moles checked and removed. On April 10th the dermatologist informed Rose one of her moles had come back positive with Nodular Melanoma (Nevoid Subclass), a very aggressive cancer. Rose immediately jumped into action to fight this head on. On April 24th Rose had a 3 inch excised circle around the area where the mole had been removed along with 3 lymph nodes. On May 7th the results confirmed 2 of the 3 lymph nodes had melanoma. May 15th Rose had her first appointment with Dr. Wong at U of A Cancer Center in Downtown Phoenix and had a full CT scan done. Dr. Wong wanted Rose to start treatment as soon as possible, the course of action was Opdivo (Nivolumab) Immunotherapy Infusions which Rose would get every two weeks for one year. In early June Rose voluntarily had a neck dissection where they removed 40 lymph nodes, 11 of which came back containing melanoma. This elective surgery gave her a jump on what she would be battling and Rose was definitely happy she had it. After recovering from the neck dissection and having a port inserted Rose began the infusion treatment on June 22nd. She handled it well and was actually back to work by the end of June, only suffering some fatigue as a side effect.
Then on September 13th Dr. Wong, who had been monitoring her treatment, became concerned with Rose having highly elevated muscle enzymes. Rose and Dr. Wong discussed suspending treatment if they did not decrease quickly. By September 20th the infusion treatment had encouraged Rose's immune system to attack her liver, muscles and joints and treatment was stopped. Rose was in extreme pain and was admitted into the hospital on September 24th. Rose was being treated for the pain along with her now enlarged liver. On the 25th an ultrasound found a spot on her liver and a biopsy was completed. September 28th the biopsy confirmed her liver had melanoma tumors. Dismally it also confirmed tumors on her hip joint, bladder and spine! The spine tumor had actual caused a fracture which has been adding to Rose's pain.
Rose has one last treatment option, BRAF and MEK inhibitors; which as the doctor put it "costs 10s of thousands of dollars".
Rose is one of the kindest, most incredible persons I've ever met and she has the amazing Ring sense of humor that has helped her get through all of this hardship. Rose is eager to beat this and get back into her lab to continue her inspiring work at Phoenix Children's Hospital as an medical laboratory scientist, microbiologist. That's right, not only is she shockingly beautiful she has brains too!! And she uses them to help and bring hope to others. But at this time she and Chris needs all of our help.
Fortunately Chris's employer has been understanding and allowing him the time to be at her side and Rose has decent insurance with her job, but the medical bills for what is not covered are going to start piling up and they are in need of some help.
Please share this page, donate what you can and above all, send healing prayers/vibes/intentions/hope!!
Here is a link to the CaringBridge page the family has been receiving updates through since this battle began. Please feel to read the more detailed entries to get a glimpse at what Rose has been through.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rosieposiepuddinpie

Rose and her loving husband Chris are private people but are in need of some help so I'm sharing their story.
On April 5th, Rose had gone to her dermatologist to have some moles checked and removed. On April 10th the dermatologist informed Rose one of her moles had come back positive with Nodular Melanoma (Nevoid Subclass), a very aggressive cancer. Rose immediately jumped into action to fight this head on. On April 24th Rose had a 3 inch excised circle around the area where the mole had been removed along with 3 lymph nodes. On May 7th the results confirmed 2 of the 3 lymph nodes had melanoma. May 15th Rose had her first appointment with Dr. Wong at U of A Cancer Center in Downtown Phoenix and had a full CT scan done. Dr. Wong wanted Rose to start treatment as soon as possible, the course of action was Opdivo (Nivolumab) Immunotherapy Infusions which Rose would get every two weeks for one year. In early June Rose voluntarily had a neck dissection where they removed 40 lymph nodes, 11 of which came back containing melanoma. This elective surgery gave her a jump on what she would be battling and Rose was definitely happy she had it. After recovering from the neck dissection and having a port inserted Rose began the infusion treatment on June 22nd. She handled it well and was actually back to work by the end of June, only suffering some fatigue as a side effect.
Then on September 13th Dr. Wong, who had been monitoring her treatment, became concerned with Rose having highly elevated muscle enzymes. Rose and Dr. Wong discussed suspending treatment if they did not decrease quickly. By September 20th the infusion treatment had encouraged Rose's immune system to attack her liver, muscles and joints and treatment was stopped. Rose was in extreme pain and was admitted into the hospital on September 24th. Rose was being treated for the pain along with her now enlarged liver. On the 25th an ultrasound found a spot on her liver and a biopsy was completed. September 28th the biopsy confirmed her liver had melanoma tumors. Dismally it also confirmed tumors on her hip joint, bladder and spine! The spine tumor had actual caused a fracture which has been adding to Rose's pain.
Rose has one last treatment option, BRAF and MEK inhibitors; which as the doctor put it "costs 10s of thousands of dollars".
Rose is one of the kindest, most incredible persons I've ever met and she has the amazing Ring sense of humor that has helped her get through all of this hardship. Rose is eager to beat this and get back into her lab to continue her inspiring work at Phoenix Children's Hospital as an medical laboratory scientist, microbiologist. That's right, not only is she shockingly beautiful she has brains too!! And she uses them to help and bring hope to others. But at this time she and Chris needs all of our help.
Fortunately Chris's employer has been understanding and allowing him the time to be at her side and Rose has decent insurance with her job, but the medical bills for what is not covered are going to start piling up and they are in need of some help.
Please share this page, donate what you can and above all, send healing prayers/vibes/intentions/hope!!
Here is a link to the CaringBridge page the family has been receiving updates through since this battle began. Please feel to read the more detailed entries to get a glimpse at what Rose has been through.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rosieposiepuddinpie

Organizer and beneficiary
Rachael Ring
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ
Chris Nusbaum
Beneficiary
