The Montague Family

For those lucky enough to know Colleen knew a tenacious, witty, fun-loving woman and an incredible mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, friend, and wife who touched every heart she encountered. But for those who didn't get the opportunity, I feel her story should be told.

Last January, while entering her second trimester of pregnancy, Colleen noticed that a spot in her knee that she had had since childhood started to become bothersome. Unfortunately, after imaging and biopsies we found out that it was a type of cancer called Clear Cell Sarcoma. With her family and friends' support she underwent surgery to remove the cancer and made the hard decision to not do radiation therapy as there was an increased risk to their unborn baby. Thankfully, in June she was able to deliver a healthy baby girl, Sophia. Shortly after that, the pain returned and the cancer had again reared its ugly head and this time it had spread to her lymph nodes. With her medical team's advice, she started immunotherapy to hopefully extend her life. However, after three rounds of treatment we learned that the therapy had not worked as we had hoped and the decision was made to bring her home to her friends and family with Hospice.

Colleen fought so incredibly hard and was unbelievably brave every step of the way. In the end she was at home surrounded by her family, the people she loved most, and was showered with love. She leaves behind a husband (Justin), a three year old girl (Grace) and 6 month old (Sophia).

My hopes are that as a community we can come together and collect funds to help them through this difficult time. Whether that be for Christmas presents for the girls, end-of-life expenses, medical bills, or whatever they may need so they can focus on healing. We are thankful for any support you may be able to provide.