Alejandra's Cancer Fund (UW-Madison Student)

Hi, my name is Frank. The Zalapa Lab at the University of Wisconsin Madison and I are raising money for one of our lab family members recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive form of adult leukemia.

Alejandra and Héctor are a young couple who are both Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics graduate students in the Department of Horticulture through University of Wisconsin – Madison. For them, this year was full of professional and personal plans, including having their wedding this winter, which had already been postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

Unfortunately, this month, Alejandra and Héctor's lives dramatically turned. For the past few weeks, Alejandra had not been feeling well. On July 1, they went to the hospital for a routine medical check-up. Later that afternoon, they received an urgent call notifying them of life-altering news. Alejandra has been diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ph+ ALL), a fast-growing type of blood cancer. She was quickly admitted to a specialized cancer center in the city of Milwaukee to be stabilized and immediately begin her treatment.

Ph+ ALL shows limited responses to traditional chemotherapies. Fortunately, a new medication that is currently under development was offered to Alejandra. This new therapy could increase her chance of remission by up to 90% and may lead to further development of this new treatment for ph+ ALL.

The treatment, however, is only available in Milwaukee, so there will be a lot of driving involved. In addition, she will need more tests and medical visits in Madison at least twice a week. Despite the help of their health insurance, the bills continue to grow more and more every day. For this reason, we approach the entire community to ask for your support for Alejandra and Héctor.

All the funds donated will help them with their travels and hospital stays, go toward her continued treatment in Milwaukee and pay for ongoing medical studies, chemotherapies, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, her medicines, and the care needed. From the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely appreciate all the help, expressions of affection, kind words and prayers that you have given us. We are very touched by all the support we have received from all of you. Thank you very much.