Ronda’s Fight to Recovery
Donation protected
As some of you may know, our Mommy, Ronda Shelley, was diagnosed on October 5th with stage 4 renal (kidney) cell cancer. Her oncologist said that it’s by far the most aggressive renal cancer that he’s ever seen. Needless to say, it’s been a month of heartbreak and devastation for me and my sissy, Joella. My mom’s relationship with God has helped her peace of mind as well as given her strength to fight this incredible battle.
For those of you who don’t know our mom, she is a marriage and family therapist and has her own certified domestic violence treatment program. She has dedicated her life and career to helping others, working with several amazing treatment programs over the years. She has given food, clothes, shelter, friendship, and love to so many for no other reason than they needed help and she had the means to do so. She literally has changed lives. She is liked. She is loved. The constant stream of hospital visitors is a testament to both.
At the time of our mom’s diagnosis, her cancer had already spread to her spine, lungs, liver, and lymph nodes. There is a very large tumor on her kidney which had attached to her spine which had compromised it so severely, her doctors feared paralysis. The neurosurgeon was shocked that she was able to walk at all. In order to move forward with any treatment, she needed to clear that hurdle first. So a week after her diagnosis, she underwent a 7 hour spinal surgery, fusing some vertebrae and scraping the cancer throughout her spine. It was a long and arduous surgery but it reduced our mom’s back pain significantly and brightened her spirits. We were told she’d need a few weeks of rehabilitation before attempting to address any cancer treatments.
Unfortunately, last weekend we also learned that the cancer is terminal and has spread further, in only the last 3 weeks, to her stomach and the tumor on one of her kidneys is now the size of a cantaloupe. She is having liters of fluid drained from her abdomen daily and is in immense pain from the pressure. With her current state of health, she’s not a candidate for radiation or chemo. Her oncologist has recommended an infusion treatment of ipilimumab and nivolumab, which are drugs newly approved by the FDA that directly target cancer. We are moving forward with that treatment (which started today! 11/06) and won’t know any results for at least 3 weeks - but we are hopeful.
We want our mom peaceful and focused on the battle ahead and not stressing over medical bills. She has insurance but as most of us know, that does not cover everything. Sadly, this potential financial burden seems to be the most difficult thing for her to wrap her head around. She keeps repeating how much she loves her jobs and just wants to go back to work. And we want her to go back to doing what she loves – helping others. Our goal is to raise $20,000 to help her pay for anything not covered by her insurance. We are humbly asking for your help to achieve that.
With hope and love,
Vanessa and Joella
For those of you who don’t know our mom, she is a marriage and family therapist and has her own certified domestic violence treatment program. She has dedicated her life and career to helping others, working with several amazing treatment programs over the years. She has given food, clothes, shelter, friendship, and love to so many for no other reason than they needed help and she had the means to do so. She literally has changed lives. She is liked. She is loved. The constant stream of hospital visitors is a testament to both.
At the time of our mom’s diagnosis, her cancer had already spread to her spine, lungs, liver, and lymph nodes. There is a very large tumor on her kidney which had attached to her spine which had compromised it so severely, her doctors feared paralysis. The neurosurgeon was shocked that she was able to walk at all. In order to move forward with any treatment, she needed to clear that hurdle first. So a week after her diagnosis, she underwent a 7 hour spinal surgery, fusing some vertebrae and scraping the cancer throughout her spine. It was a long and arduous surgery but it reduced our mom’s back pain significantly and brightened her spirits. We were told she’d need a few weeks of rehabilitation before attempting to address any cancer treatments.
Unfortunately, last weekend we also learned that the cancer is terminal and has spread further, in only the last 3 weeks, to her stomach and the tumor on one of her kidneys is now the size of a cantaloupe. She is having liters of fluid drained from her abdomen daily and is in immense pain from the pressure. With her current state of health, she’s not a candidate for radiation or chemo. Her oncologist has recommended an infusion treatment of ipilimumab and nivolumab, which are drugs newly approved by the FDA that directly target cancer. We are moving forward with that treatment (which started today! 11/06) and won’t know any results for at least 3 weeks - but we are hopeful.
We want our mom peaceful and focused on the battle ahead and not stressing over medical bills. She has insurance but as most of us know, that does not cover everything. Sadly, this potential financial burden seems to be the most difficult thing for her to wrap her head around. She keeps repeating how much she loves her jobs and just wants to go back to work. And we want her to go back to doing what she loves – helping others. Our goal is to raise $20,000 to help her pay for anything not covered by her insurance. We are humbly asking for your help to achieve that.
With hope and love,
Vanessa and Joella
Organizer
Nessie Sener
Organizer
Costa Mesa, CA