Young Mother with Devastating Cancer Diagnosis

Reina, a 34-year-old beautiful and devoted mother of Eden (15), and Isabella (3) and wife to Glenn, discovered a suspicious lump in her neck several years ago. She went to her doctor, who told her that it was nothing to worry about. The lump remained there, but she did not have any symptoms until this year when she began to experience pain and numbness in her neck and jaw area.  Reina went to an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) doctor, who sent her for extensive imaging and testing.   Findings were suspicious for cancer, and surgical removal was recommended. On 05/01/2019, she had surgery on her neck (radical neck dissection, 37 lymph nodes removed with biopsy).

As a precaution, the surgeon sent the specimen to Emory University Medical Center.  Reina was scheduled to meet with her surgeon to discuss the results; however, the specimen was misplaced & delayed interpretation by 1-2 weeks.  Findings were suspicious for Secretory Cell Carcinoma of the Parotid Gland, a rare form of cancer with only about 100 cases reported worldwide.  The surgeon was confident that all of the cancer was removed. She was, however, referred to a specialist at Emory University due to the rarity of Secretory Cell Carcinoma.  During Reina’s appointment with a doctor who specializes in Secretory Cell Carcinoma, she was shocked to learn that her surgeon missed the addendum written (Dated 05/05/2019) on the pathology report, which stated that she has secretory cell carcinoma that extended to the margins of removal and also has Peri-neural invasion (in other words, they did not get all cancer removed, and there is evidence that it has invaded the nerves which travel upward to the brain.)  The specialist recommended radiation treatment. Unfortunately, this should have been started ASAP after surgery, but due to delay of information and results, she just started treatments August 15, 2019- over 3 months after her surgery. Current medical research suggests that this delay worsens her prognosis.

 In addition to this hardship, prior to her illness, Reina quit her job as a manager to be the primary caregiver for her grandmother during the last years of her life.  Shortly after Reina’s grandmother passed away & Reina’s job as primary caregiver ended,   Glenn was reassigned to a different job, resulting in a decrease of 1/3 of his income. Reina and Glenn had already been struggling to make ends meet prior to Reina’s illness. Reina’s radiation treatments are 2 hours away from her house. Glenn’s job requires a lot of travel, and he cannot take time off of work to drive her to all of her radiation treatments. The solution thus far has been for Glenn, Reina & Isabella to use Hilton Honors points (he received while traveling for his work) to stay in hotels close the Emory University Proton Therapy Center, and for Glenn to take a 2-hour lunch break & go back to work.  However, they have now run out of Hilton Honors Points.  Reina’s mother is her only relative in the area & is helping out as much as she can. 

Reina, at the young age of 34, is at risk for metastasis (the development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of cancer) to her brain if she does not complete her treatments. Each treatment is roughly $12,800 before insurance pays their portion.  Reina also sees a Speech Therapist twice per month & the specialist once per week.       

Reina’s family is sacrificing everything they can in order to support her in this fight against this aggressive cancer, but resources are quickly running out, and they are now at risk of losing their home!  She is an amazing mother to her 2 young children and her fight for survival has just begun.

Any contributions to help pay for Reina’s medical care, radiation treatments, and travel time would be so very much appreciated by Reina and her family!  In addition to monetary donations, Hilton Honors hotel point transfers would be very helpful since her appointments are daily.  All money and/or hotel points received will be used toward Reina’s medical treatments and bills. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! We would appreciate prayers and assistance of any type!