Help Danielle Kick Cancer's A**

To start off, believe me when I say this has taken A LOT of convincing to start this GoFundMe, but ultimately we had to swallow our pride and do what's best to help Danielle and her 3 year old daughter (my beautiful goddaughter), Ella!

On January 29th, after months of having a hacking cough, Danielle decided to finally visit Urgent Care, thinking she would go in, get a Z-Pak, and go on with her busy day. They decided to perform an x-ray, scanning for possible pneumonia or some other type of infection. The physician ultimately let Danielle know that he saw some type of mass near her lungs, and immediately scheduled an appointment to see her primary.

That night, the cough seemed to be getting worse, so after (again) a lot of convincing (have you noticed the stubborn Italian trait?), my parents and I decided that it would be best if we took Danielle to the ER. Her and I waited in the ER and she explained her symptoms countless times (for good reason) along with the fact that there was an unexplained mass in her chest, and she ended up receiving a bed and a CT scan. The scan showed a 10.7 cm mass behind her breast bone and in front of her heart.

Danielle was admitted to Saint Vincent's hospital where she received countless tests, scans, and a biopsy - all while staying the positive rockstar that she's always been. Yesterday, after meeting with the oncologist, we were told that she has Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma, a relatively rare type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

She will be receiving a PET scan this week, along with a bone marrow test, and will be beginning Chemotherapy within the next 2 weeks! The oncologists predict it will take around 6-10 cycles, however they will be monitoring the status of the mass with a PET scan every 3(ish) cycles. We are so grateful that Saint Vincent's has been reacting so quickly and thoroughly throughout every aspect, as they also have done for our parents through our mom, (Sue)'s Breast Cancer journey, and Dad, (Ray)'s Prostate Cancer.

Throughout all of the news this past week and a half, Danielle is still her happy-go-lucky, caring, outgoing, (stubborn) self and we all know in our hearts that the treatments will cure this! 

Throughout this, we are asking for help. Whether it's through prayer, reaching out, or helping offset costs, we are thankful for any and all of the support we will receive. The only reason our hearts are where they are is because of the support we've had from family and friends!

Our goal is to help offset personal expenses for Danielle and Ella to cover their everyday expenses, since Danielle will not be working throughout the treatment, which will be around or less than 30 weeks.

Again, my family and I say thank you for your support, prayers and thoughts!

Love - Jackie, Danielle, Ella, Sue, Ray, and all of our (hundreds) of family and our friends!