Belinda's Fight

Belinda is a Registered Nurse in Perry, FL, and has spent most of her career working in our local rural ER, helping to heal friends and family in their darkest time of need. She also worked in the Covid Unit at the height of the pandemic to keep people in our community alive.

Unfortunately, due to the number of treatments and appointments for both cancers, currently being managed in two different states, she is no longer able to work and needs OUR help. With her current Stage 3 Colorectal Cancer diagnosis, she will have to make four trips to Houston, Texas, over the next six months.

On November 17, 2021, Belinda was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer and had a double mastectomy in April. Shortly after the double mastectomy, she had to undergo breast cancer chemotherapy, which caused her to be very sick, lose most of her hair, and caused permanent damage to her heart. She now requires medication and tests throughout the rest of her life to keep the condition from worsening.

While they were working on a plan to remove the breast cancer, she also had to have surgery to remove a Colorectal mass that was 3.5" x .5".

On December 11th of last year, she was diagnosed with Lymphovascular Colorectal Cancer. At that point, she had to figure out how to remove one without the other spreading and possibly metastasizing to other organs. She went to Mayo Clinic only to find out their treatment would be Radical Rectal Resection, leaving her with a colostomy bag and other lifelong, life-changing side effects that would keep her from returning to the career she loves.

Belinda and her husband Charles (Scooter) reached out for more options, which led them to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.

MD Anderson suggested extensive radiation. She completed seven weeks of radiation and was then scheduled to go back every four months for a check-up. Upon her first check-up, they removed a sample where they found a few cancer cells that survived the radiation. Since she was in the middle of chemo treatment for breast cancer, they had to wait until it was completed before they could remove the affected area.

Upon returning to MD Anderson just this last week to remove the small section, they found that the rectal cancer has spread and is now in the lymph nodes, marking stage 3. She will now have to undergo four months of extensive chemo, and then once her immune system has recovered, she will have surgery to remove her rectum and receive a colostomy.

Over the next six months, they will need to return to Houston a minimum of four times. They will have to fly over for each visit and stay in the MD Anderson Rotary House Hotel. Between the cost of flights, hotels, and medical, they need our help to get Belinda the care she needs to beat this disease. If you feel it in your heart to help support her and her husband, it will take a significant burden off of them as they continue fighting this horrible disease that is trying to take her from us way too soon.