Chris Lee is an educator, wife, and amazing mom

Hello, my name is Lee, and I am the husband of Christina Lee, who is 49 years old. We are doing a fundraiser to help us during these difficult times.

My wife Chrissy (a teacher at St. Odilo School for almost 25 years) was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma on February 2, 2022.

In August of 2021 Chrissy noticed a small lump along her jaw line. A few weeks later a doctor visit took place with her Internal Medical Doctor at Elmhurst. Her doctor suggested she wait 4 weeks and re-evaluate as sometimes these”lumps” drain on their own.

Four weeks later a visit back to the doctor with no signs of drainage or reduction, an immediate referral was made with the ENT doctor. A CT scan on December 29 was done showing more lumps in the head and neck which were now diagnosed as tumors. A biopsy of the 4 tumors was scheduled on February 1, 2022 and on February 2 Elmhurst oncologist officially diagnosed Chrissy with stage 4 Melanoma Cancer.

In denial, disbelief, and thinking there had been a mistake, our family members advised Chrissy and I to see a few more oncologists. Within a few weeks oncologists from Loyola and Northwestern both agreed with Elmhurt's prognosis. Due to the fast spread into the lymph nodes It was OFFICIAL Stage 4 Melanoma.

After an exhausting month of listening to “the plan” from all 3 oncologists, Chrissy and our family decided to go with a very progressive treatment at Loyola Hospital which involved both Immunotherapy and a very aggressive “cocktail” treatment. Unfortunately the second and third treatment led Chrissy to an extended stay at the hospital to manage her pain and other side effects. The Loyola oncologist suggested eliminating the “cocktail” treatment and solely rely on Immunotherapy. Sadly, at this point more tumors developed and she was up to 7.

During Easter break unmanageable pain and high doses of meds prevented Chrissy from resuming the school year.

Patience and hope was running thin and I told Chrissy it was time to seek outside help. I submitted paperwork to see if she was a candidate at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and thankfully, she was.

On July 25, Chrissy and I headed to Mayo and our new quest for the cure began.

Mayo Clinic decided to go with Chemo(only 20% chance it would work on a Melanoma patient) and Immunotherapy, together totaling a 5 ½ hour treatment. A new pet scan was done and by August, Chrissy had 8 tumors.

Due to the long drive and time away from our family, Mayo and Loyola oncologists were on board with alternating treatment every 3 weeks between the two facilities.

A few rounds of Chemo and the hair began to fall. On August 13, 9:30 p.m. our Aunt Nancy opened her doors(to an emotional niece/godchild) at BANG Salon and our family(children, their significant others, siblings, their significant others, her parents and Uncle Steve) watched as the electric trimmers removed what was left of her thick Italian hair. Myself, along with Chrissy’s dad and brothers shaved their heads in support.

Doctor visits, treatments and pet scans in September and October had both Loyola and Mayo oncologists agree the current treatment of Chemo and immunotherapy wasn’t working and decided it was time to introduce radiation treatments with immunotherapy.

Chrissy and I met with the radiation doctor and Mayo Clinic, and despite the not-so-pleasant permanent side effects(hair loss, dry mouth and possible speech problems) we saw no other choice but to start a seven week treatment at Mayo Clinic from November 6 until December 23. Sadly, this holiday season, Chrissy and our family will miss hosting Thanksgiving dinner at the house, cutting down the family Christmas tree at Lee Tree Farm, a holiday overnighter downtown with her parents, and Chrissy’s 50th birthday which always includes the joint birthday with Aunt Nancy at Ethiopian Diamond in the city.

We ask for any support as we now face these new treatments including gas and hotel costs for the family as we travel back and forth to Mayo Clinic.