Colleen Burns

As many of you may know Colleen was diagnosed with what was originally thought to be Cervical/Endometrial cancer. Colleen started chemo treatments at Kettering hospital on May 13th. On June 1st we went to our first appointment at Ohio State where it was determined this was actually a soft tissue Sarcoma. The treatment at that point remained the same and she continued chemo treatments at Kettering. On June 23 she had a repeat CT scan at Ohio State which showed improvement of the two smaller tumors in her abdomen but the larger tumor did not show as much improvement. Dr. Liebner (OSU) spoke at that time about consulting with surgery to remove her cancer. He wanted her to continue her next Chemo at Kettering then return to Ohio State on July 14th for pre-op labs, repeat PET scan, and to see the surgery team. Colleen was so hopeful and said she never thought she would be so excited to have surgery! We returned to Ohio State on July 14th and after having labs and a PET scan we met with Dr. Liebner who delivered devastating news. The PET scan showed that her cancer had spread from her abdomen to her chest and neck. So instead of the surgery we were hoping for she was admitted the very next day to Ohio State for aggressive inpatient chemo. These treatments run continuously for 5 days at a time with three weeks between. She was told this chemo may leave her incapacitated for a week after each 5 day treatment. She can have a total of 6 of these 5 day inpatient treatments with 3 weeks between each.

Colleen's entire world is her husband John, their two dogs Abby and Titan and their cat Josie. Colleen has been the sole caregiver to John who is disabled with a host of medical issues including a failed kidney transplant. John has dialysis three times/week as well as many other appointments and needs. Ohio State is a tier 2 for her insurance so she has much higher out of pocket costs. Everyone who knows Colleen knows what a strong nurse and exceptional caregiver she is. She is not used to being on this end of things and is not a person to ask for help easily so I am asking for her. She needs help! She has a long journey ahead and will be out of work alot. She has a good attitude and drive to beat this. Any money she receives will help alleviate some stress for her being off work in the coming months. Thank you all! Blessings to Colleen, John, Abby, Titan and Josie! ❤