Help Support the Botticelli-Hamza Family

In May of 2021, Deborah was told she had a benign tumor in her liver. Two different doctors advised that this was not cancerous. Shortly after she was diagnosed with liver cancer in June 2021. She was advised that she had a good 10 years left and was diagnosed with liver cancer of her entire left lobe, but the right liver lobe had no cancer. When Deb was first diagnosed with cancer, they advised her that she would be put on the transplant list, with other treatments including Y-90 procedures, and immunotherapy and chemotherapy. She completed the Y-90 mapping on July 8th, 2021 (preparation for Y-90 which takes multiple hours). Then she had the Y-90 surgery on July 14th, 2021. The second mapping took place on July 21, 2021, which also took multiple hours to complete and was not successful. After the second mapping, the doctors advised that they could not find the blood vessel that was feeding the tumor so they were unable to do the second Y-90 treatment. On August 5th, 2021 Deborah was told that the first Y-90 was not successful, the cancer had spread to her whole liver (both right and left lobes now), and the symptoms had gotten much worse. She was now given 6mo to live. From May 2021 to October 2021, Deborah underwent multiple MRIs and CTs of her liver, abdomen, pelvis, hips, and chest. The doctors told her that the tumor was massive and aggressive, and that they had never seen anything like this. On Saturday, September 25th, Deborah was rushed to the hospital because she was coughing up blood. The results came back that the cancer had now spread from her liver to her lungs. She was given 2 months to live, and we were praying that she would make it to Thanksgiving and to her daughters bridal shower on November 27th. Deborah had spent her whole summer planning her daughter’s shower and didn’t want to miss it for the world. On Tuesday, October 12th, 2021, we brought Deb to the oncologist because she was getting worse and now had a terrible cough. The doctors stated that she was now in liver failure despite chemotherapy & immunotherapy treatment. They decided to stop chemo and they wanted Deborah to start Hospice and gave her MAYBE 2 weeks to live. Deborah wanted to be home for Hospice, so to carry out her last wishes her daughter Carmen, Sister Karyn, and niece Hannah did round the clock care administering meds and taking care of her during her final hours. Deborah lost her battle to cancer and passed away three days later at 3am on Friday, October 15th. 

From May 2021 to October 2021 Deborah's symptoms included 24/7 excruciating pain, extreme fatigue, memory issues, confusion, nausea, vomiting, weakness, lack of appetite, inability to stand up and walk without assistance (cane, walker, or wheelchair and family members holding her) loss of bladder control, slurring of words, inability to complete activities of daily living such as bathing, food preparation, grocery shopping, dressing, doing laundry, medication management, picking up prescriptions, driving, communicating with everyone (doctors, family, and friends), handling mail and bills, severe weight loss, reading, gardening, riding her motorcycle (she had to sell her brand new Harley over the summer), substitute teaching, and she has auditory and visual hallucinations. 

Memorial Services will be held at 48 S. Estate Dr. Webster, NY 14580 on Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 at 3pm with Pastor Jack Young of Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church.

This is a devastating time for Deb's children, Joey Jr., Carmen, and Tony as well as the rest of family. There are still many challenges that lie ahead. Due to Deb's illness, she has outstanding medical bills for her cancer treatment. Funds raised through GoFundMe will go towards funeral expenses, the memorial service, Deb's medical bills and living expenses. Thank you to everyone who knew and loved Debbie. We deeply appreciate your heart, your thoughts, your prayers, and your support.

Deborah’s Life: 
Deborah studied Jewelry and Metalsmithing while attending Rochester Institute of Technology. Ultimately her love for children lead her to pursue a Master’s Degree in teaching from Nazareth College in 2001. Deborah dedicated 20 years of service to students across the Rochester City School District community. Her students filled her life with stories and her heart with love. After retiring from the classroom in January of 2021 Deborah planned to ride endlessly with her Rochester Chrome Divas. She found peace, beauty, and love while on the open road. However, her greatest joy was shared time with family and friends. Deborah had a passion for cooking, gardening and cherished creating memories by retelling them through animated stories. She had a magical way of making all those she loved feel valued, important, and special.

Thank you for your continued support,
xoxo  Carmen & Hannah

Rest In Peace
Deborah Anne Botticelli-Hamza (Bling)
06/27/1957-10/15/2021