In honor of Peggy Essenburg’s last wish to Raise for Roswell

Hi, my name is Kelly. my family and I were born and raised in WNY by my amazing parents, Jim and Peggy Essenburg. If there’s one thing I know about WNY is we are the city of good neighbors. I hope you will take the time to read my story and consider helping in anyway possible.

In December of 2021 my mother was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer at the age of 66. Words cannot explain how devastated we were, but we knew if anyone could beat this she would. She was a fighter her whole life. She was a beautiful wife for 50 years a mother of two a grandmother of six,and a great grandmother to three beautiful babies. Family was the utmost importance to my mother.

My mother started her cancer journey in December 2021 and fought everyday like a warrior! The cancer spread to three different areas of the body at three different times and she beat it each time. She suffered a heart attack and survived that also! Her biggest fear was it would spread to the brain, and in 2023 that nightmare became a reality. She did not give up! She decided at Roswell that she was going to go through a procedure, gamma knife and brain radiation, even though she was reluctant because she didn’t want to lose her memory. She was not going to give up. Two weeks after her treatment with a good follow up appointment that everything went well she took a bad fall in the middle of the night which led her to be mercy flighted to ECMC. She was released from the hospital to recover at home, but due to large brain bleeds she couldn’t complete this recovery without a procedure to relieve the pressure. It wasn’t but weeks before she was back in the hospital (October 2023) and told that it had spread to her spinal cord and spinal fluid, and that she had very little time left. Due to the fall my mother was left with a lot of confusion especially the week she spent in the hospital when we waited for results.

The most coherent day she had was the day the doctors told her she only had maybe two months to live. The selfless woman that my mother is hugged my dad, brother and me, cried with us, consoled us and told us, “I want you guys to raise as much money as you can for Roswell!” This is only moments after being told she was no longer going to be able to fight this cancer. The first thing she thought about was helping others. Raising money to find a cure or help in any way beneficial to those fighting for their lives.

My mom lost her battle with cancer November 30, 2024. Her beautiful smile, contagious laugh and loving soul will be remembered always.

We are reaching out to the community to try to make my mothers last wish come true ❤️

Please help us raise as much money as possible for Roswell in honor of Peggy Essenburg, my mother…my hero!

We are raising money to benefit Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us.

More information about Roswell Park Alliance Foundation: Donations benefit the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Donations are put to immediate use to increase the pace from research trials into improved clinical care, to ensure state-of-the-art facilities, and to help improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Please donate today to help us understand, prevent and cure cancer.