Please Help Ellie Beat Cancer
Donation protected
Hello friends and family! For the second time this year I have a niece who has found out she has cancer. I am once again humbly extending my hand for help. Any amount you can give-and any share you can share will be greatly appreciated with love and gratitude. A bit about Ellie’s story:
For the last 2 years Ellie has been to doctors for pain in her leg. Over the years a small mass started to grow and with her most recent visit to incompetent doctors she was left with no answers and no communication.
Erin, my sister and Ellie’s mother, found her a new doctor and right away they took steps to find out what was wrong. Ellie underwent surgery to remove the mass and to have an open biopsy. The tumor was wrapped around nerves and veins and the team of surgeons removed the mass with no complications.
They sent a sample during surgery to the lab and all signs pointed to benign. She was stitched up and on her way. Thankfully, out of an abundance of caution the doctor sent the whole mass to be tested. The pathology report came back and my 19 year old niece got a call each and every one of us dread getting. She was told she had an incredibly rare form of cancer known as Peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma.
What is Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor?
“Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, or MPNST, is a cancer of the cells that form the sheath that covers and protects peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves are those outside of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). MPNST is a type of sarcoma. This cancer grows in the soft tissues of the body, such as muscle, fat, tendons, ligaments, lymph and blood vessels, nerves, and other tissue that connects and supports the body. MPSNST grows quickly and can spread to other parts of the body.” -cancer.gov
Ellie and Erin met with her team yesterday to hear the results of the CT scan and GOOD NEWS this cancer has not spread yet. Because of the size of the tumor they removed and the aggressive nature of this type of cancer she is in stage 3. Ellie will be undergoing another surgery next Friday to remove more surrounding tissue in her leg and then radiation. After that we wait and see.
She was about to begin the next chapter of her life in the fall as a student at Penn State to become a veterinarian. Make no mistake, she will still be going next year once we beat this, but for now we have a few mountains to climb. I am asking for donations to help Ellie and her mother,my sister, financially during this time. We would like Ellie to not have to worry about working or her car payments. My sister may need to move to a first floor apartment to accommodate and she will likely miss some work in the upcoming weeks. My sister loves her job but she started it less than a year ago and does not qualify for any kind of fmla. Any help you can give means the world to them. Thank you for reading, donating and sharing
For the last 2 years Ellie has been to doctors for pain in her leg. Over the years a small mass started to grow and with her most recent visit to incompetent doctors she was left with no answers and no communication.
Erin, my sister and Ellie’s mother, found her a new doctor and right away they took steps to find out what was wrong. Ellie underwent surgery to remove the mass and to have an open biopsy. The tumor was wrapped around nerves and veins and the team of surgeons removed the mass with no complications.
They sent a sample during surgery to the lab and all signs pointed to benign. She was stitched up and on her way. Thankfully, out of an abundance of caution the doctor sent the whole mass to be tested. The pathology report came back and my 19 year old niece got a call each and every one of us dread getting. She was told she had an incredibly rare form of cancer known as Peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma.
What is Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor?
“Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, or MPNST, is a cancer of the cells that form the sheath that covers and protects peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves are those outside of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). MPNST is a type of sarcoma. This cancer grows in the soft tissues of the body, such as muscle, fat, tendons, ligaments, lymph and blood vessels, nerves, and other tissue that connects and supports the body. MPSNST grows quickly and can spread to other parts of the body.” -cancer.gov
Ellie and Erin met with her team yesterday to hear the results of the CT scan and GOOD NEWS this cancer has not spread yet. Because of the size of the tumor they removed and the aggressive nature of this type of cancer she is in stage 3. Ellie will be undergoing another surgery next Friday to remove more surrounding tissue in her leg and then radiation. After that we wait and see.
She was about to begin the next chapter of her life in the fall as a student at Penn State to become a veterinarian. Make no mistake, she will still be going next year once we beat this, but for now we have a few mountains to climb. I am asking for donations to help Ellie and her mother,my sister, financially during this time. We would like Ellie to not have to worry about working or her car payments. My sister may need to move to a first floor apartment to accommodate and she will likely miss some work in the upcoming weeks. My sister loves her job but she started it less than a year ago and does not qualify for any kind of fmla. Any help you can give means the world to them. Thank you for reading, donating and sharing
Organizer and beneficiary
Dani Shafer
Organizer
Boulder, CO
Ellie Croak
Beneficiary