Shelley is Fighting for Her Life!

Dear friends,

I am posting a new fundraiser for Shelley Beals, a much-loved friend snd long time rescuer in our community. Her post, which follows, will bring you up to date on her urgent medical situation. I hope you will open your hearts and give what you can, then share with friends and family.

With love and hope,

Rachelle Pachtman

Hi, I'm Shelley. I'm fighting pancreatic cancer and am giving it my all. I was diagnosed at Stage 1B in December, 2022. My symptoms were excruciating pain in my left side that radiated to my middle back. After 3 weeks in severe pain, I finally went to the ER and was admitted immediately for pancreatitis which they later said to be necrotizing pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for a week having every test imaginable run on me from ultrasounds, to CT scans to MRIs. I was released from the hospital and asked to return a couple weeks later for another MRI. At that appointment they discovered that the inflammation had decreased a bit and a tumor was spotted in the body/tail portion of my pancreas.

On December 17, 2022 I had a biopsy done by endoscopic ultrasound and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was diagnosed. I had a distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy on January 5, 2023. I went through radiation in March, 2023. 5-FU chemo (and it did F me) ran from mid May to October 31, 2023. All of my cancer biomarkers had returned to normal range and I had a PET scan in mid November and was told by my oncologist that I was NED (no evidence of disease at the end of November, 2023).

At my next scan on February 5, 2024 it showed evidence of 2 new small tumors growing. A sick joke is what I felt was being played on me. It was not a joke. One tumor is in my peritoneum (tissue surrounding the organs) near the liver and the other is in the exact same spot, behind my stomach, where the body/tail of my pancreas and spleen were removed. See the problem with chemotherapy is that it does not kill cancer stem cells. It only kills the easiest to kill cells and the cancer stem cells just keep thriving and multiplying.

I was referred to the top pancreatic surgeon at UCSD in hopes that I could have surgery to remove these 2 new tumors. Unfortunately, I was told that they are inoperable because the cancer looks to be spreading to a couple other areas now in my peritoneum. I have had a recent CT scan, MRI & PET scan which confirmed the 2 additional areas of thickening which looks to be tumor activity.

On Friday, April 19, I met with my oncologist in Rancho Mirage at Lucy Cursi Cancer Center. He said 'Well unfortunately surgery is now off the table so all we have for you is more chemo and it is not going to be easy on you plus it is not a cure.' I told him that I have no interest in going through more horrible chemo. He hugged me and said 'But you are so young!' I told him 'I don't want to live out the rest of my days feeling sick. I'd like to have some good days.' He left the room and sent in the social worker who proceeded to talk to me about palliative care (to manage the pain) and hospice care. I felt like I was in an alternate reality, floating above us, looking down and thinking 'Who the fuck does she think she's talking to cuz it can't be me?' I can be stubborn. More stubborn than cancer maybe! It truly was incomprehensible to me and way too soon to be discussing such things. It truly felt like they were giving up on me which is not what one needs when fighting for their life.

My oncologist then came back into the exam room & said he just got off the phone with Dr. Gregory Botta, clinical trial physician/scientist at UCSD and he really wants me to meet with him to discuss a potential clinical trial. I am terrified of being a lab monkey but I agreed to setup an appointment with him. I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Botta on May 9 & will consider what he has to offer. I have 2 new gene mutations which just showed up since I had the chemo, on my third set of DNA testing. Cancer cells are very intelligent and will morph themselves as survival is their main objective. The clinical trial they are contemplating is a targeted therapy using Car-T cells. It quite frankly terrifies me...and I would need to travel from Joshua Tree to San Diego for that treatment. 2.5 hour drive, one way, while being exhausted!

I was honestly feeling pretty messed up mentally for a few days after seeing my oncologist. Physically I have lost another 20 lbs, so I am quite frail and very tired....all the time. I am below 120 lbs currently. My average healthy weight is 140-145. I am having a hard time working. My job, doing catering, is very physically demanding. I have developed degenerative disc disease in my C5-C7 area so have been in a lot of pain with my neck, unable to sleep, but as for the cancer growing, I have not had much pain. I have an upcoming appointment with a chiropractor who does PEMF which specifically treats degenerative disc disease. That is likely going to be costly to treat also as it is not covered by my insurance.

I am humbly asking...ok maybe even BEGGING for your help! I want to keep fighting. I cannot do this without all the love and support of all of you, my people! I have no more disability income left and am out of financial resources. Believe it or not, it isn't easy to find grants for cancer patients who are struggling financially.

I also need help to pay my mortgage & bills during this next phase of treatment. I still care for the senior dogs, I took in over the years, as well as Gemma, the 4 year old, stray black lab who I had been feeding the past 2 years. She is feral and still not trusting enough to leave her kennel so I am frantically searching for a rescue group who has experience in rehabilitating feral dogs as well as patience as that is what sweet Gemma needs. I sadly cannot care for her much longer in my current state of health.

I have also started selling personal belongings to try to come up with money to pay my bills & mortgage. The struggle is real.

I appreciate your ongoing support and encouragement more than you even know. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to all who donated previously. I'm sadly not out of the woods yet. I will continue to post updates as time goes on. PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Every donation helps immensely!

#keeptogo

Shelley Beals