Stacey Strong- Life With Colorectal Cancer

When Stacey was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in April of 2020, at the age of 48 and a mother of 5 (plus a bonus son), she was given the devastating news that her cancer had already metastasized to her liver and lungs, and that she probably only had six months left to live. On top of that, she has a very rare mutation (found in less than 1% of colorectal cancers), making treatment more difficult. She has now been fighting for over two years(!) having undergone several aggressive chemotherapy regimens with varying success. She also spent three weeks at Hope For Cancer in Mexico in an attempt to give her body a rest and rebuild her immune system, but unfortunately returned to troubling scans that showed cancer growth. She resigned to go back on chemotherapy in an attempt to control the growth.

Until recently, her cancer mutation has prevented her from qualifying for a clinical trial but, after a battery of tests, she was able to start a new clinical trial in June. Although she is grateful for this opportunity, there are so many unknowns and out of pocket costs, including gas for the 100 mile round trip drive to the hospital where the trial is taking place, time off of work for her husband Ryan to accompany her, and other incidentals.

Throughout the ups and downs in her fight, Stacey has tried to maintain a positive, yet realistic, attitude and focused on making memories with her husband, children, extended family, and friends. She has always been a big believer in the idea that memories are more important than things, but this cancer journey has made her all the more convinced of that.

Stacey has found it very difficult to accept the many generous offers of help, but has realized that maybe it's time. More than anything, Stacey desires your prayers, and appreciates anything you wish to contribute towards checking things off of her bucket list, and to help lighten the burden of the costs of treatment.

With gratitude,

Ashley Tobie, Stacey's cousin

Please follow along with Stacey's journey here:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/staceysjourney2020