Support Erika Iles' Battle Against Rare Sarcoma Cancer

If you don’t know her, meet Erika Iles. A bright, witty, loving, caring, driven, 22 year old. She is a 2021 Batesville High School graduate. She attends Hanover college and is in her 3rd year taking pre-med classes. She has 3 more classes to take to get her degree as an analytical chemist. One day she was having some pain and thought it was just a cyst on her ovaries. Her mother, Crystal, was concerned when she found her glued to a heating pad all weekend and took her to the hospital. At first, the doctors suspected it was ovarian cancer as she had numerous tumors in her abdomen and covering her ovaries. In June, doctors removed 95% of the tumors, which were sent to the Mayo Clinic. When the tumors were tested, she was diagnosed with Desmoplastic small round cell tumors. There are ONLY 200 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, that have been diagnosed with it since 1989, and it usually develops in men. It is stage 4 because it is also on her liver. She is receiving chemotherapy that is usually reserved for children, since she is so young, at Mercy Jewish in Blue Ash. Erika and her mother Crystal not only are struggling with rising medical expenses, but they also have to go into the inpatient unit at the hospital every other week, for an entire week to receive 24 hour a day chemotherapy treatments. Unfortunately, this family has had tremendous loss over the past 2 years. Her mother Crystal has to stay with Erika while commuting back and forth to Batesville due to the sudden loss of their husband/father from heart failure last year. They also have lost both their parents/grandparents the previous year which they were very close to. Erika has yet another surgery coming up where they will remove the cancerous tumors, and do what is called a chemo wash. This is where chemo is put inside the incision and is left to sit for 90 minutes. After she returns home from the surgery and recovers, she will then start 16 weeks/8 rounds of chemotherapy and then radiation treatment. The prognosis of this type of cancer is unknown due to how rare it is. With that being said, Erika is a fighter and has kept a positive attitude this whole time. She is a special young lady and with your help, some of the financial burden can be relieved. If you are unable to donate, please donate your prayers to her and her family! God bless.