Support & smiles for Katie at MSK

Three weeks ago, my twin sister, Katie, was skiing in Park City, Utah, where she has lived for the past year, making the mountain paradise her home. She's 26 years old and has an affinity for skiing, hiking, and all things 'out West.'

But on November 1st, she texted me, "I'm going to the ER." Part of her face and her legs were consistently and randomly going numb, combined with severe headaches that made doing her work impossible. She knew something was very wrong. Things moved quickly from there.

After five days in the hospital and numerous CTs/MRIs/spinal taps, the discovery of what looked like a brain bleed and several other medical anomalies convinced my sister and parents to go to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Unfortunately, Katie's condition worsened daily - full of debilitating headaches and nausea - but the doctors understood the assignment: find out what strange disease (brain cancer or something else) is causing all of this and soothe her pain in the meantime.

Thanks to a brain biopsy and a team of 40 doctors working globally to understand Katie's rare case, we have learned that there are spots all over her brain that shouldn't be there -- cells are multiplying, seeming like cancer but are potentially not. We don't know. The doctors are calling it neurocutaneous melanosis. Sadly, they do not have a treatment protocol yet because it is so rare in adults. Katie is still waiting for answers.

Please consider offering your positive support to Katie at this confusing and challenging time in any way that best aligns with your good vibes. Help me, my family and the entire MSK team get Katie back to the slopes as soon as possible -- so she can keep smiling and bringing smiles to those around her.

All funds garnered through this platform will go directly to helping Katie on her journey as she beats this thing, including covering her out-of-pocket medical costs and the many other expenses related to treatment (such as transportation, lodging and food to adequately fuel her during in-patient and out-patient care at MSK in NYC).

If you'd like to follow along in her journey, our family will be posting updates here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiemcdonough?fbclid=IwAR0Nc1CyTkvRNsH7_R-ddaRhU_p0uLmMAR31loY4IgPS9Kagc6MrQmbKX3s