My Nonprofit Reviews

My name is Bonni Hess. I am the mother of a now 28 year old daughter, Brittany, who was devastatingly diagnosed nine years ago at age 19 with an extremely rare form of metastatic cancer called Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS) for which there is currently no known cure, and which is tragically considered terminal. Brittany has courageously fought this insidious disease during the past nine years with 23 surgeries/ablations/radiosurgeries, radiation treatment, and three Clinical Trials for tumors in her thigh, lungs, liver, brain, tibia, breast, spine, pancreas, spleen, small bowel intususeption, and duodenum. Heartbreakingly, the tumor in her pancreas was considered untreatable with surgery, ablation, or radiosurgery, and our only option was to find a systemic treatment which would shrink or destroy the tumor. Through extensive research and international networking with other ASPS patients we were able to find a promising new treatment called Cediranib which was not yet available in the United States, but was being tested in a Clinical Trial in Edmonton, Alberta. Brittany was thankfully accepted into the Trial, but it requires monthly Clinic visits in Edmonton, and none of the travel or housing expenses are covered by the Trial. After nine years of fighting Brittany's cancer, and with my husband unemployed for the past two years due to the economic downturn, the burden of the overwhelming financial expenses involved in commuting back and forth to Edmonton from Seattle, Washington were threatening Brittany's continued participation in the Trial. Through my internet research, I thankfully found the wonderful Lazarex Cancer Foundation which generously provides financial assistance, strengthening support, and Hope to patients and their families who are fighting a terminal cancer and are in need of financial help to enable them to participate in possible Life saving Clinical Trials. When I reached out to Lazarex and shared Brittany's story and our situation, they immediately responded with great kindness, special caring, and a gracious offer of financial assistance and support for the travel and housing expenses involved in Brittany's continued Clinical Trial participation. Brittany has thankfully had a very successful response to the Clinical Trial treatment thus far with fourteen months of disease stability with no new tumors, her pancreatic tumor and three lung tumors are no longer visible, and her remaining lung tumors continue to shrink. We are so deeply grateful to Lazarex Cancer Foundation for the abundant help and support that they have given us, and for the priceless gift of continued Hope that they have made possible. They have truly given us a beacon of light and Hope to brighten our pathway on this difficult journey.

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