Reggy Pesola - How Cancer Affected My Life

Thank you for visiting Reggy Pesola - Her Story.

I just recently heard about Reggy's journey with cancer. Deidra, my son Derek's girlfriend, told me about her Mom's best friend, Reggy, who has a rare genetic type of cancer. You see, Reggy's cancer isn't just one kind of cancer, but THREE! Each time she has a chemo treatment, she has to have three different chemo treatments to treat each of the different cancers. Because of the multiple cancers, the insurance will not pay for an innovative experimental cancer treatment that can potentially extend her life.

While I understand that big business has limits and rules and that sometimes people fall through the cracks, I also believe in not kicking people when they are down. This isn't just a kick in the ribs, it's heartbreaking.

I was given permission to print the email I was sent when I asked questions about Reggy. This is Reggy's story told by Sara, her best friend.

My friend's name is Reggy. She is 40 years of age, has been married to her wonderful husband Peter for 17 years, and together they have an 8 year old little girl named Nathalia. Reggy and I have been acquainted since we were 7 years old through family friends and we even went to the same schools. However, we became very close friends in our early 20's when we both bought our first homes right next to each other without knowing. The Lord had a plan for us from the beginning and we have been like sisters since. It is so hard to find a true friend that will accept you for yourself and overlook your mistakes and faults. Not once did we judge each other regardless of our convictions, that is the kind of friendship Reggy and I have had all these years.

Reggy has a rare syndrome inherited by her mom's side of the family. Her mom passed away at the age of 45 when Reggy was just a young girl. Reggy never got to meet her older sister who also died of this disease at the age of 4. The syndrome is called Li-fraumeni Syndrome and it is a genetic defect that creates multiple cancers that can begin as early as the age of 2 years in early childhood and in adults between the ages of 35 - 40. Only 62 families in this country are currently known to have this disease and there are only 2 hospitals in the US that have been doing research with this in the last 15 years. MD Anderson in TX where she is currently at and Sloan Kettering in NY. On 12/30/09, she went in for a routine mammogram and that afternoon got the call that began this nightmare. She currently has several types of cancers in different parts of her body and some have spread to other areas of the body. The other cancers are under control but because of the different types of chemo, her stomach is destroyed and now has a feeding tube on her side. She has lost over 35 pounds in the last month (just 5 in the past week) and they cannot start her on chemo to kill the new tumors in her liver until she recuperates a little. That is quite hard to do when she can't eat and her liver nodules are growing by the day. The doctors told her yesterday that it will be a miracle if she makes it 6 months without additional treatment. Unfortunately, the insurance will not pay for an innovative experimental cancer treatment that can potentially extend her life.The amount of the treatment is $50,000.00. To begin her treatment, doctors are asking for $14,000 up front in order to begin. This amount will cover approximately three weeks of treatments. Thereafter, she will need approximately $5,000 per month until the treatment is complete.

Sara

My hope is that this site, Reggy Pesola's site, can be the vehicle in which she will have a way to help others who also have cancer.

While Reggy Pesola has now passed away, it was her wish to help others affected by cancer. Please check out the American Cancer Society page and donate a small amount to help others who have also been afflicted. You help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for ANY donation you can find in your heart to give. If you are unable to donate, forwarding this site address (http://squidoo.com/reggy-pesola-my-story) would also be a big help. Please take the time to forward this address and Reggy's story to everyone on your email list.

Thank you and God Bless.
Michelle

To donate, click on the green button. You will need to sign into your account (your user and password), then click on the 2nd tab titled "Send Money". In the "To" window, type in reggycat@earthlink.net and the amount you are donating in the next space. Right under that that are 2 tabs titled "Purchase" and "Personal". Click on the Personal tab, click on "gift" and then "continue". It will bring you to a new page, all you have to do is verify your amount and click on "Send Money". It's that easy to donate to Reggy Pesola.