For Melissa and her family, ongoing investment in cancer research is essential, providing improved treatments and greater options, while giving hope for her and her loved ones who have been heavily impacted by cancer.
Melissa with her son Brayden
Melissa lost both her father and husband to brain cancers just nine years apart. Her own breast cancer diagnosis 14 years later saw her undergo rigorous treatment and a mastectomy. Then, while still in recovery, her 19-year-old son was diagnosed with brain cancer, like his father.
“I thought, surely the universe wouldn't ever be that cruel," Melissa said.
“As a parent, you don't want your children to have to go through any hardship and any pain and any suffering and any threat to their life.”
Lending her story to Cancer Research Giving Day in February, Melissa urged supporters to give what they could with the knowledge that their donations on this day would be doubled for even greater impact.
With every donated dollar matched by generous donors, Cancer Research Giving Day raised over $650,000 to fund life-saving cancer research – research that can change everything for families like Melissa’s who have endured so much.
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