As Great Neck Alumna Battles Stage 4 Cancer, Family Seeks Help

GREAT NECK, NY — When Sandra Perez-Harrod found out she was pregnant with her third child, doctors gave the former Great Neck high-schooler grim news. She had breast cancer and needed to start treatment immediately. The baby would need to be delivered three weeks early.

That was in 2017. Despite the challenges, Perez-Harrod, who graduated from Great Neck North High School in 1994 and met her husband there, delivered a beautiful baby girl. Furthermore, she appeared to be responding to the surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.

Then disaster struck.

In May, months after hearing there were trace amounts of cancer cells in her body, doctors diagnosed her with stage 4 breast cancer. It had metastasized, spreading to her chest wall and damaged her liver.

About 155,000 Americans live with "mets," or metastatic breast cancer, according to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The diagnosis means the cancer traveled through the bloodstream to create tumors elsewhere in the body, including the liver, lungs, brain and bones.

The cancer is treatable, but incurable. The five-year survival rate is just 22 percent, with the median survival at three years, the organization said. About 40,000 people die each year from the cancer, and treatment is hardly a picnic.

As with primary breast cancer, treatment for stage 4 breast cancer involves chemotherapy or radiation, which is often "harsh and unforgiving," the organization writes. The onslaught of scans, blood tests and treatments never cease.

And as if the grave news wasn't enough, Perez-Harrod lost her job.

"Her employer gave her the unfortunate news that they would no longer be able to keep her as a full time employee due to her chemotherapy and hormonal therapy treatment schedule," a GoFundMe account created to help her with medical costs said.

Now, the family hopes the community will rally behind Perez-Harrod. The GoFundMe account, created this week, has already raised more than $2,500 out of a $10,000 goal. Dozens of people have donated.

"Currently, Sandra remains in good spirits, is continuing a new chemotherapy and hormonal treatment plan and is continuing her journey to health," the post said. "This page has been created to support her goal of restored health and a bright future for her 3 young children."