Community Corner
LI Woman Starts Fundraiser For 14-Year-Old Niece With Cancer
"We have been completely blown away by the generosity by family, friends, and even strangers," the Lindenhurst woman told Patch.
LONG ISLAND, NY - A Long Island recently started a fundraiser on behalf of her 14-year-old niece after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Lindenhurst resident Amanda Evans started a page on GoFundMe in order to raise money for her niece, Farmingville resident Kayla Spero.
Spero was supposed to start 9th grade at Sachem High School East this month until she found out she had metastatic osteosarcoma.
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Instead now she will be having to undergo chemo therapy as a patient at Stony Brook University Hospital 3 days a week for the next few weeks. After that, doctors will perform new scans to see if the tumors have shrunk enough to perform surgery to remove them. She will then have to continue to undergo chemo until further notice.
She currently has 3 tumors on her left knee and a tumor on her right hip which is what prompted Evans, also a Sachem High School alum, to create page.
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"My sister Nicole and brother-in-law Justin, both Sachem alumni and high school sweethearts. just purchased there home in Farmingville this past June so to be hit with this type of news is not only devastating but also can be a financial burden," Evans told Patch.
Evans was hoping to raise money to help the family with medical bills while Spero is undergoing chemo. In less than a month, the page has already received a lot of attention from the community, almost reaching its goal.
"We have been completely blown away by the generosity by family, friends, and even strangers, it has been just so overwhelming in a good way," Evans said. "We really have to just thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for always keeping our brave girl in their prayers constantly and helping out whether it be by a donation, a meal from the meal train or just a heart felt message. The Sachem community has been amazing as well as many others."
In addition, the family will be hosting a "Fighting with Kayla" Chinese auction and fundraiser this month.
The event will take place on Sept. 29 at Irish Times in Holbrook.
The price of admission is $25 per person which will go towards helping the family.
To read more or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.
Photo courtesy of Amanda Evans
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