Giving Tuesday: Remember Herndon Woman Battling Cancer

HERNDON, VA — Chelsea Proctor, the Herndon graduate school student who's battling a rare form of cancer, has undergone her first round of chemotherapy, according to her mother.

"Chelsea has begun her year long regime of chemotherapy," Rochelle Proctor said, in an update on her daughter's GoFundMe page. "It is a nasty mix of 5 of the strongest drugs, with cuddly names like 'red devil.' She has full day weeklong chemos infusions to kill the cancer cells, and medications to save her vital organs and increase her white blood cell count."

After experiencing months of severe and unexplained pain, Chelsea Proctor was diagnosed recently with Ewing's sarcoma, an incredibly rare and aggressive form of cancer. She and her family traveled to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for a consultation and treatment. She's expected to endure at least 10 months of chemotherapy, followed by a difficult surgery, rehabilitation, and radiation treatment.

"After her first week of chemo, Chelsea had some very bad side effects from the medications and extreme drop in her white blood cell count," Rochelle Proctor said, in the update. "Her white cells plummeted to nearly zero a few days after her first treatment — and made her VERY SICK. The extremely low blood cell count causes a concern for her safety as she has no ability to fight any infections. She needed additional treatments to protect from possible infections this week. Not a good moment to be in the middle of a spiking world pandemic and flu season! We are gearing up for another full week of infusions — daily ... Monday through Friday. Pray for her to kill the cancer but remain strong."

A result of the chemotherapy, Chelsea Proctor's hair had started to fall out. She decided to take control of the situation and cut off her long locks, according to her mother.

While the start of chemotherapy is a significant milestone, it's still early days in Chelsea Proctor's treatment. Since her student health care won't cover all of her expenses, the Proctors launched a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the costs of her treatment. As of Tuesday morning, the family has raised just over $33,000 toward their $100,000 goal.

Tim Thomasberg, a family friend, has organized The Christmas for Chelsea Cancer Fundraiser, which will take place Thursday, Dec. 10, from 6-9 p.m., at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, located at 697 Spring St. in Herndon.

Thomasberg is also hopeful that residents of Herndon will remember Chelsea Proctor on Giving Tuesday and make a donation to her GoFundMe campaign.

"We are so grateful to have reached a third of our fundraising goal," Rochelle Proctor said, in her update. "THANK YOU! We would appreciate keeping Chelsea in your prayers, and sharing her Go Fund Me with others that maybe able to share resources and help Chelsea reach her goal to get the care she needs! We appreciate your generous support to help reach the goal."

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