Herndon Cancer Patient Ends Proton Therapy, Starts Chemotherapy

HERNDON, VA — Herndon cancer patient Chelsea Proctor completed seven weeks of daily proton therapy on July 15 at MD Anderson Cancer Center at The University of Texas in Houston, according to a post on her family's GoFundme page.

Chelsea moved at the end of May to Houston with her mother, Rochelle Proctor, so she could begin a daily regime of proton therapy treatment. This came after months of chemotherapy, which killed nearly all of Proctor's blood cells and destroyed much of her bone marrow, had failed to slow the growth of the incredibly rare and aggressive form of cancer on Chelsea's spine.

The proton therapy left Chelsea feeling fatigued and sore, Rochelle Proctor wrote in a July 17 update on GoFundMe.

"We start high dose chemo this week — they are giving her 150 percent more than before since her cancer was unfazed by the last chemo routine (for 5 days a cycle.)," Rochelle Proctor said, in an email on Thursday.

An alumnus of Herndon High School and James Madison University, Chelsea Proctor was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University when she was diagnosed early last year with Ewing's sarcoma, an incredibly rare and aggressive form of cancer. Following her diagnosis, Chelsea and Rochelle Proctor traveled back and forth between Virginia and MD Anderson for evaluation and treatment.

"She was so sick before, I can’t imagine how this is going to be," Rochelle Proctor said, about the latest round of chemotherapy. "She will be in the hospital (MDA) for the next 5-ish months and then we’ll fly back home to Virginia where she’ll continue doing a more gentle chemo for 3 or more months. Cancer is in charge. … We are just along for the ride."

Last October, Rochelle Proctor launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to offset the travel and medical expenses the family expected to accrue in Chelsea's months-long treatment and recovery. As of Friday morning, the campaign has raised more than $66,000 toward its $100,000 goal.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.

Related:

Herndon Cancer Patient Relocates To Houston For Daily Treatment

Herndon Graduate Student Continues Treatment To Combat Cancer