Herndon Cancer Patient Relocates To Houston For Daily Treatment

HERNDON, VA — The family of Herndon cancer patient Chelsea Proctor got some bad news at the end of May. Months of chemotherapy that killed nearly all of Proctor's blood cells and destroyed much of her bone marrow have failed to slow the growth of the incredibly rare and aggressive form of cancer on her spine.

"On our last trip to MD Anderson for staging scans, her oncologist said her cancer grew and became more active despite the rigorous chemotherapy," Chelsea's mother Rochelle Proctor said, in an email. "This was a shock to the doctor as well as us! The MDA oncologist said she had only one treatment option — to come to MDA for proton therapy and higher chemo doses for at least several months until the cancer was controlled. There was no second choice. She had some spread to her lungs that he was concerned about as well."

An alumnus of Herndon High School and James Madison University, Chelsea Proctor was a graduate student a 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 have been traveling back and forth between Virginia and MD Anderson at The University of Texas in Houston for evaluation and treatment.

"Her cancer is very aggressive and quickly spreads so she needed to move quickly to Houston," Rochelle Proctor said. "I came with her and the rest of the family remained in Herndon. We have no idea the length of time we’ll be in Houston but at least through July, maybe longer. Cancer is in charge here."

The mother and daughter have been able to rent a furnished apartment for the first few weeks with the help of a local church organization.

"We are still working out long term housing," Rochelle Proctor said. "Gratefully, we are about 1.5 miles from the proton therapy hospital center and about 2-3 miles from the main MDA campus."

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 Tuesday, the campaign has raised nearly $60,000 toward its $100,000 goal.

"MDA is exactly where Chelsea needs to be," Rochelle Proctor said. "The care she is getting is the best available and we are truly grateful. We could not have had the opportunity to get Chelsea here without the support of friends, and go fund me. The initial doctor told us that our costs of seeking this treatment would be $100,000 for the first year — and he was not wrong."

Rochelle Proctor added that her daughter is the strongest person she knows.

"I am looking forward to the day we can bang the gong to end her cancer treatments," she said. "She’s getting through this day by day and is strengthened by the prayers and support from our community."

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Related:

Herndon Graduate Student Continues Treatment To Combat Cancer