It was a year ago when I went to a medical facility for a standard colonoscopy.

I was taken aback when the doctor grimly told me and my husband that something suspicious had been found on my rectal wall.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “It doesn’t look good.”

Immediately, he sent us for a bunch of tests and x-rays. It goes without saying that my entire world turned upside down that day. I was a young mother with children waiting for me at home. I had a life to get back to. But, in the blink of an eye, this new reality had now become my life.

A slew of appointments were scheduled for the next few days. We had our hands full with the practical aspects of what we were dealing with, while we simultaneously had to find a way to get into the right emotional state for the battle we were facing.

The next day, my husband got a call from RCCS with an offer of much-needed assistance. Our case manager took charge on the spot. She got everything organized and began working on plans for us, coming up with ideas we could never even have thought of.

Her professionalism, care, concern, and expertise were all on clear display from the moment she contacted us. We got the feeling right away that Hashem had sent us an amazing shliach to fight on our behalf.

She brought up the idea of NGS (genomic) testing, and sent a phlebotomist to our home to take the necessary bloodwork to determine what course of action might be beneficial. A year later, I can say that I am still benefiting from that information which RCCS got so quickly.

I started chemotherapy within two weeks. RCCS stayed on top of the treatment and consulted with expert oncologists to make sure it was the proper standard of care. I actually had a very uncommon form of cancer and RCCS wanted to ensure that the treatment I was getting was the top standard for this exact form of the disease.

Throughout my six months of chemotherapy, I spoke to the case manager almost daily. Her help went far beyond the medical aspects. For example, she got me into a support group made up of people going through similar treatments. Additionally, RCCS was always looking to encourage and support my entire family, sending Chanuka gifts for the children, candy platters for holidays, offering Shabbos getaways, etc.

After six months of chemotherapy, I got great results. It looked like everything was going well until a month later, when my bloodwork started climbing up. This is an early indicator that something was coming back.

Of course, this got us very frightened. RCCS advised us that now was the time to move on to a specialist at NYU. We quickly found out that he is an amazing doctor who takes a personal interest in his patients’ welfare. We are convinced that he gave us even more special attention because of his relationship with RCCS. He really went above and beyond, even looking outside his own hospital for the best options.

The doctor suggested a new drug that seemed promising; however, it was not approved by the FDA specifically for the rare type of cancer that I had. RCCS told us that they would push as hard as they could to get us approved and to get our insurance to cover it, and to help us cover the massive costs if all else failed.

Ultimately, something even more promising came up. RCCS had been looking into various clinical trials that might work for me, and she found one in a hospital in Virginia that looked good. Within a day, RCCS got me an appointment.

I have now been part of this clinical trial for four months and I’m seeing amazing results. I am thankful to Hashem for sending us RCCS and the right doctor to guide me on this path.

I have never seen anything like RCCS. Just getting an appointment with many doctors often seems impossible. But RCCS is somehow able to push through anything. They have taken a huge burden of worry off the backs of me and my husband. If a doctor tells us that it will be two weeks before we can get an appointment for imaging, we don’t worry. We just call RCCS, and they somehow manage to get us an appointment for tomorrow.

Boruch Hashem, I am on the road to recovery, and I will always be grateful for the role that RCCS played in all that I’ve been through.

The RCCS annual Lakewood campaign is currently underway. Please grab a share in this incredible mitzvah by donating generously at  929-822-6729 or click HERE

For more information or assistance from RCCS, please call 718-722-2002 or visit www.rccscancer.org.