Terese Marklinger Terese Marklinger

At 21 years old Terese lost her mother Denise to cancer after a
two-year battle and more recently lost her father Bill. She and her two sisters
had to grow up quickly. Cancer, unfortunately, was not a stranger to the family
and in 2001 her Aunt Debra (her mother's sister) age 35, was diagnosed with
Breast Cancer.

During Debra's battle, she discovered the BRCA2 gene mutation. She
pushed all family members to be tested. After a 10-year battle ended for her
Aunt, Terese decided that she would be tested. It was positive for the BRCA2.
Terese went in for routine visits with her doctor and at age 32 Terese was
diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer in her right breast - Ductal Carcinoma
in Situ (DCIS). Because of her routine visits with her doctor they, were able
to detect her cancer early. With her family history, Terese decided to have a
double mastectomy and soon thereafter a hysterectomy. A sigh of relief for all
- the surgeries went well and they also removed (3) lymph nodes that were
suspect. Every three months Terese diligently went in for a breast exam. This
spring, Terese decided to train for the Avon Breast Cancer 39 Mile walk in San
Francisco. While training she was having pain in her breast. In July she had
her routine doctor's appointment and mentioned to her doctor that she was
having a sharp pain and felt a mass of some kind. The doctor confirmed that
there was a lump. Terese thought that it could have been scar tissue from her
previous surgery. The doctor was concerned it did not feel like scar tissue and
immediately ordered additional tests. Terese quickly learned her worst fear,
her cancer had returned and was Stage 2. Terese's doctor's moved very quickly
as this was proving to be an aggressive growing mass that grew from zero to 2
cm in three months. A Within a week and a half of this discovery, Terese started
the 20-week chemo treatment on August 30th, 2016. Terese is an amazing Mother
of three beautiful children: Peyton (10), Markus (8) and Avery (6) and has very
limited resourced to support her family on a single income. Her Sisters and
family are turning over every rock to find Grants or scholarships she can
qualify for to ensure the best care possible. However, the medical bills and
daily expenses will not be fully covered by her insurance. We know that Terese is a strong and positive person and your help
will ensure she can focus on her recovery and healing.