Malee Zardo Team Malee

On January 11, 2021, Team Malee was officially founded.  However, Malee’s been steadily recruiting a global army of members for the past 40 years (yes…her 40th birthday is next week).  Her team, which boasts family and friends from Nebraska, Amsterdam, Brazil, Sweden and California, has recently grown to include oncologists, radiologists and a number of other “ologists”.  This team of amazing people, many of whom have danced with Malee everywhere from Love parades to Miss Shelly’s garage, are now coming together to rally behind her as she gears up for the fight of (and for) her life.

Following an abnormal pap smear in mid-2020, Malee was referred to another doctor that recommended performing a LEEP procedure so that she could take a thorough sampling of cells and hopefully remove any abnormal cells. Unfortunately, she received a call from her doctor a week later on January 11th, informing her that they had found a tumor identified as Small Cell Neuroendocrine Cervical Cancer (SCNECC).  While they caught her cancer early (Stage 1), this is a rare and very aggressive form of cancer that needs to be met with equally aggressive treatment including a radical hysterectomy followed by several rounds of chemotherapy.

The months ahead are going to be tough for Malee, Felipe and their two children – Enzo (7) and Paulina (almost 4).  So we are calling all Team Malee members to offer support in any way they can.  On this site, there is a link called “Ways to Help”.  For now, we are going to focus on a meal train, but in the coming days and weeks, we will be adding more content and ways to help.  And of course, one of the best ways to help is to keep Malee's spirits high, so anything funny and uplifting is more than welcome!