Ocean County Woman’s Brave Fight Against Cancer While Caring for Son

Ocean County Woman Battles Rare Genetic Disorder and Multiple Cancers

Since 2022, Felicia Willette has been battling several types of cancer. She said that she has a genetic issue that increases her risk of getting many types of cancer. Her goal is to maintain the normalcy of her son's existence.

In addition to receiving therapy for lung cancer and battling breast cancer, the 34-year-old Brick Township resident is awaiting a diagnosis for a tumor on her spine that is causing numbness in her legs and other problems.

Fighting many cancers at once is uncommon, especially for a young person like Willette. She is, however, extremely vulnerable to a variety of diseases, "most notably soft-tissue and bone sarcomas, breast cancer, brain tumors, adrenocortical carcinoma and leukemia," as stated by the LFS Association, due to an uncommon genetic abnormality called Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Additionally, the association states that people with LFS may develop "gastrointestinal cancers and cancers of the lung, kidney, thyroid, skin, prostate, and ovaries, among others," and at significantly younger ages.

Early in 2023, Dr. Cynthia Barone of Monmouth Medical Center finally received her scans.

She stated, 'This isn't normal,' after examining my scans. "You require a biopsy," Willette remarked. Shortly later, the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch confirmed her diagnosis of breast cancer.

She said that after receiving that diagnosis, it was determined that she had Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Willette has since had a hysterectomy, a double mastectomy, and a partial resection of her small intestine following the discovery of a tumor during the operation. A scan revealed a spot on her lung while she was still recuperating from the surgery, Willette said.

The lung spot, like the breast cancer, was repeatedly written off. Doctors thought it was stage 3 when it was finally detected, but surgery revealed it was stage 4, she said.

Willette stated, "I've been taking a chemo pill for the last year."

According to Willette, the most recent difficulty began in April when a location on her spine was first written off as a stress fracture. She pushed for answers as the discomfort and numbness in her legs worsened, but she encountered problems when her insurance company declined to cover the cost of a PET scan (positron emission tomography) of the region.

According to her, the insurance provider "said it (the PET scan) wasn't medically necessary," She therefore managed to save $2,100 to cover the cost of the scan alone. Because she must minimize her radiation exposure owing to the possibility of acquiring other cancers, she is unable to have regular X-rays. She stated, "I even have to stay out of the sun,"

"Thank God we got it done, because the spot had doubled in size," Willette stated.

Because it's on her spine, it's making it difficult for her to do most of the things she used to be able to do, like work and housework, which she shares with her ex.

Her son, who has not inherited Willette's disease and has had genetic screening, has been aware of her breast cancer treatment and the operations, but she only informed him on Friday of the latest problems, which have included excruciating pain and difficulty eating.

She remarked, "I simply want him to have the life he deserves," "Kids are cruel and middle school is hard."

Willette said she is attempting to obtain approval for a home health assistant to support her while she waits for a diagnosis of whether the tumor on her spine is a metastasis from the lung cancer or another new malignancy. This is because she does not have physical assistance available to her.

The majority of her siblings don't live close by, and her parents are elderly and in poor health. According to Willett, the friends who have offered assistance and the siblings who live nearby are occupied with their families and lifestyles. Additionally, the father of her son lives an hour away.

She said, "My parents and sister have done their best to help." "My sister Tracy has been around a lot to help as much as she can while my folks are ill. Everybody simply has their own lives, and it's a burden and it's alot on them.

Because of these difficulties, she has accepted assistance in the form of a GoFundMe campaign that her sister started to assist with the costs of her medical treatment and the mortgag and other bills.

To assist Willette, the Veterans Memorial Middle School PTA has started a meal train in addition to the GoFundMe. More details about the meal train are available here for those who are interested in taking part.

You can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.