Goal:
USD $20,000
Raised:
USD $7,700
Campaign funds will be received by Jessica Dawson
Life has thrown us a curveball, and now we’re stepping up to bat for our amazing sister Jess, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Jess isn’t just a hairstylist who has spent years making the Orange, CA, community look and feel fabulous—she’s also a devoted mom to two wonderful kids and the kind of person who can light up a room. However right now, her world has been turned upside down, and she needs our help.
Jess is facing housing and employment insecurity as she begins a grueling 12-18 months of treatment, with chemo tentatively scheduled in just two weeks. Her doctors have asked her to step away from work for the first 5-6 months to focus on healing, leaving her unable to provide for her family. With her immune system about to be significantly compromised, stable housing isn’t just a necessity—it’s a matter of protecting her health. We’re extremely concerned about the impact her housing situation could have on her ability to recover and fight through treatment.
We’re working tirelessly to tap into resources, but many programs have limitations, like mileage restrictions or requiring chemo to begin before resources can be considered, and some aren’t available at all. We’re determined to keep fighting for every avenue of support, but we need your help to make sure Jess has a safe, stable home during this difficult time.
We’re aiming to raise $25,000 to cover a year of rent so Jess can focus on what really matters—kicking cancer’s ! With your generosity, we can ensure that once Jess’s disability benefits are secured (we’re actively working on it), those funds can be dedicated to essential needs like medications, co-pays, and travel costs for her treatments.
Jess has always been there for others with a joke, a kind word, or the perfect haircut, blowout or color to lift someone’s spirit and brighten their day. Now it’s her turn to be lifted. If you can donate, we would be endlessly grateful. If you can’t donate but know of resources for housing, treatment, or living expenses in the Orange and Anaheim, California area, please share them with us at bcresourcesforjess@gmail.com.
We’re holding onto faith, humor, and a whole lot of love as we walk this journey with Jess. Together, we can give her the foundation she needs to fight this battle with strength and dignity. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being a part of her support team. As Jess said after the shock of her diagnosis wore off, “If you can’t laugh at life, you’ll miss the joy in the little moments.” Let’s make sure she keeps smiling and finding joy all the way to remission.❤️
Blessings, prayers, love 💕
Jess- we are holding you in prayer!
Sending you much love, Jess 💕
Dreaming of palm trees 🌴
Love you sooooo much
From our family to yours sending you healing!
I miss the sun, I need to come over lol
Sending prayers Jessica
I had no idea. I can drive out and do a weeks meal prep for you if you’d like. Love ya!
Fight! You got this.
Happy Birthday 🎈
Happy New Year Jess! Thinking of you!
Stay strong
February 4th, 2025
✨ Team Jess Update: Final Double-Dose Chemo! ✨
Whew—what a whirlwind! We’re here with the final update from Jess’s last double dose of chemo. There was a little scare when she took a tumble down some stairs, and we thought her chemo port was compromised, but thankfully, she was still able to receive treatment.
This Week in “What Did We Learn About Cancer?”
We learned about tumor markers, which help track how well treatment is working. For Jess’s type of breast cancer, we’re watching CA 27.29 and CA Antigen 15-3—these markers measure proteins that cancer cells release into the blood. Good news: her tumor markers are down 5 points! Slow progress is still progress, and we’re celebrating every win! Cancer patients, make sure to ask your doctors about tumor markers, as they can help track response to treatment and guide next steps.
Jess has also begun using a Rife machine as part of her adjunctive treatment. The Rife machine is an alternative therapy that emits low-energy electromagnetic waves at specific frequencies aimed at targeting cancer cells. Some believe these frequencies help disrupt cancer cells while promoting overall well-being. While this is not a replacement for traditional treatment, Jess is incorporating it as an additional tool in her healing journey.
This Week in "What Fresh Hell is This?"
New side effects have entered the chat—swollen eyelids, swollen feet, and loss of sense of smell. The sense of smell thing is the chemo....The rest is the bone growth stimulator (Pegfilgrastim). Cancer...keeping things interesting.
If you or someone you love is prescribed Pegfilgrastim here is some need to know info: It is used to stimulate the production of white blood cells while participation in chemotherapy. Since chemo can significantly lower white blood cell counts, it helps boost the immune system by encouraging the bone marrow to produce more neutrophils, reducing the risk of infection. Some of it's side effects include one pain, swelling, and flu-like symptoms. Fortunately the side effects don't hang around for too long. Jess woke up this morning (2/3/25) feeling much better. Decreased body aches and pains, no more swelling, and a slightly improved sense of smell.
Jess finally has state disability insurance rolling, with her oncologist signing off on the paperwork. Her tentative return to work date is June 2025, so we can’t thank you enough for helping us reach 37% of her housing goal! Jess & Mykah are now well-settled into their new apartment, thanks to your generosity. Federal SSI/SSDI, however, is a struggle bus. There’s a disconnect between their office and the oncologist’s office, but fear not, we are working on it—day by day, piece by piece. Reminder to ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF because the struggle is real, y’all.
Over the weekend we attended a prayer event, a kind pastor named William prayed over Jess, cursing the cancer cells, asking for her immunity to be strengthened, and buoying her with hope and love. We have included a photo as it was a beautiful, emotional moment.
What’s Next?
🔹 Jess has a PET 2/10/25 scan to evaluate how well the treatment is working.
🔹 And on 2/13/12 she starts 12 weeks of weekly chemo (which means weekly blood draws to check CBC and tumor markers). The upside to a new weekly chemo regiment is no more bone growth stimulator shots, which hit harder than chemo itself!
Love,
Jess & Jess' Family
January 17th, 2025
✨ Team Jess Update Time! ✨
Jess is currently on her third of four rounds of chemotherapy with medications known as the “red devil”—a nickname cancer survivors give to Doxorubicin. Doxorubicin is called the red devil because it is bright red in color (see the update photo). Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide, another chemo medication. This chemo concoction works hard to kill cancer cells, but it also comes with tough side effects on Jess, like the mouth sores we mentioned in her last update.
To help with her painful mouth sores, Jess has been prescribed magic mouthwash, a medicated solution that soothes irritation and helps heal sores caused by chemo. Her doctor also shared a recipe for a soothing homemade mouthwash that she can use hourly, which we are sharing below:
1 (16 oz) water bottle
½ tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp salt
Mix with warm water (do not swallow).
Jess is also dealing with chemo belly, which includes bloating, nausea, and digestion issues caused by the effects of chemo on her stomach and intestines. It’s uncomfortable, but she’s tackling it one day at a time! 💪💜💪
From Jess’s genetic testing, we learned she is HDR positive, which means her body has difficulty repairing damaged DNA. While this might sound intimidating, it actually provides valuable information to her doctors, helping them choose treatments that are most effective for her specific cancer. Genetic testing also revealed a TP53 mutation, which is a tumor suppressor gene responsible for regulating cell division and repairing damage. Since this gene is mutated, it explains why Jess’s Stage 3 breast cancer has been labeled Stage 2. Grade 2 describes how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly they are likely to grow and spread. Grade 2 cancers are moderately aggressive, meaning they grow and divide moderately fast. Again, while this may seem scary, it actually helps her treatment team make even more informed & personalized decisions about how to kick this cancer's !
🎉 Big News: We’ve raised 33% of Jess’s goal in just 42 days! Your kindness, donations, and prayers are making a real difference for Jess and her family.
Thank you for continuing to support Jess during this journey. She’s staying strong and determined, and your encouragement helps her face each challenge with hope and resilience.
Love,
Jess & Jess' Family
January 6th, 2025
✨Hello Team Jess! ✨
We hope the holidays treated everyone well. Jess recently had her second round of chemotherapy, and it’s hitting her harder than the first. Despite the challenges, Jess wants to use her experience to raise awareness about the lesser-known realities of cancer and chemotherapy.
Her hair is falling out at an increased rate, and she’s experiencing painful hair loss at the roots, which she describes as making her scalp feel sore and tender. This is a side effect of chemo that many don’t realize can be physically painful. Jess is also facing chemo-related mouth sores, which cause additional discomfort—we’ve purchased Prevention Oncology Alcohol-Free Mouthwash to help ease this.
Another side effect Jess wants to highlight is chemo brain, which causes memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, and mental fog. This aspect of treatment makes even simple tasks more challenging. Additionally, something that is a common misconception is that cancer is not painful. LET US BE CLEAR: Jess’s cancer diagnosis—Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), Grade 2, ER+/PR+/HER2–—is itself painful. Cancer pain is a reality for many, and Jess wants to shed light on these experiences to encourage people to not delay going to see a provider. Please do not ignore breast pain because cancer IS PAINFUL.
✨We’re happy to share some positive updates✨
Jess has a wig appointment on January 7th, thanks to the Wig Bank at Memorial Care Orange Coast Medical Center, which offers this service for free. She’s also going to be receiving food assistance through The Dwelling Place Food Pantry in Anaheim on the 29th, helping to ease the financial burden of treatment. We are so grateful for these resources!
Jess celebrated an early birthday with our sister Melissa on January 5th and will officially turn 39 on January 8th. For her birthday wish, Jess would love to send handwritten thank-you cards to those who’ve donated to her GiveSendGo campaign. If you’d like to receive one, please email your mailing address to bcresourcesforjess@gmail.com.
Thank you for continuing to support Jess through your thoughts, prayers, and donations. This journey is challenging, but Jess’s courage and determination to turn her experiences into advocacy inspire us all. Together, we can help her keep fighting with strength and dignity. 💜
Love,
Jess & Her Family
December 28th, 2024
✨ ✨✨
Hello Team! Jess spent Christmas Eve in the hospital and was discharged around 8 PM on Christmas Day. During her stay, she received four doses of IV antibiotics, and it looks like her care team successfully saved her port!
Next up, Jess will complete some standard blood work to ensure her overall health remains strong for her next round of chemo on January 2nd. We’re fortunate that Melissa (Jess’s oldest sister) has a wonderfully supportive workplace that approved her to work from home for at least a week to be there for Jess.
In preparation for losing her hair, Jess has shaved her head—check out the update for a photo of our beautiful, bold, and brave sister rocking her new look!
Thank you to everyone who continues to invest in Jess’s wellbeing and lift her up with your thoughts, prayers, and loving energy. As one of her friends (and a fellow breast cancer survivor) reminded us, it takes a village—and we are so grateful Jess has one in all of you. 💜
Wishing you all a lovely Happy New Years!
Love,
Jess & her family
December 24th, 2024
December 19th, 2024
December 17th, 2024
✨ We have some encouraging news to share! Jess had her PET scan on Friday, and today we received preliminary results. The scan shows that the cancer appears to have remained localized to the breast. So that means: NO spread to the lymph nodes, brain, liver, bones, or kidneys. Further more her Echo showed her heart can handle chemo, and the MRI of her head also indicated no spread.✨
The oncologist feels there were no surprises and confirmed Jess is in Stage 3 breast cancer. However he is confident she will do well with treatment, as she has a healthy body and a strong support team.
🌟 More good news: We’ve raised 17% of Jess’ housing goal in just 10 days! Which is so wonderful as chemo begins this Thursday (12/19) and this means she will be unable to work for the next 5-6 months depending on how well chemo kicks cancer's . To mentally prepare for losing all of her hair in the next four weeks Jess has cut off quite a bit of her hair. Check out her new do in our update photo.
🙏 And to wrap up this week's cancer to-do list: Jess has a disability benefits meeting scheduled for December 20th— sending up prayers for this to be a seamless process. We are also open to any foundation or resources that anyone may now about that can provide financial assistance while we bridge this gap for our girl!
We have many blessings to celebrate today, who knew one day we would consider stage 3 a blessing? Every bit of encouragement is helping Jess stay strong and hopeful on this journey.
🌟 From the very depths of our hearts, THANK YOU for your love, support, and generosity 🌟
December 13th, 2024
Jess successfully had her port inserted and, thanks to incredible family support and everyone’s generous contributions, we’ve raised enough to cover her first month’s rent and security deposit! Jess now has a stable apartment to call home as she begins her treatment journey.
Up next is her PET scan tomorrow (12/13/24)—yes, Friday the 13th, but we’re not worried. God’s got her! ✨✨✨
As her family, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the kindness and generosity of everyone who has donated and supported Jess. Your contributions are giving her the stability she needs to focus on healing. Thank you for being a part of this with us! ❤️
December 10th, 2024
We’re sharing an update on Jess as she continues preparing for her upcoming chemotherapy, tentatively scheduled for the middle of December. She has been hard at work completing all the necessary steps for treatment. Jess has finished her echocardiogram and had an MRI of her brain yesterday (12/9). She’ll undergo another MRI tomorrow (12/11), followed by bloodwork, and then have her port placement procedure on 12/12. The final step will be a PET scan on 12/13, bringing her one step closer to starting chemo.
During her chemo education, we learned that Jess will need to stay hydrated, limit caffeine intake, and will lose all her hair by the second treatment. If anyone would like to donate wigs or has recommendations for delicious decaf teas to keep her spirits up, we’d love to hear from you! Please email us at bcresourcesforjess@gmail.com to connect about where to send items.
Thanks to your generosity, we’ve raised 13.2% of Jess’ housing goal! Every donation, share, and message of encouragement means the world to us. Thank you for lifting our girl up with your love and kindness as she prepares for this challenging journey.
Let’s keep cheering Jess on! 💜
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