Prayers For Lisa Lee

If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky people who have been blessed to know our dear friend Lisa Lee (Towner). Lisa recently became pregnant which was a blessing, as Steve really wanted another baby. Lisa was nervous about being pregnant with her Lupus as it can complicate the pregnancy and there was a higher chance of her miscarrying the baby. She finally got to the point where she was about 21 weeks pregnant and feeling confident about not losing the baby. She recently found out she was having another sweet baby girl. Last week she went in for a routine ultrasound of the baby who is doing great and seems to be healthy and strong. During the ultrasound she asked the technician to ultrasound her right breast as it had become hard and she was concerned maybe she had an infection in a milk duct. Unfortunately, it was much worse than that. As she may have told some of you she was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, which is a very aggressive form of breast cancer that starts out in the milk ducts. We all know breast cancer is Lisa’s worst nightmare as her mom was taken from her way before her time due to another form of breast cancer.

The type Lisa has is extremely fast growing. It has invaded 6 lymph nodes and there are two very large masses in her breast, which are 3-4 times larger than normal stage 4 cancer. When she was 8 weeks pregnant she had a normal breast exam so this cancer has progressed at an unbelievable rate in just the last 14 weeks. It seems the cancer is feeding off the estrogen of the pregnancy and also the Lupus causes her immune system to not function properly, a sort of perfect storm. Lisa has some very heart wrenching choices to make as far as what avenues to take for treatment. Some may prolong her life but will compromise the baby, some may be better for the baby but at the risk of her own survival. And the horrible reality is the prognosis is not good no matter what the treatment options. This is something I would not wish upon my worst enemy much less one of my best life long friends.

In the meantime, the less amount of stress in her life the better chance she has for healing. Most of her good friends do not live near her and she does not have much support in the area. Steve is going to need to take a significant amount of time off work to care for Lisa and depending on what happens with the baby he may also have a very premature baby in the NICU to also care for. Not to mention taking care of the two beautiful kids they already have. Lisa made a good living selling her necklaces and now that income is going to be gone as she will be undergoing chemo treatment beginning this coming Monday. At this time the plan is to do Chemo and then deliver the baby at 35 weeks via C Section. Immediately following that surgery she will have a double mastectomy and radiation treatment. There is a chance this cancer has spread to her liver and there are certain tests to see where or if the cancer has spread but due to being pregnant they are not able to find out exactly where all of the cancer may be.

I feel like my hands are tied from up here in Oregon, as I want to just quit my job and move down and take care of her. Of course that is not realistic so I when I saw how many people commented on her Facebook post about her diagnosis I got an idea. I wondered if we could pool everyone who cares for and loves Lisa and we all made a donation for her family. This would help enable Steve to be able to take time off to care for her, the baby, their kids, and possibly go to medical expenses as well depending on how much was raised.

I know if you all feel as strongly as I do about this we can help our friend in such a tragic time of sorrow. Ninety people commented on her Facebook post when she made the announcement about her diagnosis. If every person donated $100 that would be $9000 just like that. If you can only donate $20 or you are called to donate a larger amount please do what your family is able to do.

Lisa is beyond strong. She has had to endure way too much in her lifetime for one person. This is something only God knows if she will be able to beat but we can only hope and pray harder than we ever have. Lisa does not deserve this; her children do not deserve this. Lisa is a kind hearted, funny, lovable, amazing person. Her worst fear is leaving her children too early and she will do everything in her power to fight for her own life. We as her friends need to do what we can to help her fight. If you cannot donate, please think of another way to help her family in this time of great need. If you believe in a higher power or belong to a church please put her on a prayer list. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I will be going down to care for her in the near future after her surgery. Melanie is another person who has regular contact with Lisa and will be actively helping her and we both agree to be point people for any questions or other ideas about how to help Lisa.

I have set up a bank account in her name for donations. Please mail payments to: You may also use your credit card or paypal as well.

Selco Community Credit Union Attn: Community Donation for Lisa Lee Account # 520649
299 E 11th Ave
Eugene, Or 97401


Matthew 18-20. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”