“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.” – Anne Frank 

By Sarah Sanchez 

Imagine waking up in a hospital bed to a doctor telling you that you are beyond stage IV cancer and considered incurable…and that you only have a few months left to live. How would you take this unthinkable news?

Unfortunately, this situation happened to a young woman named Denielle. Her sister, Lizzi, explained that Denielle was first diagnosed with stage III gastric cancer last Christmas. However, by New Years Day, the cancer had spread like wildfire into her lymph nodes, penetrated her stomach lining, and spread through her entire abdomen. They had the best surgeon in town working on her, but unfortunately, he came out of surgery with the most devastating news. Denielle had terminal, stage IV adenocarcinoma, and was deemed to only have a few months left to live.

This news probably would have devastated the average person. But Denielle isn’t average. She is a fighter that has been strong and positive throughout the entire process, specifically saying she was going to “kick this thing in the butt”.

Lizzi said, “When we left that hospital to come home, she would not allow us to leave sad or hopeless. She instilled hope in the rest of us.”

Lizzi also explained that Denielle has been relying on her faith to help her get her through this difficult situation. “I don’t think a single day has passed where her faith in God has been tested. And if it has, then it was never verbalized,” said Lizzi. “With God by her side, Denielle is unstoppable.”

Denielle originally left the hospital as a terminal patient. The doctors believed that she was going home to die because she refused to do chemotherapy to treat her cancer.  But Denielle didn’t lose hope. Her strength and positivity paid off because she is making incredible progress with the natural approach she chose. After using a treatment called Phoenix Tears, it appears that Denielle’s body is now killing the cancer. Doctors across the nation are shocked because this has never been seen before in stage IV gastric cancer. Doctors are watching her levels in amazement as she is fully digesting food, since she was told she’d never be able to digest anything ever again. Doctors originally said that Denielle would only have a few months left to live, but two months later, Denielle is still here making nothing but progress.

Denielle is a woman I’ve never even met and I’ve never even spoke to, but she’s an inspiration to me and an inspiration to all of us. She is someone who looked at a devastating situation with a different light. She encourages us to always be positive in every situation, to cherish the life we live, to love and encourage those around us, and to never lose hope, no matter what the circumstance is.

If you feel led to help Denielle, there are two ways to do so:  1) Denielle recently made a bucket list of all the things she has always wanted to do. To help her financially be able to do everything on her list, you can donate money through PayPal by sending it to deniellesdreamfund@yahoo.com.  2) Denielle is a positive person, but to continue the positivity, you can write her a letter of encouragement, love, or prayer to lift her spirits on any difficult days. For any additional information, please email deniellesdreamfund@yahoo.com.