Over the past 16 years our TEAM of "Angels" has graciously volunteered their time to raise money for various non-profit charities in honor and now in memory of Celene's Mom, Claudia Knaus, who was a breast cancer survivor for over 21 years. Claudia went "home" on March 14, 2015. On April 23, 2018, at 9:00 while at work in a medical office, Celene would receive a phone call from her doctor that nobody wants to receive, it was that moment that changed her life in an instant. Now she would face a breast cancer diagnosis and journey.
Celene underwent a partial mastectomy on 5/22/2018 at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, who would have thought the surgery was the easy part? She would also require chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy.Through the following months, she would learn firsthand the many struggles of going through treatment, being unable to work, the financial impact, and the emotional impact on her and her family. With 9 major hospitalizations, everything from bilateral pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in both lungs) to sepsis infection, neutropenia, and various other issues due to infection and chemo complications. As she pushed forward, many of her lifelong friends would step forward to help as well as childhood friends, grade school, middle school, and high school friends and family and extended family would step forward to "help brighten her days" and provide meals, various gifts and most importantly prayers.
Her gratitude for her family and friends (Whom she calls ANGELS) who rallied around her and helped her in so many ways, she knew she was very blessed. It was during this time it was clear and we realized the need to form a non-profit charity to help others who may not have the support she received.
February 14, 2020, Celene would again received a phone call from her oncologist with results from a Mammogram, MRI, and Ultrasound, it was highly suspicious for a local recurrence of breast cancer. Celene underwent a biopsy on 2/20/2020 and subsequently 2/21/2020 received a phone call confirming a local recurrence. At that time as COVID was stopping procedures in local hospitals, Celene's surgeon took her case to the tumor board 3 times and to the board of the hospital twice to have her approved for surgery as soon as possible. On 3/24/2020 she underwent a segmental mastectomy and several weeks later started radiation treatment which she completed on 6/8/2020. With many obstacles from her journey, she continues treatment for various post-diagnosis/treatment complications and is slowly beginning to regain her independence and wellness.
As her close family and friends, we wanted Celene's dream to come true, in late 2019 the dream of helping others who struggle financially during treatment came true. The dream is to help in the form a non-profit in her honor to cheer her on and in celebration of her mother Claudia's life. It was through these journeys Celene's Angels was founded.
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