The Grand Traverse Guns N’ Hoses 11th Annual Hockey game on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City will begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.
The game benefits cancer fighter and Glen Lake Community Schools alum Kelly Florip.
Florip, a Cedar resident, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 when she was 29.
After six rounds of intense chemotherapy treatment and a double mastectomy, Florip was declared to have no evidence of disease (NED). It was the best possible news to receive at the time, she said, and was even blessed to conceive her second child, Mylah, after the treatment ended. While she did not have to do radiation, she had to continue on hormone therapy until she found out she was pregnant, and then stopped.
However, in August, Florip felt another lump around the same area of where the first one was located seven years ago. This time, the tests came back as triple positive again, but the PET scan showed signs that it was now in her liver.
A GoFundMe medical campaign titled “Kelly’s Battle With Cancer” has been organized in the meantime to help raise funds for Florip’s ongoing treatment expenses. To donate, go to https://gofund.me/99ea2097.
“I am trying to stay as hopeful as possible and lean on my support groups via social media. There are a lot of amazing women who have been living with metastatic breast cancer for 10+ years and I’d give anything to fall into that boat. We are doing our best to prepare for the worst but continue to live with the best spirits possible. There has been such a struggle finding that balance between living life to the fullest and making the best decisions for the long haul,” Florip said in a Godfund me update.
