“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller
Our Why.
Everlasting love…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“There are some who bring a light so great to the world, that even after they have gone, the light remains.”
………
our guiding lights:
LINLEY MENARD, 2009 – 2020
JEFF MORGAN, 1975 – 2020
meet our founders:
Cristy & Cassie
Cristy & Cassie met through their daughters, Bethany and Linley and their sons, Marcus and Griffin.
In the most unfortunate of circumstances, the Menard and Morgan family both suffered immense loss by way of cancer. Linley, Cassie’s daughter, and Jeff, Cristy’s husband, were undergoing treatment for two different types of cancer (both types deemed to be 100% terminal), at the same time. While connected through their kiddos, it didn’t take long for their connection to become much deeper in the worst of the worst.
When no one else could possibly fathom what they and their families were experiencing or feeling, they had each other… text messages that reminded them that they were not alone and that no matter what they felt or how they were dealing — it was the right way to feel, the right way to deal. Both Cassie and Cristy had amazing support systems, friends and extended family but when faced with the unfathomable, they paved that path with only one type of strength possible — a unique and unbelievable strength that can olny come from the purest fear, anger and sadness that was.
Cassie and Cristy recognize that their experiences were so different and non-comparable (a young husband and father, a 10-year old child and sister) but it is the depth of certain experiences that united them.
And their community!? They were amazing! Feeling this support and their continued passion to help others is why Stronger Together came to be.
“What we do know, and what we share in our heart and through our own experience — is how when you or someone in your family has cancer, the entire family is affected in ways no one can quite understand.
We know what this is like. We hope others don’t ever have to experience it. But for those families that find themselves in our shoes, in our community near and far, we have the passion and need to help, within ourselves and in the light of Linley and Jeff.
It is one person who is diagnosed with cancer. It is an entire family that lives with and is affected by cancer.
Through our mission, and the strength that comes from being Stronger Together, we hope to bring these families with cancer, some unexpected happy moments through different types of support, to continue to support cancer research for a cure and ultimately to CRUSH CANCER.”
— Cassie & Cristy
Dipg & Pediatric cancer
awareness facts
provided by Love for Linley Foundation Inc.
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas (DIPG) are the most common brainstem tumors in children.
DIPG patients are typically between 4-11 years old.
Brain tumors are now the most common cancer and cause of cancer-related death in children less than 15 years of age.
DIPG has a 0% survival rate. Only 10% of children with DIPG survive for 2 years following their diagnosis, and less than 1% survive for 5 years. The median survival time is 9 months from diagnosis.
Only 4% of annual government cancer funding goes to pediatric cancers, and that’s spread over 24 different types of cancer.
adenocarcinoma esophageal cancer awareness facts
provided by Keep on Pushin’ for Jeff
Adenocarcinoma, a type of esophageal cancer, is the most common form in the US. Occuring in the bottom part of the esophagus, near the stomach, this type of cancer is not caused by smoking. It is most often caused from long-lasting reflux disease.
Because esophageal cancer usually is not diagnosed until the disease has spread, the death rate is high. Fewer than 5% of people survive more than 5 years. Many die within a year of noticing the first symptoms.
Some of the most promising clinical trials to treat esophageal cancer are exploring the use of
chimeric-antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T).By funding early detection and cutting edge clinical trials, lives can be saved.