Kelly Crews

“I look at life with a different perspective and live it fully each day. It allowed my faith to grow bigger in my life. It has allowed me to share my story and help others who are struggling with this horrible disease.”

In 2015, Kelly Crews was involved in an accident and while hospitalized, she received a surprise double diagnosis of Stage 3 B-Cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Stage 4 low-grade follicular lymphoma. “My first thought was shock and that this can’t be real because I wasn’t even sick at the time,” she recalls.
As she navigated her treatments, Kelly kept her spirits up by pushing forward and remaining as positive as possible. “I prayed every day. My entire family was the biggest support group to me,” she says. In addition to her care team, she had some medical professionals at home. “I have several nurses in the family, so I felt safe. They would interpret my reports for me, sometimes with tears, but I would just say, ‘read it aloud.’”

The reality set in, Kelly says, when her hair started falling out after her first chemotherapy infusion: “I went to the barber shop and had them shave my head. My entire family was there when I got home and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, but I felt their love and support and knew they were there for me.”

Now a survivor, Kelly stands up for herself and her husband, who has recently been diagnosed with bladder cancer and begun his own journey. “So many people get diagnosed every day, and research must continue. I think we all have a lot to learn about this horrible disease – prevention, new treatments, and after care – it is all so very important.” Her advice to others: “Get a good oncology team and try not to let fear take over. I was told I had three months to live, and I am still standing here 10 years later.”

Stand Up To Cancer raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients. Find out how you can get involved.