2026 aNNUAL gIVING- DRAFT
you can turn heartbreak into hope.
There are some cancer stories that stay with you. This is one of them.
Five weeks after burying her husband, Carissa underwent a hysterectomy. Five weeks. That sentence is difficult to read. But for one young woman, it was her reality.
Today, Carissa is choosing to share her story. Not because it is easy. Not because the pain is gone. But because she believes that if her story can help even one woman recognize a warning sign, seek answers, or feel less alone, then her struggle can have meaning. And she has chosen to share that story through the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation.
Her story began with something beautiful: a dream of becoming a mother. After nearly two years of trying to conceive, she underwent a procedure her fertility doctor hoped would finally provide some answers. Instead, just two days before Christmas, she received a phone call that would change her life forever.
Her story began with something beautiful: a dream of becoming a mother. After nearly two years of trying to conceive, she underwent a procedure her fertility doctor hoped would finally provide some answers. Instead, just two days before Christmas, she received a phone call that would change her life forever.
“It’s cancer.”
Less than a month earlier, she had received a clear annual checkup. But there is not yet a routine screening test for Endometrial Cancer. In fact, of the five gynecologic cancers, four still have no routine screening test. If she hadn’t been trying to have a baby, her cancer may have remained hidden for much longer.
Everything happened quickly after that. One oncologist recommended a hysterectomy within weeks, ending her dream of becoming a mother. But a second oncologist saw another possibility, and together, they pursued fertility-sparing treatment.
So she prayed, and she hoped, and she fought.
Through every appointment, every setback, and every moment of uncertainty, she leaned on her husband. By the middle of 2025, there was reason to hope. Her cancer had improved significantly. She and her husband scheduled one final surgery to find out if she would be able to have a child.
Then, on October 9, 2025, everything changed again. Her husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Bile Duct Cancer. Suddenly, their dreams of building a family were put aside. There was only one thing that mattered: fighting for his life. Together, they made the heartbreaking decision to stop her fertility-sparing treatment so she could care for him. Nine days later, she rushed him to the emergency room. Early that morning, they learned he was in liver failure. Surrounded by the people who loved him, he took his last breath shortly before midnight. Five weeks later, she underwent her hysterectomy. In less than a year, she lost her husband and her ability to have biological children. She remembers asking God, “Why? What purpose could possibly come from all this pain?”
Months later, a close friend who was pregnant and newly diagnosed with melanoma asked her how she had made it through her own cancer journey. They talked. They cried. They prayed. And as she walked away from that conversation, she felt an answer:
“This is your purpose.”
This is why we need you. You have already touched so many lives through your generosity. Today, we’re asking you to help us continue that work and reach even more women who need hope and support.
You Can Continue to Turn Heartbreak Into Hope
Laura's life ended far too soon. But her story did not. In 2009, Laura, her family, and friends founded the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation to help women facing the same cancer that would take Laura’s life. Today, you are part of that legacy.
Because you care, a woman facing cancer doesn't have to face it alone.
Your generosity can be the difference for a patient worrying about how she'll pay for gas to get to treatment.
It can mean a family has groceries on the table when medical bills are piling up.
It can give a newly diagnosed woman comfort during treatment and connect a frightened survivor with others who understand what she's going through.
And your impact reaches beyond the women you help today. Your support helps put lifesaving information into the hands of women who may not recognize the warning signs of gynecologic cancer. It helps advance research toward better ways to detect these cancers earlier, giving more women the chance for answers, treatment, and hope.
Thank you for being part of Laura's legacy. Thank you for choosing to stand with women facing gynecologic cancer. And thank you for making it possible for another woman to find the support, knowledge, and hope she needs.