The hard facts are that every single one of us will love or know someone close to us who will be given the diagnosis of cancer. For some, it may be rare and easily treatable; for others, it may be the start of fighting for their life, and that is exactly what is happening to a young Grand Blanc mother and nurse.
Ashley Shaffer, a hardworking ICU nurse and mother of two, had just learned she was expecting her third child when her world was turned upside down. After working a midnight shift, she noticed her ankles were extremely swollen. Concerned, she visited her OB, only to discover dangerously high blood pressure and low potassium levels.
Further testing revealed a 14 cm mass on her right adrenal gland, and doctors delivered devastating news: she needed immediate surgery. On May 31, 2023, Ashley underwent a nearly 10-hour operation to remove the tumor, which had grown to the size of a football. The diagnosis was Adrenocortical Carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects just 1 in a million people each year. Ashley was diagnosed with Stage 3, primarily due to the tumor’s size…