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The Long Island community has come together to back a 33-year-old Mount Sinai mother in her fight against cervical cancer.
Nearly 500 donations have been made, totaling more than $53,000, to a GoFundMe campaign in support of Chelsea Lonigro Sorger, a hair color specialist at NuBest Salon in Manhasset who has two young daughters, aged 4 and 2, with her husband Daniel.
Sorger initially received a Stage 1 cervical cancer diagnosis and underwent a hysterectomy, according to the GoFundMe page established by family friend Colleen Moore. However, the family received devastating news when doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, escalating her diagnosis to stage 3C.
The diagnosis has turned her and her family’s world upside down, Moore said on the fundraising page.
“She is in the battle of her life, physically, mentally, emotionally and financially,” she wrote.
‘Not on my 2024 Bingo card’
With characteristic humor, Sorger recently posted on Instagram, “I will tell you one thing, this was not on my 2024 bingo card.”
She added in the same post, “Sometimes you get caught up in wondering why certain things are happening to you but I know god has a plan. I know I’m strong and my family and I are going through this for a reason.”
The road ahead for Sorger includes an aggressive treatment plan: a second surgery to relocate her ovaries, followed by five weeks of daily radiation treatments and weekly five-hour chemotherapy sessions, according to Moore. Additionally, the treatment will conclude with three weeks of brachytherapy radiation.
Sharing her gratitude
In a heartfelt message posted on YouTube, Sorger thanked the community for its prayers and support: “I’m so overwhelmed by all the support, and the prayers. Every text message, every phone call, every comment… thank you. I feel the prayers.”
Adding to the Sorger family’s challenges, Sorger’s 4-year-old daughter Raegan requires daily intervention services for autism, while 2-year-old Callie demands the high level of attention typical of an active toddler. Her husband, a heavy equipment operator in the construction industry, faces reduced work hours as he supports his wife through treatment.
‘I will … put it behind me’
“Sometimes you get caught up in wondering why certain things are happening to you but I know god has a plan,” Sorger wrote in her Instagram post last week. “I know I’m strong and my family and I are going through this for a reason. I might not know what that is today but I will do this and put it behind me and come out on the other side stronger, even more resilient and with even more faith in god.”
How to contribute
The GoFundMe for Sorger was established 10 days ago. The funds raised will help ease the burden of mounting medical bills and lost income, as Sorger has been unable to return to her evening work as a hair colorist since her surgery.
Top photos: GoFundMe and Instagram (inset).
