“Sophi is in an extreme amount of pain,” her mother Jennifer Gorham Cornell said when reached Friday about cancer treatments that her daughter is currently undergoing the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. “It is going to be a very long road.”

Sophia Sanchez, also known by her nickname “Sophi,” has had a rough time these last three years. After being initially diagnosed with cancer in July of 2017 before being declared in remission as of August 2018, the cancer was found again in her lungs in April of 2018. After having clear scans in August 2019 she came down with symptoms of appendicitis in October of that same year, being rushed to Sacred Heart where it was determined that Sophi had tumors. This led to undergoing immunotherapy at the University of Minnesota Children’s Masonic Hospital and an autoimmune reaction in which her body attacked itself, resulting in a switch to chemotherapy instead. Along with immunotherapy and chemotherapy, the return of Sophi’s cancer made necessary the removal of the tumors and cancerous tissue attached to organs in her torso as well as a tumor pressing against arteries and nerves in her right leg, making it painful to walk.

Now the 13-year-old Stanley-Boyd student is undergoing further treatments and radiation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, with a new doctor and more treatments. During the radiation treatment of up to a month Sophi and one of her parents will need to stay in a hotel as staying at Ronald McDonald House would require a quarantine and passing a covid test.

In light of the ongoing medical costs a fundraiser has been set up at Go Fund Me under the title FIGHTWITH SOPHI against Rhabdomyosarcoma. In line with this fundraiser, local couple named Travis and Kelly Krizan is stepping up to match the funds raised up to a sum of $25,000 for those who make a deposit in the medical fundraiser account for Sophi at Forward Bank in Stanley. Currently $5,330 has been raised for Sophi and her fight against Rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer in which tumors form in soft tissue, including muscles. Travis gave some of the details on how to donate.

“People can make a deposit at Forward Financial during business hours up to November 16,” he said. Those who donate over $10 to Sophi’s fight against cancer will be entered into a drawing November 10 for one $500 Scheels gift card and two $250 prizes, paid for by the Krizans. “We’re hoping the community rises to the occasion,” Travis said of the fight to save Sophi, with medical expenses being a necessary part of this.

Sophia Sanchez