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Community supports 17-year-old with rare spinal cord cancer

Posted at 10:14 PM, Mar 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-11 16:24:54-04

FENNVILLE, Mich. — A West Michigan high school student recently diagnosed with cancer is receiving an outpour of support from surrounding communities.

A benefit was held at Fennville High School Saturday for Ana Lilia Salinas, 17, who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in her spinal cord called Glioma.

"It’s scary, because it’s a really rare time of cancer that they really haven't found a cure for it," said Salinas. "They want to stop it from growing. They can only stop it from growing for a year to two years with chemo and radiation, but if I only did radiation, only 9 to 12 months around there."

But on Saturday, the family was all smiles and overwhelmed with so many people showing support. “Support and love, how many people want to see Ana, talk to Ana," said Ana Lilia's mother Lucina Salinas.

Thousands of dollars worth of food was donated for the benefit and people brought all kinds of donations to raffle off, with funds going to more than just medical costs for Salinas.

"They'll go towards her travel expenses, once we do find a treatment center," said Liz Ortega, a family friend of Ana Lilia Salinas. "It’s also going to go to improving her home to make it wheelchair accessible.”

The family said because there is no treatment that can cure this type of cancer, they have to wait for a clinical trial to open up with hopes it would offer a new type of treatment for Salinas. They tell us any other hospital would be giving Ana Lilia the same treatment she's already receiving at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.