A Shuswap woman who has endeavoured to support fellow survivors of child sexual abuse is now the focus of community giving.
In December 2023, Leha Marshall was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that begins in the B cells, and is described by the Canadian Cancer Society as typically fast growing. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that begins in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell found in bone marrow, blood and the lymphatic system.
Marshall and Crystal Wood are the founders of U Grow Girl, a Shuswap farm-based non-profit started in 2020 that grows flowers to sell with other items to help fund its Time to Heal retreats for adult survivors of child sexual abuse.
Last August, in a post on U Grow Girl's Facebook page, Marshall shared how treatment was going, noting the first round of chemotherapy was "nothing short of brutal."
"But resilience has a way of rising, even in the darkest times," continued Marshall. "My treatment was adjusted, and by the second round, I started to feel the first rays of hope. A follow-up PET scan revealed a complete response to treatment鈥攏o visible cancer. The relief was overwhelming, the kind that makes you breathe deeply and believe in the impossible. My journey is far from over but I go forward with hope."
Marshall's battle continues. Last week, she began undergoing BEAM chemotherapy to prepare her for a life-saving Autologous Stem Cell Transplant in Vancouver. The Canadian Cancer Society describes this as an option for people in first remission, and to treat mantle cell lymphoma that comes back after treatment or that stops responding to treatment.
To support Marshall and her family during her battle, friend Maria Hill launched an online fundraiser titled Help Leha & her Family through the fight of their lives.
"Leha and her family have done so much for others," Hill shares on the GoFundMe page. "They have spent the past 5 plus years working tirelessly to raise money through their charity U Grow Girl to fund healing retreats for Women who have experienced Child Sexual Abuse whilst raising huge awareness along the way, amongst supporting other causes and making a positive impact in our community鈥�
"She has impacted and inspired many people over the years through her mentorship, gigantic heart and natural ability to raise others up. Now its time to gather our community to do the same for her and her family at a time when they need it most."
Donations will go towards travel costs for Marshall's family to join her in Vancouver during her treatment and recovery, to care-giver expenses when she's discharged and additional costs related to her long-term recovery, "which may take up to two years."
In an update to the fundraising page shared on Monday, Jan. 27, Hill said that Leha and her husband, Justin, "have been deeply moved by all the well wishes, love and donations coming in and can not thank everyone enough for all the support." Hill also shared a message from Leha who, before she could lose it to chemotherapy treatment, opted to "take my hair on my own terms and it was beautiful."
"When cancer takes so much from you, there鈥檚 power in deciding how you face each loss," wrote Leha. "After returning from my stem cell collection, I made a choice: I wouldn鈥檛 wait for chemo to make my hair fall out in clumps. I wouldn鈥檛 let it break my spirit. Instead, I would take control and face it on my terms.
"So, surrounded by the people who love me most鈥� I made the leap. I told the girls to have fun, to turn my hair into wild, crazy styles and bring some laughter to a moment that could have been devastating. And we did laugh 鈥� deep belly laughs that made us forget, if only for a little while, the weight of this journey鈥�
"Cancer may try to take from me, but it will never take the strength I draw from my family or the hope that carries me forward."
For more information about U Grow Girl, visit ugrowgirl.ca or the organization's page on Facebook.
