PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A 22-year-old Pinellas County woman is battling cancer again for the sixth time.
Kayli Manning was first diagnosed with leukemia at eight years old. She received intrathecal chemotherapy and IV chemotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center on Thursday. The treatments lasted well into the evening.
"It makes me feel really sick and ill, and I’m just going through the punches," said Kayli Manning.
Kaymi Manning attended her daughter's chemotherapy treatments.
"She’s been battling leukemia since she was eight years old. This is her sixth time with leukemia. It’s been highly resistant in her CNS," said Kaymi Manning, Kayli's mother.
The 22-year-old is hopeful a bone marrow transplant will work. Her brother will be her bone marrow donor.
"Once she has two negative CSF, which is the cerebral spinal fluid, once it’s negative twice, they’ll move quickly to bone marrow transplant. It will be like knocking her system down to zero, and she requires the rescue of her brother's stem cells. We’re hopeful that that can help mitigate this and attack it in the areas it’s been hiding," said Kayli's mother.
Kayli's mother applauds her daughter's compassion, positive attitude, and determination. Despite her health battles, Kayli still graduated from high school on schedule.
"I want people to know that there's joy in the journey. I do want people to know, you know, even though I've been going through this for so long, I believe that I still have so much hope because I'm going to be going through my first bone marrow transplant," said Kayli.
The family is asking for financial help through Kayli's GoFundMe page.
"They can help me and my family by donating and just praying for me; that’s the big one right here is prayers," said Kayli. "It gives me hope and joy because there’s a possible cure there, and honestly so blessed to have my brother be a match for me."
To learn how to help Kayli and her family, CLICK HERE.
