Redding mother given weeks to live after long battle with cancer

REDDING, Calif. — A 25-year-old Shasta County woman has been given weeks to live after a multi-year long struggle with cancer, but with two young daughters she hopes to leave her story and a fund behind.

“It was a birth mark between my toe,” Cassidy Jade explained. “And one day it started ulcerating and was like growing flesh out of it, and I was like that’s not right.“

Cassidy grew up in Shasta County after her family moved to Redding when she was two years old. At just 23, she was still figuring out what she wanted to do, and how to manage motherhood for her daughters Majesty and Queen, who are currently 5 and 4 respectively. Until that spot turned out to be cancer.

“They mean the world to me,” Jade said. “And their life means the world to me and I just have such a hard time even imagining.”

Jade stressed her daughters are everything to her, explaining that after developing cancer she’s tried to remain optimistic for them, and has struggled to explain what’s to come.

“They know mommy’s sick, they know mommy has cancer,” Jade said. “But I haven’t, I’ve been waiting kind of to explain this to them.“

A recent visit to her doctors discovered the rare condition she developed, called Leptomeningeal Disease had not responded to treatment, and left her entire body riddled with cancer. Jade explained despite her doctor’s best efforts, they told her there was nothing more they could do, giving her only weeks to live.

It’s hard. I’ve just been trying to take it day by day,” Jade explained. “I really want to just take my, what could definitely be my last moments here and spend them with my babies.

She hopes to spend the coming weeks travelling with her daughters, giving them as many memories as possible. However Jade is heartbroken she likely will not be able to watch her daughters grow up. At this point she says all she wants is for her daughters to remember how much she loves them.

“If it wasn’t for them I probably wouldn’t even care honestly,” Jade said through tears. “Which you know, it probably isn’t right to say either but that’s all, all that matters to me is that their life is great and that they’re happy.“

Jade has created a GoFundMe to help pay for travel and funeral costs, as well as establish an investment fund for her daughters with whatever is left.

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