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Mother of Two's Doctor Says She Has Cancer and 'It Doesn't Look Good' Hours After Husband Tragically Died

Tessie Sylvester started a GoFundMe to help with medical and family expenses.

A Minnesota woman broke down with emotion after her 44-year-old husband lost his six-year battle with ALS. However, Tessie Sylvester’s day became even more devastating when doctors informed her that she had cancer, reported CBS Minnesota

Last Friday, Tessie, 36, lost her husband, John, a former Minnesota Thunder soccer player, to the terrible disease. During her final moments with her husband Tessie said John tried to console her.

“John and I just kept crying and praying and he kept telling me, ‘It’s going to be OK, it’s going to be OK,'” Tessie told CBS about her final moments with John.  

After John passed, Tessie started to make arrangements, yet some shocking news would force her to start thinking about her own future.

“I was literally on the phone with the funeral director, and the other line beeped and it was my doctor, and so I clicked over and answered it. That’s when she said, ‘It’s cancer and it doesn’t look good,'” said Tessie.

After getting a checkup and a biopsy, Tessie was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. She said she has a mass on her liver, yet the cancer is probably elsewhere in her body.

“I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t sick, I wasn’t in pain,” said Tessie.

Although Tessie was dealt a rough hand with both her husband and her diagnosis, she is not ready to let it break her down.

“I always thought it wasn’t fair what happened to John, but he always had such light to him,” she said. “I don’t want to say it’s not fair yet, because I’m not ready to give in to it.”

Tessie was the breadwinner in the family as John’s health worsened. She knows the road ahead won’t be easy, but she has a strong support system with her family.

After John’s funeral, a GoFundMe page was started to help Tessie with medical and family expenses, since she expects to take time off work to treat the disease. In less than 24 hours, the GoFundMe page raised about $50,000 — leaving Tessie gratefully surprised.

“I am just really going to enjoy every moment I can with the boys,” she said. “So any little bit that I don’t have to worry about — as far as where the money’s going to come from — it gives me so much peace.”

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