LIBERTY, Mo. — A rare type of cancer is keeping a Liberty PE teacher far from one of her favorite things — her students.
Two years ago, Saree Morley, a teacher at Heritage Middle School, began her battle with cancer.
She was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.
Her three kids — ages 14, 11 and 9 — are her biggest motivation during the treatment.
"I've said this to every doctor, 'I gotta see if my kids graduate high school,'" Morley said. "I'd love to see beyond that, but that's the first step."
After radiation and surgery, she's now exploring a different treatment.
"My functional oncologist and I had a meeting, and she said, 'I just want you to check out this place. It's in Mexico, so have an open mind. But they are having a lot of success with their treatments,'" Morley recalled.
But the opportunity came with a $95,000 price tag.
“At this point, it doesn't matter how much it costs," she said.
Morley's neighbor, Maggie Revis, started a fundraiser to help her best friend. It didn't take long for the donations to start pouring in.
"It was thrilling at first. I was so distracted from everything else because I was like, 'Look, look, look,'" Revis said. "It was just incredible to see that many people chip in."
In a couple of weeks, the fund raised almost $100,000.
"The community literally helped save my life. It's beyond humbling," Morley said.
While balancing her personal challenges, the former basketball coach received love from her students.
"They pray for her. They definitely want to stay in the loop as far as what's the latest in her journey," said Katie Dowden, Morley's co-worker at Heritage Middle School.
After two trips to Mexico, Morley is one flight away from her final treatment in Cancun.
"Hope is the driving force behind all of this," she said.
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