My friends, I have something to tell you.   Life is a journey with many turns. For one in three people that journey includes a cancer diagnosis.    On May 6, 2004, we in the Horcasitas family experienced a turn in our journey that took the most precious gift of our lives.   We lost a wife, a mother, a grandmother:   Aracely “Sally” Flores Horcasitas.

This precious life ended after being diagnosed with the most deadly of brain tumors—Glio-Blastoma, Grade 4.      The national average of living with the deadly tumor is 16 months, but Sally’s will to live carried her for nearly two years.

How do you honor the life of someone so dearly loved?    How do you thank the caregivers who gave her and her family a chance?    How do you give hope to others who find themselves in Sally’s shoes?

The Horcasitas family has decided to form the Sally Foundation to honor her memory and to give hope to others.   We hope the Sally Foundation, through our efforts and the efforts of our friends like you, will become a beacon of hope for children and adults throughout the country and the world who are stricken with brain cancer and other cancer-related catastrophic illnesses.

The Sally Foundation will contribute to Barrows Brain Cancer Research Unit where Sally was treated.   The contributions will help the Research Unit develop new treatments for this awful disease and may alleviate others’ suffering in the future.

Sally spent 22 years of her life as an educator.   She had a strong belief in the value of education for all children.   Because of that commitment the Sally Foundation will help support scholarships to high school seniors from Sally’s hometown.

Finally, the long-term goal of the Sally Foundation is to build a “Sally House” where the families of those being treated at Barrows for brain cancer can stay free of cost.

My friends, we all have dreams—just like Sally had—but cancer can end them in the blink of an eye.   For even one precious life to suffer and die from a ruthless disease like brain cancer is a tragedy we cannot accept.    I know you feel the same way.    This is why I hope you will take a moment to send a gift of hope today.

Until we can put a stop to this killer, may we count on your support?    We thank you for any help—large or small—that you can send.

The Horcasitas Family

Aracely “Sally” Flores Horcasitas

January 4, 1939 - May 6, 2004