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SALT LAKE CITY — Touchdown! For the Utah Falconz, a women's semi-pro football team, Nell Robb, 34, of Lake Point, made the goal as her friends chanted, "Nell, Nell, Nell!" She's also tackling breast cancer.
"My main important thing was, 'Am I gonna be okay?' I have kids," said Robb, who doctors diagnosed two years ago. "And I keep asking the doctors, 'Will I play football?' I don't want to stop playing football.'"
Nell didn't have to quit playing football and eventually switched to the Blitz.
Her husband, Cameron, and her sons Raven, 13, and Carson, 17, are her biggest fans.
"I love you, Mom," Carson said.
"They mean everything to me; they're my boys." Robb said. "I know a lot of times Raven said if he'd come home and he wouldn't see my car, he'd know something was wrong. Mom was in the hospital again. That's really hard to watch your kids understand what's going on."
Robb works behind the scenes of C.R. England, a family-owned trucking company. She helps make things run smoothly. Support from her co-workers, family and friends has been a key to her strength as she battles her toughest foe. The company has made special accommodations so Robb could work from home while she recovers.
"I was trying to be pretty tough," she said. "I really thought, 'I'm just going to have surgery and I'll be done; I'll be fine. Then I found out we'd have to do chemo, 'Your hair's going to fall out.' That was a little more stressful."
Nell Robb
She has HER-2 positive, stage 3 cancer, and surgeons removed a malignant tumor. It's an aggressive form of breast cancer she never expected.
"We were doing strong man training where we would lift the big tractor tires and pull trucks. We were pretty intense."
So far, she's winning the fight, thanks to chemotherapy, radiation and an experimental drug called Neratnib. Doctors hope the FDA will approve the drug within a year. But the cancer is only in hiding.
"Planning long-term things? I don't know that I'm going to be able to enjoy any of that," she said. "We just kind of live in the moment now. We just do fun stuff with our kids and do everything we can."
This strong mother won't ever give up the fight.
Robb is still working full time and despite insurance, medical bills have piled up. If you can help, please visit: a GoFundMe page* set up by family.
*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
