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26 Years Old, 47 Surgeries and Counting - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

26 Years Old, 47 Surgeries and Counting

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A northern valley woman tells her story of suffering in hopes of gaining support for the research and cure of rare diseases.

  February 28th is "National Rare Disease Day".

Laura McEndree, Argyle, MN: "I could be here for 5-minutes or I could be here for 50-years. I have tumors in my brain right now and they could… they could rupture and I could die 5-minutes from now."

  Laura McEndree lives in rural Argyle with her two children and boyfriend. She suffers from Cowdens Syndrome. It's a rare, genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on the outside and inside of her body.

  At the age of 26, she's already endured 47 surgeries to remove tumors that often contain cancer. She had  a double mastectomy last fall.

  Laura says she's just learned to live with it.

Laura McEndree: "Because when you wake up every day and something hurts, it gets to be a lot. But, it doesn't do any good to be pissed off. So, there's just not really any point in it." 

  Laura says she's not looking for money or sympathy. She's hoping that people will support the research and cure of rare diseases like her's… that could one day also plague her children.

  To give you an idea of how rare Cowden's syndrome is… Laura says, Mayo Clinic has only seen 2 cases of it within the last 50-years.

  If you'd like to learn more about "National Rare Disease Day" and how you can help, here's a link to their web site: http://www.rarediseaseday.org/

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