Horror Fans Unite to Fight Cancer! Fundraiser to help Hannah fight a rare bone cancer, Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma

HorrorHound is hosting a benefit, Horror Fans Unite to Fight Cancer!, at Kenwood Theatre (formerly City Base) to raise money for Hannah Judd's fight against Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Blue Sky Entertainment will be providing karaoke for the night!

Auctions are now available online and will be updated on a regular basis: https://app.galabid.com/fightrarecancer/items

Hannah is a loving sister, aunt, daughter, niece, and granddaughter. She is heavily involved in the local independent filmmaker scene as a judge for the 48 Hour Film Project; technical director for F3: Queen City Film Festival, Film Curation, & Film Awards; technical director & judge for the ICE CineFest; & technical director for the HorrorHound Film Festival. She's worked on several local and international films as a script supervisor. She also works at Speedway as an assistant general manager. Due to her cancer treatment regimine she is on leave from work. Since she changed jobs in March of 2023, she is not eligible for short term disability so she is currently without income.

In May of 2023, Hannah discovered a tender lump on her left bicep. Thinking she'd injured herself at work while unloading a truck, she went to the emergency room. They examined her and decided to take x-rays of her arm. The x-rays revealed a large tumor in her bicep. Thinking it was a simple lipoma, the emergency room referred her to a tumor specialist.

During that visit, the orthopedic oncologist told her that there was no way the tumor was a lipoma (a tumor consisting of just fatty tissue) because it looked like there was bone tissue in the tumor. He ordered an MRI and sent her to an orthopedic oncologist who specialized in unusual tumors. Upon getting the MRI images, an additional tumor was discovered just below her elbow in her forearm – and the doctor confirmed that it was a mixed tissue tumor. He said her tumor wasn’t like any tumor he’d seen before and scheduled a biopsy for the end of June.

The biopsy went without any complications, and she was told that she’d have her results in a few short weeks. We waited… and waited… and waited. Little did she know he’d gotten her initial diagnosis and was sending her results literally all over the world to confirm the tumor type – and to find the most effective treatment for such a rare tumor.

On July 8, 2023 she got the call that she had a very rare form of cancer, Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma. This type of chondrosarcoma makes up less than 2% of chondrosarcomas (which are, in and of themselves, very rare). This cancer is so rare, that fewer than 800 cases have been diagnosed since this cancer was first classified in 1959. Fortunately, for Hannah, she is in one of the best places in the nation for treating this type of cancer.

After several recommendations for treatment plans, her orthopedic oncologist partnered with the oncologists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for her treatment – including one that has treated this exact form of cancer. Since her tumor was large and encompassed both her ulnar nerve and brachial artery, surgery was ruled out as a first step in treatment. Her team of 15 doctors came up with the plan to shrink her tumor with high dose chemotherapy and radiation. On her thirtieth birthday, August 29, 2023, Hannah started her first round of chemotherapy.

Cancer is expensive! Hannah has prescription costs, medical co-pays, and living expenses. While she is undergoing treatment, she is unable to work. Her chemo regimen requires hospitalization for four days every three weeks and she has radiation treatments five days a week for five weeks. She also requires major surgery to remove the tumor mid-way through her chemotherapy cycles. Her tumor encompasses her ulnar nerve and her brachial artery. Her artery will require a complete vein graft during the initial surgery. The repair to her ulnar nerve will require a second surgery about six months after the initial one to remove the tumor. Because the ulnar nerve controls both movement and sensation in her palm, thumb, pointer, and middle fingers, she will require intensive physical therapy. Because of this, the doctor anticipates Hannah will be off work a full year or longer. Funds raised will be applied to her medical bills and other expenses incurred while fighting this horrible illness.

At the benefit there will be a free movie screening, karaoke, food, raffles (artwork, celebrity memorabilia, goody baskets, gift certificates, and split the pot), and a silent auction. Tickets are available online and at the door until we reach capacity.

Those wishing to donate items for the raffles and silent auctions, contact Hannah's mom, Zoe at rzoejudd@gmail.com or her sister, MyKayla at MyKayla.Judd17@gmail.com

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Esquire, Mariemont, Kenwood Theatres

HorrorHound

Blue Sky Entertainment

Thank you for the donations of auction/raffle items from:

Michael Miller

Koura Linda

Jeremy Osborne

Travis & Mary Deitrich

Jeff Seemann

Jay Kay

Nathan Hanneman

Jessica Bruewer

Jeremy Sheldon

HorrorHound

Fright Rags

Savannah Walling

Stacy Dill

Rhonda Wilson

Hamilton Alexander

Special Thanks:

Nathan Hanneman (logo design)