Waldorf’s Genna Mears battles cancer

March 2021 was a shocking month for Genna Mears: A mass was discovered on her right lung. A few months later, she was diagnosed with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer. In December, Mears had ear and throat pains. An EKG scan and some doctor visits led to the discovery that she had had her first-ever heart attack.

According to the GoFundMe page, Mears had been doing hydration on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and going to chemotherapy every three weeks from May to September of this year.

Since then, she’s been continuing to fight her cancer. “It’s been a journey,” she admits. “I’ve had some issues with getting pretty sick.” There was one point when it was too risky for her to get surgery to remove the infected portion of her lung. “They decided not to put me under in the beginning since there was a chance I would not survive the surgery.”

It wasn’t until a month later that she got the surgery. Slowly but surely, she’s felt better, but acknowledges that the battle continues. “I still get coughing fits when it’s hard for me to breathe.”

Throughout her fight, she’s had her family by her side. Within the past few months, Mears’s family planned a benefit for her which took place at the Waldorf Community Center Saturday, November 19. Mears’s daughter Britney Hermel led in organizing the event with her boyfriend, Josh Bruender, making calls to local businesses who donated items to the silent auction.

“It’s been great seeing all that support from everyone,” Bruender says. “It hasn’t been a hesitant, ‘Sure, we can possibly help,’ from anyone. Everyone we’ve reached out to has said, ‘Absolutely. We’ll do whatever we can.”’

The family received inspiration to sponsor a benefit from Logan Nesset’s family who held one after he fractured two vertebrae during a diving accident. “We thought, ‘We should do the same thing,’” Bruender says.

The benefit included a pulled pork meal which was $10 for adults and $7 for ages 10 and younger. The silent auction took place from 1-3 p.m. Donations included a free septic pumping from JR Bruender Construction, three full synthetic oil changes from QuickLane, shirts and a gift card from Mankato MotorSports, a goody basket from Dasch Salon, a combine tractor set from Arnold’s, and other donations.

What does the immediate future hold for Mears? She will find out in the next month when she starts physical therapy twice a week and makes regular visits to her oncologist to receive updates on her progress. “We’re talking about doing immune therapy for a year,” she explains. “They also found a spot on my breast, so I’m getting that checked out on December 30.”

Britney Hermel and family have organized a GoFundMe page to help Mears catch up on her bills and pay for medical expenses. Go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/gennas-fight-against-lung-cancer to donate.