Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Dee Gibney Long is a strong-willed, high-spirited Irish redhead who knows how to kick box and vows that nothing is going to take her down. She says she plans to be around to watch her six, almost seven, grandchildren grow up.

Last December, actually on Christmas Day, Dee was diagnosed with Stage 3 stomach cancer that came with a devastating prognosis of 14 percent chance of living for five more years. For the past six months she has been fighting the battle of her life, for her life.

After surgeries, radiation, chemo and many medical complications, Dee is hanging in there, continuing to work and surviving on a liquid diet. In July, she will undergo another Positron Emission Topography scan which will indicate the results of her treatments.

While they wait for results, a group of friends and family are trying to relieve the stress of the medical bills that are pouring in. Although her insurance pays 80 percent, the other 20 percent, the payments that come out of their pocket, amount to about $100,000. It is a daunting and discouraging number, but Dee’s friends and supporters have organized a benefit fundraiser to help put a dent in the bills.

The benefit will feature Richie Furay and his band as well as a silent auction. Richie is a renowned singer, songwriter and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame who formed the Buffalo Springfield Band and Poco. He has been on tour as a lead vocalist and is also the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Broomfield.

Furay is a longtime friend of Doug and Pat Gibney, Dee’s parents, and pastors of the Calvary Church in Nederland. The benefit will take place on Saturday, July 2, at 7 p.m. at the VineLife Church on 7845 Lookout Road in Longmont.

Dee says that her stomach pain began in September of 2015 and she was diagnosed with giardia and treated with antibiotics. When the first dose didn’t work, she was given more, but the symptoms got worse. Finally, on Christmas Day, she told her husband she needed to go to the emergency room. A scan revealed that she had cancer that had gone through her stomach wall.

The next day Dee went into surgery and surgeons removed half her stomach, her spleen, a portion of her small intestine and lymph nodes. She was placed on a chemo pump 24/7 for three months, but it wasn’t as simple as that.

There were complications along the way that put Dee in and out of the hospital for the last six months. During this time, she continued working whenever she could, knowing she had to hang on to her insurance benefits.

Dee has been the district manager for 10 preschools and some of her paperwork has been done from a hospital bed.

“But then I got ulcers, became anemic, had potassium issues, a hernia, my teeth are breaking and my vision is declining. But I still have hair. It’s thinning, but I didn’t lose it all. But we’ll see.”

For six months, Dee has obtained nourishment from protein shakes and yoghurt. She says, “I miss my energy, but I am alive. That makes me happy. I can only work within my limit. I get tired and that’s upsetting. I used to work at the ranch and do things with my kids and now I get tired.”

But Dee says that she has a lot to fight for, her children and her grandchildren. She explains that, being Irish, she was born a fighter and she thinks of this as just another round to get through, but she’s got huge support in her corner, with her family and friends and church congregations and most everybody who’s ever known her.

“My nickname is now the Cancer Slayer,” she says. “I am just so thankful for all the people who have supported me.”

The last PET scan showed that there was cancer in her lymph nodes. The doctors hit them with aggressive treatment and they will find out in July how it is working.

Dee was born in Nederland, attended preschool, elementary school and high school here and graduated in 1988. She attended Front Range College and Colorado State University, getting a master’s degree in early childhood education.

She has been managing school programs since 1994, including the NES preschool program with Irene Pritzak.

She is married to Peter Long, who also attended Nederland Middle Senior High School. The couple now lives in Longmont where Peter manages an automotive shop.

Dee finds it hard to understand why she has been hit with so many medical issues when she has always been healthy and does not fit any criteria for stomach cancer. She also feels blessed that she has had such huge support from family and friends all along the way. She is also grateful for all the prayers.

“That’s why I am doing so well,” she says.

Tax exempt donations to help the Long family with medical bills may  be made to the Calvary Chapel of Nederland, with Dee and Peter Long in the memo. They may be sent to PO Box 6, 275 Hwy 72, Nederland, 80466.