The mission of MMCCF is two-fold: to save lives by raising awareness of the symptoms that might indicate colon cancer, and to provide financial assistance to young adults undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
During Meredith’s battle with colon cancer, she expressed the desire to establish MMCCF. In a journal entry less than a month before Meredith’s death, she wrote these thoughts on Caringbridge.com:
“I can not wait to begin this foundation to hopefully save other young people from going through what my family and myself have gone through these past few years, with the onset of early detection through colonoscopy’s being right around the corner! And, most of all, I can not wait to meet someone else face to face one day who is in the midst of fighting Stage IV colorectal cancer, and telling them that God DOES heal and WILL heal them to spread His testimony and further extend His kingdom here on earth! So yes, I would say I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me!”
Meredith also never forgot to see the “little miracles” that occurred throughout her journey. She was blessed by the way the body of Christ came alongside her and her husband and provided financial resources along the way. “God will provide” became their mantra, and there was never an occasion when she and her husband didn’t have their every need satisfied. Meredith recognized the blessing this was for her, and desired that others who walked the same journey after her would experience the same “miracles” that had sustained them.
Though Meredith never had the opportunity to see this to fruition, Meredith’s Miracle Colon Cancer Foundation is a living legacy of that desire, and it’s purpose is to pay forward what Mere received from those who were so generous during her journey.
About Meredith
Meredith Ann Holbert Rankin loved life. She was born in Muncie, IN on January 30, 1983. She grew up in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was involved in numerous sporting and social organizations. Meredith had a magnetic personality that drew people to her in every setting. She accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at ten years of age and drew deeply from her faith and relationship with Christ during her entire life. She graduated from Miami University in 2005 with a degree in Communications. During college she was active in her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, and Campus Crusade for Christ.
During her senior year of college, she began experiencing various digestive issues. These included weight loss, decreased appetite, burping, and a change in bowel habits. Unfortunately, each time she expressed these concerns to a doctor, they were dismissed as symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
After medication did not improve her symptoms, her health continued to decline. Prior to Meredith’s diagnosis, she suffered additional weight loss, back pain, high fevers, and stabbing pains in her abdomen. After over two years of symptoms, she was given a colonoscopy. During the procedure, they found a tumor on her colon. Subsequent tests revealed that the cancer had metastasized to her liver, lungs, and lymph nodes. Meredith married the man of her dreams on June 17, 2006, just three weeks after she was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Meredith fought her cancer courageously, undergoing more than 45 rounds of chemotherapy, several surgeries, and radiation treatments. Jesus called her home on April 22, 2008.
