MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- The Morgan Hill community is coming together this weekend to help a mother who has beaten cancer, but is now fighting a totally different cancer diagnosis.
Jennifer Pavicich-Murphy, known as JP to her friends, is at Stanford Hospital being treated for cancer, while her kids, three-year-old Nathan and four-month-old Camden Known, are 42 miles away at her home.
"The hardest part of the second cancer diagnosis has been being treated away from home," said JP.
JP was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and was given a clean bill of health, but just two weeks ago -- the unthinkable -- a second cancer diagnosis at the age of 31; this time for acute myeloid leukemia. Her husband Eddie and mom, Nancy Strohmeyer, trade off trips to the hospital and taking care of the boys.
"She just says I want to kill this. Beat it and get home and be the mom I want to be to my beautiful boys," said Nancy.
JP is an instructor at Lana's Dance Studio. Her students took a picture of them all dressed in orange the color for leukemia awareness and posted it on the studio's Facebook page.
The Morgan Hill community has rallied around the Murphy family. The fitness group "Moms Run This Town" has organized a 5K fun run fundraiser for this Saturday.
"We can only do so much. We can't take the cancer away but we can raise awareness and we can raise some money to just help in whatever way we can," said Christa Nielsen, "Moms Run This Town."
JP is going through chemo and radiation with the hopes of beating cancer again, but she will be in the hospital for at least another two weeks and eventually she'll have to return for a bone marrow transplant. Her message though isn't about the struggle, but about the courage to fight every day.
"This is the hardest journey that I've ever been on but I can tell you with the love and support of my family and friends. The amazing mom's group that I'm a part of, Lana's dance studio that I work for. The entire Morgan Hill community complete strangers that I don't even know that they give me the courage to fight. To keep on moving forward every single day and fight this head on," said JP.
The fun run will be in Paradise Park in Morgan Hill starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. A website has also been set up for donations for the family to help them pay their medical bills.