A Utah mother of 10 who sought routine blood work has received a devastating diagnosis of stage four cancer.

Angela Goodrich, 45, a devoted wife and mother from Toquerville, attended the hospital feeling unwell on March 3 when what was expected to be a simple check-up quickly spiraled into a nightmare.

After several hours at the hospital, doctors informed the sickly mother that she would need to stay for additional testing.

Those tests would ultimately reveal a heartbreaking diagnosis: stage four, grade three adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that originates in the adrenal cortex, the small glands atop the kidneys.

Being diagnosed with stage four means the cancer has spread to other areas of her body, while the grade three classification indicates that the cancer cells are highly likely to grow rapidly.

Goodrich, a mother of 10 and grandmother of two, is embarking on treatment with her family rallying around her.

Jocelin Blohm, a good friend and former neighbor of Goodrich, told KSL.com that the news has devastated family, friends and many whose lives have been touched by Goodrich.

‘It’s just crazy that it could be that bad,’ she said. ‘Just like that, suddenly she has stage 4, grade 3 cancer. She’s gone from being just fine a month ago to barely being able to get out of bed.’

Blohm spoke to Goodrich’s ‘giving nature,’ adding that the devout mother was the first person she met in her Eagle Mountain neighborhood.

‘When I had just moved into the neighborhood, I sent my daughter down to Angela’s house to get an egg and my daughter came home with a dozen eggs,’ Blohm recalled. 

‘I was so embarrassed because we just needed one. She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, honey, if you needed one egg, you needed a dozen. I want you to keep these.’ She’s so nice, and it was wonderful – and we’ve just been best friends ever since.’

Blohm is not the only neighbor who has benefited from Goodrich’s kindheartedness, many others have since reached out, sharing moments when Goodrich helped them in their own times of trial.

‘Angela invited me to the birth of her last baby because she knew that I always wanted to have a child and was heartbroken that I never had that experience,’ Bonnie El Halta said. ‘This was a very special gift.’

‘At one point, I was struggling with infertility, and she just knew when I was extra sad, even though I was trying to hide it,’ Geneve Fallon added. ‘She brought me dinner after one of my (fertility) treatments because she knew it was emotionally, as well as physically draining.’

Another neighbor wrote on her Facebook page about receiving service from Goodrich when her own husband was diagnosed with cancer.

‘When my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer five years ago, I felt like my world had been turned upside down,’ Gina Hardy wrote. In the middle of the whirlwind of treatments, appointments and fear, one constant comfort was my friend Angela. When my husband needed a place to work and rest during treatment, Angela quietly rallied friends to help finish a bathroom in our basement. That space became a refuge for him during some of his hardest days, and she made that possible.’

‘Just a few weeks before her own diagnosis, Angela drove three hours to come to my son’s (Latter-day Saint) mission farewell,’ Hardy said. 

‘She showed up early, surprised me at my door, and immediately jumped in to help with preparations. I could tell she wasn’t feeling well that day – but of course, Angela was there, doing what she always does: lifting others.

‘Now it’s our turn to show up for her.’

A GoFundMe fundraiser has since been organized by a friend of the family, Amanda Leach, asking for financial help.

‘The reality is that the financial burden of these treatments is far more than we can manage alone. Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help cover medical bills, holistic treatments, medication, and the additional costs that come with fighting such a devastating illness,’ the fundraising page reads. 

As of Tuesday morning, the donation page reached $27,814 of its $80,000 goal.