Asst. Town Clerk Faces Cancer Battle: How The Community Can Help

This article was originally published in the Tewksbury Town Crier.

Maybe you’ve met Sarah at the town clerk’s window when you’ve renewed your dog license or asked about your voter registration. Or maybe you’ve called with a question about a marriage license or a birth certificate and spoken to Sarah on the phone.

Always the consummate professional who greets everyone with a smile, Sarah McMullen prides herself on helping Tewks­bury residents through her work as assistant town clerk. But it’s Sarah and her family who could use a little help from the community now.

McMullen will be undergoing extensive and invasive surgery in July to help continue her ongoing battle with colorectal cancer. With no family history, McMullen finds herself one of the estimated 154,00 people each year who are diagnosed with this form of cancer.

According to cancer.org, excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. And the rates of colorectal cancers in young people appear to be rising.

Already in treatment since 2023, McMullen learn­ed in 2025 that the cancer had returned. Ever strong and resolved to see her son, Brayden, grow up, McMullen is facing the next phase of her treatment head on. Simply put, most of her pelvic organs will be removed.

McMullen wants to share that her early symp­toms of constipation in 2022 were met by her prac­titioner with suggestions of increasing fiber in her diet and taking a fiber supplement. However, this did not help, and when McMullen lost 15 pounds in a short amount of time, and noticed some bleeding, it was the ER discovery of a 10 cm tumor that set an emergency surgery in motion.

After enduring 28 rounds of radiation and chemo pills, Sarah was on the road to recovery. Sever­al encouraging scans were great news until March 2025 when another 4 cm tumor was discovered. It is this development, and some healing complications, that has moved her doctors to recommend this next major surgery.

McMullen is much youn­ger than the recommended age to have started co­lonoscopy or colon screen­ing. This is why if someone is experiencing chan­ges in their system, they need to pay attention. At 38, McMullen is participating in a study to try to find out why these cancers are striking younger people. She advises people to be their own advocate.

“Get a second opinion and push for a diagnosis,” McMullen said.

Sarah’s been grateful for the support of her friends and family, and has relied on resources to talk to her young son about cancer.

“You can’t catch it, and you can still hug mom,” she’s told her nine-year old, who plays hockey, la­crosse, and takes mixed martial arts.

There are many good books that help children understand, she said. She’s also been surprised at what insurance does not pay for. McMullen’s doctors had to push for pathology tests to be covered and the cost of ostomy supplies are high.

On top of this, McMul­len will be out of work for at least 12 weeks, and will have limited mobility. But she’s feeling good, and that’s important.

According to Town Clerk Denise Graffeo, “We’re definitely trying to stay optimistic. It is a very aggressive surgery and long and difficult recovery.”

To that end, Graffeo has started a GoFundMe page to help defray the cost of treatment, recovery and time lost from work.

“Between medical ex­penses, the inability to work during recovery, and the additional costs of ongoing treatment, the McMullen family is facing overwhelming challenges,” the page states.

Graffeo wants to help alleviate the financial burden on the family and knows that donating is one thing people can do to help at a time when they might not know how to help.

To contribute to the GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sarahs-fight-surgery-and-recovery.

We are all here for you, Sarah!