Help Kristen Get The Meds She Needs
Donation protected
Hi! I'm Darcy.
I'm asking folks to spare a few dollars to help one of my very best friends, Kristin Bixby.
Kristin is 31 years old, recently married, and beginning to build a beautiful life in the valley with a partner she loves deeply.
Just after the wedding she began experiencing severe headaches. Thinking it was just stress, but realizing how worrisome these symptoms were, she decided to seek medical treatment. On November 11, 2015 she was diagnosed with a left frontal lobe tumor- Grade IV Glioblastoma - brain cancer. She's been lucky enough to not only have the love and support of her friends and family but also an incredible team of doctors. On November 27, 2015 her neuro team performed a craniotomy and removed as much of the 3 cm tumor as they could without causing any further damage to her brain. She is in recovery and doing amazingly well. This is not the end for Kristin. Her battle will continue for the next 6 months with some serious treatment to ensure no cancer remains in her body. After all of this, she still considers herself to be incredibly lucky.
HOWEVER, along with having brain cancer and having to endure the treatment of said cancer (chemo, radiation, etc.) there are some pretty unpleasant side-effects- pain, anxiety, nausea, lack of appetite, interrupted/poor sleep. Medication can only do so much and taking more drugs is far from ideal. An answer that so many others have found while in search of help is medical marijuana. It does wonders for all of these side-effects without having to take more pills. Knowing that, one would imagine getting access to medical marijuana during cancer treatment would be easy, right?
NOPE. Kristen's primary care doctor (PCP) is not licensed to recommend her for medical marijuana treatment. Changing her PCP would require jumping through all kinds of hoops that will take more time than she has to wait, and this is a doctor she has already grown to know and trust. Therefore, she will have to go to another doctor in the area that is licensed to prescribe her and can do it quickly. This doctor does not take insurance and so an appointment costs $200 out of pocket. Once, prescribed, getting a card costs $50 annually. At which point she will be able to go to a dispensary and purchase her meds, which also does not come cheap.
Kristen cannot work (obviously) while undergoing cancer treatment. Her husband is also not working so that he can be there for her and care for her. She is waiting to be able to collect disability and he is waiting to be able to collect unemployment. They just paid for a wedding. They weren't rich before, and now have no incoming money. Without help, there is no way they can afford the costs required in order to get medical marijuana.
THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN! Kristen is hopeful that with the help of her friends, family, her friends friends, and so on, the money can be raised so that she can see the doctor, get a medical marijuana card, and begin to use medical marijuana to combat the side-effects of her treatment. She started chemo and radiation treatment today (12/15) so the sooner she can start treating the side effects the better. Having access to medical marijuana will drastically improve Kristen's quality of life as she undergoes treatment. This is deeply important. She is a beautifully positive, hopeful person, and like any human, no matter the status of her bank account, deserves medical treatment that is proven to work. Let’s all chip in a little bit and help her maintain her quality of life when she needs it the most!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you so much for your contribution <3<3<3
Darcy
I'm asking folks to spare a few dollars to help one of my very best friends, Kristin Bixby.
Kristin is 31 years old, recently married, and beginning to build a beautiful life in the valley with a partner she loves deeply.
Just after the wedding she began experiencing severe headaches. Thinking it was just stress, but realizing how worrisome these symptoms were, she decided to seek medical treatment. On November 11, 2015 she was diagnosed with a left frontal lobe tumor- Grade IV Glioblastoma - brain cancer. She's been lucky enough to not only have the love and support of her friends and family but also an incredible team of doctors. On November 27, 2015 her neuro team performed a craniotomy and removed as much of the 3 cm tumor as they could without causing any further damage to her brain. She is in recovery and doing amazingly well. This is not the end for Kristin. Her battle will continue for the next 6 months with some serious treatment to ensure no cancer remains in her body. After all of this, she still considers herself to be incredibly lucky.
HOWEVER, along with having brain cancer and having to endure the treatment of said cancer (chemo, radiation, etc.) there are some pretty unpleasant side-effects- pain, anxiety, nausea, lack of appetite, interrupted/poor sleep. Medication can only do so much and taking more drugs is far from ideal. An answer that so many others have found while in search of help is medical marijuana. It does wonders for all of these side-effects without having to take more pills. Knowing that, one would imagine getting access to medical marijuana during cancer treatment would be easy, right?
NOPE. Kristen's primary care doctor (PCP) is not licensed to recommend her for medical marijuana treatment. Changing her PCP would require jumping through all kinds of hoops that will take more time than she has to wait, and this is a doctor she has already grown to know and trust. Therefore, she will have to go to another doctor in the area that is licensed to prescribe her and can do it quickly. This doctor does not take insurance and so an appointment costs $200 out of pocket. Once, prescribed, getting a card costs $50 annually. At which point she will be able to go to a dispensary and purchase her meds, which also does not come cheap.
Kristen cannot work (obviously) while undergoing cancer treatment. Her husband is also not working so that he can be there for her and care for her. She is waiting to be able to collect disability and he is waiting to be able to collect unemployment. They just paid for a wedding. They weren't rich before, and now have no incoming money. Without help, there is no way they can afford the costs required in order to get medical marijuana.
THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN! Kristen is hopeful that with the help of her friends, family, her friends friends, and so on, the money can be raised so that she can see the doctor, get a medical marijuana card, and begin to use medical marijuana to combat the side-effects of her treatment. She started chemo and radiation treatment today (12/15) so the sooner she can start treating the side effects the better. Having access to medical marijuana will drastically improve Kristen's quality of life as she undergoes treatment. This is deeply important. She is a beautifully positive, hopeful person, and like any human, no matter the status of her bank account, deserves medical treatment that is proven to work. Let’s all chip in a little bit and help her maintain her quality of life when she needs it the most!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you so much for your contribution <3<3<3
Darcy
Organizer and beneficiary
Darcy Rachael Clifford
Organizer
Northampton, MA
kristin bixby
Beneficiary
