Colon Cancer Chronicles

Hey there, this is Mz. Sunshine, and if you know me, you know I rarely share my personal story, but I am being faced with a situation that I never thought I would have to face.

Many of you may not know, that I have been suffering from severe rectal bleeding for about 11 months, and have lost almost 50 pounds. Due to not having insurance because of being self-employed, I wasn't able to find a doctor to assist me with finding out what was wrong with me. In June, I went to the hospital where they weren't able to determine what was wrong with me, and discharged me, telling me that I hadn't died up until that point, so I could just go home and make an appointment to see a doctor. For months, I had attempted to find a doctor that could assist me, and even attempted to go to the healthcare.gov site to purchase insurance, and found that the monthly premiums for me would be $700+....

Not able to purchase insurance, I continued to try to find ways to get myself taken care of, but continued to get the runaround.

I was finally able to see a doctor that listened to me, and scheduled me to get a colonoscopy on 11/25....Well upon waking up from the procedure, I was informed that I had a tumor so large, it was blocking my colon, not allowing the entire colon to be viewed, but they stated they were 99.95% certain that it was cancerous, and they were surprised the tumor had not ruptured. I was then set up to go to surgery on 11/28 to have a portion of my colon worked on, and put into a colostomy bag because the blockage was preventing my bowels from properly moving.

At the rightful age of 51, I now have a colostomy bag, and am being scheduled for chemotherapy and radiation, along with a surgery to try to remove the tumor.

Being a self-employed massage therapist, I am now unable to do what I love, which actually pays my bills....I am now faced with not knowing when I will be able to work again, which means, I don't know how I am going to not only pay my bills, but pay for these procedures to be done.

I have attempted to reach out to agencies for some type of assistance, and have been told by multiple agencies that they don't have appointments available until January 2024.

If you have read this story until the end, I appreciate the time you have taken to read it, and I love you for it, because it has taken everything in me to write this....putting my pride aside, I am asking for help....I don't know what else to do, or where else to turn, so here I am....

With tears in my eyes, as I sit here in the hospital, I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that without any assistance, this journey is going to be almost impossible to navigate thru.

I have always been a strong, self-sufficient Queen able to navigate thru any obstacle put in front of me, but I never thought I would have to navigate thru cancer.

The funds will be used to ensure that I keep a roof over my head, and am able to fight this cancer with everything I have.

Any assistance you are able to provide would be greatly appreciated, and not taken for granted.