On March 22nd, 2023 Sally lost her battle with cancer. She gave this fight everything she had and we couldn't be more proud of her. We love you SO much mama!

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As many of you know, we recently received the most devastating news; our mom Sally, was diagnosed with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). If you know our mom, you know that she is the BEST; kind, caring, selfless, and strong. When our dad passed away in 2000, she was left to raise all four kids by herself. She worked tirelessly (2 jobs at that) to give us the best life and education she could. And at the age of 68, she was finally able to retire and move down to Texas to be with her grandkids. And boy, do they LOVE their Gam Gam!

 

OSCC is often a very aggressive tumor and mom's is no exception. This is why we have decided to make the trek to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, which is the best place for treating squamous cell carcinoma and has the world’s best Head and Neck Center .

 

Her care team-- which consists of oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, neuro-radiologists, dental oncologists and plastic surgeons-- is designing an aggressive treatment plan for her that starts with major surgery followed by post-op radiation. During the surgery they will remove a large portion of her tongue as well as all the lymph nodes on the left side. They will then rebuild her tongue using tissue, muscle, nerve and arteries from her forearm. The surgery will be roughly 8 hours and due to the swelling she'll have a temporary tracheostomy to ensure she can breathe without issue. She'll spend 7-10 days in the hospital and will be on a feeding tube while she re-learns to speak and eat. One of the reasons we chose MD Anderson was for the incredible specialists that will be caring for her before, during, and after surgery. She will meet with speech pathologists, audiologists and prosthodontists to help maintain or restore speech, swallowing and hearing abilities after her surgery/treatment. 6-8 weeks after the surgery, she will begin her post-op radiation therapy. 

Today (1/13) she officially became a patient of MD Anderson! It was a bittersweet day because we feel fortunate to be treated by one of the world's best cancer doctors but it also makes this thing so much more real. On Tuesday (1/18), she will have all her CT scans done and meet with radiation oncology and medical oncology. We know the size of her tumor is large, which already pushes her to T2/T3 for staging, but we don't know exactly how large (they call it an iceberg because it goes deeper than they can see/feel). We also need to determine whether there has been further spread to lymph nodes or distant metastases. The scans will give us some of this information and, based on that, it is possible chemo is added to her adjunct therapy. Right now we are targeting the 1st week of February for her surgery and we will be in Houston for approximately 2 weeks for pre/post op and surgery. 

We are staring down a long road to recovery but mom is SO strong and has an incredible support system with all 4 kids + 3 kids-in-law + 4 grandkids here in Austin. I'm also very fortunate to be afforded family leave time through Meta (Facebook), which will allow me to be with her as her primary support person through every step.

 

Due to the aggressive nature of this cancer, the cost of treatment after diagnosis can be quite staggering. Even with insurance, the out of pocket costs are already accumulating. Mom and I will also be making weekly trips to Houston for all of her appointments, spending two weeks for surgery, and will be back for 5 weeks when radiation begins. Our mom has done so much for so many people and we are hoping that this can help ease the financial burden so she can focus on making a full recovery. Please consider donating if you are able and feel free to share.

 

We will continue to provide updates here as Sally kicks cancer's butt!

 

Thank you!

Liz & Dave, John & Jen, Katie & Dalton, and Patty

— The funds from this fundraiser will go toward the medical, travel, and housing expenses associated with Sally’s Cancer treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, TX —