#HelpLauraFightPancreaticCancer
Donation protected
Short story:
Laura Wilburn, my 54 years young, tough as nails, nick name givin’, crazy lady of a mom, is ALWAYS watching out for everyone around her. After many confusing months of pain and doctor appointments we finally know she has pancreatic cancer (a rat bastard tumor on the head of her pancreas). But there is HOPE!!! It is going to be a long road with both an intensive surgery (Whipple Procedure) and chemotherapy. Insurance is amazing, but won’t cover everything. Let’s help HER out for a change and make sure she only has to focus on treatment and recovery and not the $ that isn’t covered by insurance. Every little bit helps. LONG LIVE LAURA and LOVE TO ALL!!!
Full story:
Let’s start from the beginning. Back in August 2017, my Mom (Laura Wilburn) started complaining about sharp pains in her belly. She started contacting doctors trying to figure out what was causing this pain. They started with the Gall Bladder, so she waited for appointments and testing to find out her Gall Bladder was just fine. Even though Gall Bladder issues run in the family. So then they checked her stomach.
She had an abdominal CT to check for ulcers and other issues that might be causing such discomfort. But nothing was wrong with her stomach. Her family doctor did mention some swelling near the duodenum (upper small intestine) and called for more testing. Small biopsies showed no abnormal cells, yet something wasn’t right.
Her GI doctor told her to have another CT and MRI done in 6/8 weeks with some blood work. This wasn’t good enough for my father or anyone else in her life that knows how strong she is. So her family Doctor got her in that week to get blood tests done and an MRI. Her liver numbers were super high and they called her and told her to go to the hospital immediately! They found it. A tumor on her pancreas was pressing against her bile duct blocking drainage from her liver.
They did a biopsy and found out that the meanie causing all these issues was a Rat Bastard!!! It is pancreatic cancer.... we were all crushed. The past two weeks we have been gathering as much information as possible to fight this the best way and the smartest way. She has a chance! The tumor is on the head of the pancreas and as of now it hasn’t spread anywhere. We have already spent 10 days in the hospital and we are planning on spending a lot more.
We have been to the Cleveland clinic and are awaiting a date for surgery. There is a team of doctors getting together this Wednesday, February 14th, to confirm if we should do surgery first or start with chemo and radiation. The surgery is called the Whipple Procedure ( https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/whipple-procedure/about/pac-20385054 ) which is very invasive and takes out the duodenum, Gall Bladder, part of the stomach, the head of the pancreas, and reroutes the vessels and ducts to and from all of these organs. The pancreas is very soft, like butter, and it’s all mashed in there together.
So as her son, and for her family and friends, we are asking for help. She has a chance to beat this, she just needs help getting there. Insurance only covers so much, we are asking to help off set the out of pocket costs that come with all of this.
Follow along in her Facebook page for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/100000476566976
Laura Wilburn, my 54 years young, tough as nails, nick name givin’, crazy lady of a mom, is ALWAYS watching out for everyone around her. After many confusing months of pain and doctor appointments we finally know she has pancreatic cancer (a rat bastard tumor on the head of her pancreas). But there is HOPE!!! It is going to be a long road with both an intensive surgery (Whipple Procedure) and chemotherapy. Insurance is amazing, but won’t cover everything. Let’s help HER out for a change and make sure she only has to focus on treatment and recovery and not the $ that isn’t covered by insurance. Every little bit helps. LONG LIVE LAURA and LOVE TO ALL!!!
Full story:
Let’s start from the beginning. Back in August 2017, my Mom (Laura Wilburn) started complaining about sharp pains in her belly. She started contacting doctors trying to figure out what was causing this pain. They started with the Gall Bladder, so she waited for appointments and testing to find out her Gall Bladder was just fine. Even though Gall Bladder issues run in the family. So then they checked her stomach.
She had an abdominal CT to check for ulcers and other issues that might be causing such discomfort. But nothing was wrong with her stomach. Her family doctor did mention some swelling near the duodenum (upper small intestine) and called for more testing. Small biopsies showed no abnormal cells, yet something wasn’t right.
Her GI doctor told her to have another CT and MRI done in 6/8 weeks with some blood work. This wasn’t good enough for my father or anyone else in her life that knows how strong she is. So her family Doctor got her in that week to get blood tests done and an MRI. Her liver numbers were super high and they called her and told her to go to the hospital immediately! They found it. A tumor on her pancreas was pressing against her bile duct blocking drainage from her liver.
They did a biopsy and found out that the meanie causing all these issues was a Rat Bastard!!! It is pancreatic cancer.... we were all crushed. The past two weeks we have been gathering as much information as possible to fight this the best way and the smartest way. She has a chance! The tumor is on the head of the pancreas and as of now it hasn’t spread anywhere. We have already spent 10 days in the hospital and we are planning on spending a lot more.
We have been to the Cleveland clinic and are awaiting a date for surgery. There is a team of doctors getting together this Wednesday, February 14th, to confirm if we should do surgery first or start with chemo and radiation. The surgery is called the Whipple Procedure ( https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/whipple-procedure/about/pac-20385054 ) which is very invasive and takes out the duodenum, Gall Bladder, part of the stomach, the head of the pancreas, and reroutes the vessels and ducts to and from all of these organs. The pancreas is very soft, like butter, and it’s all mashed in there together.
So as her son, and for her family and friends, we are asking for help. She has a chance to beat this, she just needs help getting there. Insurance only covers so much, we are asking to help off set the out of pocket costs that come with all of this.
Follow along in her Facebook page for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/100000476566976
Organizer and beneficiary
Tom Wilburn
Organizer
Oak Harbor, OH
Brian Wilburn
Beneficiary
