a few months ago i noticed a lump near my throat. initially, i thought it was allergies, but after a month it still would not go away. i decided to go to the doctor, hoping they would just give me some kind of medicine or a shot to fix it, but instead they initiated a series of tests and imaging appointments.

i spent the holidays worrying about what could be wrong and hoping it would just disappear. but, after another month, i was told that i had a potentially cancerous tumor resting near my facial nerves that needed to be removed as soon as possible. not only was cancer on the table, but so was possible risks of nerve damage and facial paralysis.

unfortunately, a large part of my surgery was not covered by my health insurance plan, leaving me to pay a little over $20K out of pocket. i have been able to come up with half of the funds through support from my family and the little bit i had left in savings, but i am now left with over $13K to cover the rest. the financial stress has definitely made recovery hard, so i am here asking for your support. anything helps!

these past few months have been some of the scariest of my life, but i was so blessed to find a surgeon that made me feel safe and taken care of. they were able to remove the entire tumor and a few lymph nodes (all completely cancer free!!!). although the surgery ended up being more invasive than we anticipated, there were no major complications. im so deeply grateful that i caught it in time. (psa: if you notice something weird going on in your body get it checked out asap!!!) love you all! thank you for the all of the support <3