Help with Living Expenses and Medical Bills

In early October 2021 my mom went to the ER after she fainted. That is when I found out that she hadn't been eating or even drinking for the last few days because she couldn't swallow anymore. After running some tests, a mass was found in her GE junction--the area between the esophagus and the stomach--which was blocking her ability to swallow any food or even water from passing.

The hospital ran some tests and told us the bad news: my mom's mass was esophageal cancer. They didn't know what stage it was without running a PET scan but because my Mom has Medicare, she couldn't get the PET scan while in the hospital because Medicare won't pay for that test unless you're an outpatient. Over the next few weeks my mom was in the hospital as an inpatient which really pushed back the timeline for us trying to get her PET scan done. Without the PET scan they couldn't tell us if we were dealing with cancer that could potentially be treated or not.

Because she couldn't swallow anything anymore the doctors started out with a PICC line first and gave her some food through there. Unfortunately, as the time went on and it was clear that we were looking at a long-term situation the PICC line was removed and a feeding tube called a J-tube was surgically inserted instead. My mom was able to go home and we were able to schedule an appointment for her to get that PET scan she desperately needed when we hit a bump in the road.

My mom developed a small bowel obstruction at the site of her J-tube. She only was home from the hospital for 2 days and had to go back into the hospital. First they inserted an NG tube (a tube in her nose that goes down her throat into her stomach) to try and help her with the obstruction but that didn't work. Ultimately, they wound up having to do another surgery where they removed part of her small intestine and put in another J-tube in a different spot. After a few days more, we finally got to bring mom home and this time she stayed home and got her PET scan done finally!

Today my mom met with her medical oncologist and officially got the diagnosis of Stage 3 Moderately Differentiated Adenocarcinoma which is a fancy way to say she has stage 3 cancer in her esophagus. The treatment plan we were given is daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. The timeline for this treatment has it ending around the new year, at which point mom will undergo surgery to try and remove as much of the tumor as they can.

My mom lives with my sister Ellen who has quit her job to be my mom's full-time caregiver. My mom needs someone to help her with her tube feedings (which run 20 hours per day), medications (which have to be administered through the feeding tube), getting to her appointments, and getting around safely as she is very weak right now. In addition to their normal living costs, there is the additional costs of medical treatment and hospital bills that need to be paid.

Any money raised will be used for living expenses such as rent, utilities and groceries while my sister is unable to work as well as for medical bills. The October bills were paid but now that it is November I know that the bills are due and without an income it will be very hard to make ends meet for the next few months while taking care of my mom. Thank you for any help you may be able to give.