Support Sarah's Fight Against Cervical Cancer

Hi!

I’m Sarah Mapes, I’m 32 and I am launching a fundraiser to help get me through cancer treatment.

This last April gave me a bit of a double whammy in that I was given notice that company streamlining would result in my being laid off from my tech-industry job of 9-years and a couple days later, my diagnosis of stage 3 cervical cancer with lymphatic spread was confirmed.

My last day of work was 5/31 and my first day of treatment was 6/10. I’m very lucky that my health insurance through the marketplace was separate from my job but the financial burden of being unemployed during treatment puts me in a precarious position to keep my head above water. Donations will be used for medical care, insurance premiums until January, and cost of living expenses over the duration of treatment for me and my 11-year old lab/shar-pei, Odin.

I am currently under the care of the Henry Ford Health system with radiation 5xs a week and chemo once a week along with an immunotherapy treatment for advanced cancers. We have one 7-week treatment plan scheduled and, hopefully, we can knock it out in one but I’ve been told it could take up to 6 months.

After treatment, I hope to return to school to pursue a technical degree in the medical field - perhaps even in radiology to help future cancer patients like myself - as well as learn to sew and spend more time making silly craft tshirts to wear when my favorite bands come to town.

Unfortunately, my difficult medical journey will continue past the treatment regimen as, at 32, it is very likely that the radiation necessary to beat this cancer will cause another 10 years down the line. I will also go through early menopause, lose any opportunity to bear children, and likely will face disabling quality-of-life changes such as widespread neuropathy and lymphedema through the course of treatment. The costs to prepare for this outcome and the mitigation efforts necessary to minimize the impact of these potentially devastating lifelong side-effects is going to be a daunting task so I will need help.

Thoughts, well wishes, and any contributions and shares would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading!

All my love and radical gratitude, Sarah & Odin