Since 2019, my best friend Jenna Rae Campbell has battled cervical cancer. Stage 4, recurrent, metastatic, aka “incurable” cancer.

As her battle progresses, access to higher levels of care are required.

This summer, she also had a blood clot in her lungs from chemo, and 6 weeks later was involved in a vehicle accident that left her without a car, and in need of a way to get to her many doctor appointments.

She now also faces cash pay circumstances to be able to be seen in a timely manner, otherwise it takes months for authorizations to process. And most of the time, these requests get denied.

When you are battling for your life, time is of the essence. It’s unreasonable to waste so much time battling the health care system’s “red tape”, time that could be used better, like actually treating this disease.

She is going to MD Anderson in Houston in January. Each stay requires 5 days in a hotel and airfare, that part alone is $2,000 each time. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for 5 visits there, but this is just a guesstimate on the # of visits she will have.

She needs to be able to access care quickly. By supporting her, your dollars are going to help an actual cancer patient and her family, not raise funding for salaries of the cancer advocacy group’s CEO’s summer beach house… (who don’t offer much assistance, if any, to actual cancer patients - we have tried, trust me)

She has a husband and 5 children whom she adores and fights for, along with “a biggo tribe” filled with her family (also big) and very best good friends.

Let’s help alleviate the obstacles in her way, allowing her to focus solely on healing.

Jenna’s strong faith is a testament to her success thus far in a disease that has less than a 5% survival rate after the first recurrence. She’s had 5 recurrences. Going through cancer treatment once is hard enough! But she is determined to be able to help women see that Stage IV cervical cancer CAN be overcome, and cured, and she is also determined to stay alive for her beautiful family. As she begins her 10th different chemo course, and 5th recurrence, we want to show her that she is not alone, and we as a community in Bakersfield (and her family and friends all over) believe in her indomitable will to live.

It is very rare for a woman to beat cervical cancer after it reaches this stage, and we want Jenna and her family to focus on enjoying one another and their strong love for each other. Not on all the hard things that come with a disease of this magnitude.

By contributing 15k to a safe, used SUV vehicle, her family can go on trips, not just doctor visits (but those visits save her life!). She can also drive to Houston if need be vs flying, which could help cut costs. And by helping cover the costs of their ever rising medical bills, maybe Jenna and her family can stop stressing so much on the financial burdens that come with five years of fighting an ugly disease, and instead focus on the joys that matter.

Please help us help her. If you knew her, you’d understand why she has survived this long. Her grit and grace, faith and strength in the face of adversity has not gone unnoticed.

Let’s get them moving forward, past this extremely difficult part of their lives, and allow Jenna to be cared for by only the best doctors the US has to offer, so she can reach her goal of being a light to others, and as she says, “Get these freeloaders gone for good”.