Monica's fight against Cancer

Hi. My name is Billy Thomas.  I am Monica's husband.  Monica and I have known each other since childhood (30+ years), and she is not only my wife but my absolute best friend.  We have a 5-year-old daughter named Layla along with two English bulldogs named Izzy and Jake that we rescued. Monica is my world.

Monica was recently diagnosed with a rare sarcoma called Acral Myxoinflammitory Fibroblastic Sarcoma.  There have been less than 200 cases documented since 1998. It started back in December of 2015 when Monica started to experience numbness and pain in her right hand and was surgically treated for carpal tunnel and tenosynovitis.  The surgeon removed tissue from her hand, and since it looked odd was sent for biopsy. It came back malignant.

We quickly met with an oncological surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering (as well as leading teams at Hopkins and The Mayo Clinic) who recommends complete amputation of Monica’s right hand just below her elbow. We were shocked and overwhelmed upon hearing this news. 

We are asking for help because we have found a treatment in Europe which can save Monica’s hand and cure this horrible disease that has completely devastated our family and friends. Since it is outside of the U.S. we are not covered for any portion by health insurance and so we find ourselves in tremendous financial need.

Those who know Monica all agree that she is an exceptional person who always puts others first.  She is a genuine friend, a loving mother, a devoted wife, and someone who always remains positive and accepts life as a gift. We thought when I got sick a couple of years go and almost lost my life to diverticulitis that the worst challenges we would face were behind us. Little did we know that our family would be facing yet another life and death medical crisis. 

The last thing we want to do is reach out to family, friends, and friends of friends to help us with the medical costs for our fight to cure Monica of cancer, but we are in desperate need. All money raised will be put towards the treatment and expenses that are involved.  We are trying to raise the funding as quickly as possible. Even though this sarcoma is considered low grade (slow growing), the longer left untreated the greater chance it will metastasize to her lungs and lymph nodes creating an even larger threat to Monica’s life. We would like to have enough money by July/August as the hospital in Europe expects payment in full prior to treatment.

 Words fail to express our deep gratitude for anything you might be able to give, and we are humbled by the overwhelming love & support of our family and friends. We can’t thank everyone enough for your help and will be forever indebted to you. 

Please feel free to share this with as many people as you wish.

With sincerest gratitude,
     
                          -The Thomas Family