Support Sarah's Battle Against Cancer

UPDATE: January 29th, Sarah endured a 12-hour surgery to remove a substantially bigger cancerous mass, than was expected, from her jaw, chin, and lip. Bone, muscle, and skin grafts were used from her legs to help with reconstruction of her jaw, chin & lip. After 5 days in the hospital, she spoke for the first time, and is on the road to having her trach removed. She is hoping to be discharged from MD Anderson Thursday or Friday. She will have to stay in Houston for at least a week after she is discharged. Sarah will not be able to eat or drink anything for a minimum of 6 weeks. This road ahead is one that most of us could not imagine enduring. She will be going through additional surgeries and speech therapy for the next year. She is in good spirits!!

Sarah's Cancer Story:

Sarah is a self-employed, single mother of 4, and is fighting head & neck cancer for the second time! After 5 years of being cancer free, it has come back in her jaw, gum, and lip. Over the holidays, she endured 3 rounds of Chemo. A few days after each round, Sarah ended up in the ER for multiple days with dehydration, pneumonia and/or RSV.

On January 22nd, Sarah had surgery to remove the cancer for her jaw, lip, and gums. This was an extensive 12 hour surgery with a minimum of 8 weeks for recovery, barring no complication. They removed most of her lower jaw, and replace it with bone from her leg. They also took a skin graft from her thigh to replace what they removed from her lip and chin. There is significant disfigurement, but the plastic surgeon said with additional surgeries, they will be able to tighten and form the skin a bit more than it is now. Sarah is also diabetic, so that can complicate her healing time. Sarah's recovery will take a minimum of 8 weeks.

Sarah has a long road ahead of her, and is in desperate need of help paying her bills and household expenses. We have raised money on the Go Fund Me page, her church is providing meals, and family is helping with getting the kids to school and extracurriculars. She needs help keeping a roof over their heads and the lights on for a few more months. Relieving this financial burden allows her to focus on the fight in front of her, and not stress about money. She has not been able to work much over the past few months between chemo treatments, being in the hospital, side effects of chemo, travel to MD Anderson, etc. If she isn't working, she isn't making any money.

Originally diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2019, that had spread into the lymph nodes, she had surgery that removed part of her tongue, a neck dissection, and several rounds of radiation. She has continued to visit MD Anderson through these years to monitor the cancer, but also because the radiation treatments exacerbated an autoimmune disease that caused painful sores in her mouth. These sores make it extremely painful to eat, and the doctors have not been able to figure out a beneficial treatment. She is unable to gain weight because she cannot eat much.

As for Sarah's biological family. Her father passed away when she was young. Her mother and step-father live in Arkansas. Her mother is currently battling dementia, and her step-father is legally blind.

Please pray for Sarah, her children, and her doctors. Pray for her strength and her will to continue this fight. Pray for a miracle to happen, and for this cancer to vanish.

This money will specifically be used to pay her rent, utilities, and household needs over the next few months.

Thank you for your generous gift and help through these difficult times.