#Tori'sCommunity - Raising Awareness to Colorectal Cancer and Domestic Violence

Cancer struck Tori's family in 2021 with a force when a 4-inch malignant tumor was found during a routine colonoscopy. She was immediately scheduled for treatment and leave from her full-time teaching job. Tori underwent chemotherapy over the next 3 months due to lymph node involvement, followed by 3 months of radiation, and then colorectal surgery. Her recovery process has been very difficult and ongoing. After her divorce finalized in April 2023, her health coverage changed and her medical expenses increased. She is lucky to have gone through this journey when she did, even if it meant juggling a high conflict divorce due to this. If you have ever experienced the costs of cancer treatment, you know it is quite expensive. It was crucial that Tori gets this treatment as quickly as possible to give her the best chances for surviving this cancer. You did this for her, and she is eternally grateful and cancer-free for nearly two years.

Most people do not know that Tori became a single mother in early 2020, with her two t(w)eens are in her care a majority of the time. She has been a full-time professor, a PhD student, and a full-time mom, and she cared for her kids and her home and helped them learn in the online school environment from due to Covid-19 and issues with asthma throughout these difficult times. Carrying most of the family's responsibilities, Tori needed help to keep her family and home in balance -- from the basics like lawn, home care, and cooking to bigger medical stresses and hurdles. Tori cannot wait to reach full recovery and give back all that has been so graciously afforded to her.

Tori's kids were 12 and 14 years old, and they are not 14 and 16 and both in high school. Many of you already know that they are responsible, caring kids, and they are already an immense help and source of joy for their mom. Tori insisted that too much didn't fall upon them so their lives can be as normal as possible as she recovers. The kids lost some of their routines that had kept life as "normal" as could be during quarantine. Your financial support helped her pay for their participation in school and sports and therapy for recovery from a domestic abuse situation

Tori and her family truly needed your help to make their situation as balanced as possible during this incredibly difficult time. Everything her friends and family (and even strangers) contributed to her stability during her treatment allowed Tori to focus on taking the cure and getting rest during this struggle for her life. Your care and support will allowed Tori to continue to feel that she was able to be the best mom possible for her kids while not sacrificing her health and overly taxing her body.

You should also know that your support helped her leave a domestic violence situation and find freedom (for the most part) from harm. Your financial support paid for rugs (colorectal chemo creates severe neuropathy in relation to anything not 98 degrees fahrenheit), a new fridge (because the old one leaked some liquid substance on all the contents of her refrigerator), a new stove (because the old one would suddenly turn on high and not turn off), a new TV (because hers broke and she and her kids were secluded due to her medical condition and Covid), food, personal care items, and physical and mental health therapy.

In addition to the upcoming anniversary of her four year freedom from the House that Abuse Built, she is now advocating and trying to raise awareness to the ins and (more difficult) outs of domestic violence and colorectal diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. She still works from home due to the effects of the surgery on her body with frequent digestive inflammation and colorectal spasms.

But she has survived! She is almost two years cancer free. Because she is still facing a legal uphill battle to save her home, she has decided to use her voice to advocate for herself, her children, and other victims of colorectal care and domestic abuse. She will be doing this in the form of two separate podcasts and a number of creative endeavors.

She's been silent about her abuse as it has continued despite her attempts to leave and free herself because the burden of being public about this while undergoing cancer treatments was too much for her to hold in one breath. She raises her voice today for her continued freedom, the healing of her family from these unfortunate experiences, and the need for victims of domestic violence to know they are not alone and that their experiences are not "crazy" -- nor are they for trying to be heard and validated as full-fledged human beings with human rights to dignity and self-protection.

If you are able to contribute financially, please do! If not, consider offering help to this beautiful family by doing one simple thing -- sharing this link to continue to share Tori's story as it is written.

Her cashapp is $objectsagainstdv

The financial burden is going to be tremendous for Tori as a single mom, and so these are some ideas of how to help this family beyond monetary donations:

- meals (https://mealtrain.com/z0kqge)

- grocery shopping

- running errands

- offering to drive Tori to and from treatments

- home cleaning

- lawn care/gardening

- offering to do laundry

- care packages for Tori or kids

- offer services of your own specialization to help the family

- writing or reaching out to Tori to let her know you care

- prayers, healing energy, etc.

Thank you so much,

Tori's and Tori'sCommunity (Debbie, Jennifer, Nicole, Martine, Neema, Erica, Dani, Holly, Lauren, Stacy, Susie, Kim, Lisa, Sandra, Chris.)