Amy's Cancer Treatment and IVF
Donation protected
Welcome to Amy's GoFundMe page! My younger sister Amy (Copans) Brown was recently diagnosed with a rare blood cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma) and since we have received an overwhelming amount of heartfelt messages from people asking how they can help, I decided to start this page for her to help ease the financial burdens that this process will put on her and her husband Dale. Amy's treatment will include chemotherapy, which started this week on 8/18/20 (and possibly radiation and immunotherapy). Her current plan with her medical providers is to have chemo through the end of the year and then assess the prognosis at that point.
She has been dealt a tough hand - as a 27-year old woman, chemo can destroy your reproductive cells, so if you hope to have children one day than IVF/egg freezing is essential to freeze the eggs until post-chemotherapy/radiation. While much of her medical costs around cancer/chemo are covered by insurance, IVF/egg freezing is not. Her and Dale had no prior plans around any kind of fertility treatments and have now been thrust into tens of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket in hopes to have a family one day.
I know Amy wouldn't like me telling stories about her but everyone who knows her knows how compassionate and inclusive she is. She is a lover of all people (and animals) regardless of background or circumstance. In high school, Amy befriended the school janitor, a man with special needs who many of us that went to Madison HS saw many times and may have never said hello to. She offered to help tutor him and then despite graduating in 2011 and moving to Florida and now Utah, has made sure to maintain that friendship, speaking to him on the phone weekly (as recently as yesterday). She is an incredible example of caring for those who feel left out or need love, and this is a great opportunity for us to show our love and support in return.
I and other family and friends have helped Amy over these last few weeks to prepare for what lies ahead and create a plan around health insurance, locating in-network providers, billing, organizing documents/files, and more, but in assessing the financial impact these unplanned events will have we are creating this page to raise money exclusively for:
· In-network bills related to cancer and chemo as she works toward her OOP Max in 2020 and 2021 and also any unexpected out-of-network expenses (such as the $2000 out-of-network biopsy lab bill already received)
· Coverage of the out-of-pocket IVF/egg freezing process
· Lost income - Amy is a self-employed photographer who due to the frequency and effects of treatment will be unable to take on new out-of-state business. She has worked extremely hard to build her business over the last 2 years and makes her living shooting weddings, which between cancellations due to COVID and her new inability to travel heavily impacts everything she has worked toward. She also planned on updating her camera and equipment with her profits from this year's weddings before everything went all 2020 on us
· Food/comfort for her post-treatment recovery days at home
Thank you very much, and if you have questions or have other ways you would like to help please contact me directly.
In Amy's words, she's excited to kick cancer’s stupid pancake booty!
Feel free to read Amy's Facebook post about her story and what this year has been like for her here: https://www.facebook.com/amyblaire.copans/posts/10158836971187533
She has been dealt a tough hand - as a 27-year old woman, chemo can destroy your reproductive cells, so if you hope to have children one day than IVF/egg freezing is essential to freeze the eggs until post-chemotherapy/radiation. While much of her medical costs around cancer/chemo are covered by insurance, IVF/egg freezing is not. Her and Dale had no prior plans around any kind of fertility treatments and have now been thrust into tens of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket in hopes to have a family one day.
I know Amy wouldn't like me telling stories about her but everyone who knows her knows how compassionate and inclusive she is. She is a lover of all people (and animals) regardless of background or circumstance. In high school, Amy befriended the school janitor, a man with special needs who many of us that went to Madison HS saw many times and may have never said hello to. She offered to help tutor him and then despite graduating in 2011 and moving to Florida and now Utah, has made sure to maintain that friendship, speaking to him on the phone weekly (as recently as yesterday). She is an incredible example of caring for those who feel left out or need love, and this is a great opportunity for us to show our love and support in return.
I and other family and friends have helped Amy over these last few weeks to prepare for what lies ahead and create a plan around health insurance, locating in-network providers, billing, organizing documents/files, and more, but in assessing the financial impact these unplanned events will have we are creating this page to raise money exclusively for:
· In-network bills related to cancer and chemo as she works toward her OOP Max in 2020 and 2021 and also any unexpected out-of-network expenses (such as the $2000 out-of-network biopsy lab bill already received)
· Coverage of the out-of-pocket IVF/egg freezing process
· Lost income - Amy is a self-employed photographer who due to the frequency and effects of treatment will be unable to take on new out-of-state business. She has worked extremely hard to build her business over the last 2 years and makes her living shooting weddings, which between cancellations due to COVID and her new inability to travel heavily impacts everything she has worked toward. She also planned on updating her camera and equipment with her profits from this year's weddings before everything went all 2020 on us
· Food/comfort for her post-treatment recovery days at home
Thank you very much, and if you have questions or have other ways you would like to help please contact me directly.
In Amy's words, she's excited to kick cancer’s stupid pancake booty!
Feel free to read Amy's Facebook post about her story and what this year has been like for her here: https://www.facebook.com/amyblaire.copans/posts/10158836971187533
Organizer and beneficiary
Roy Copans
Organizer
Provo, UT
Amelia Brown
Beneficiary
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