Bonnie's Cancer Fight Fund

On November 4th my mother’s doctor uttered the terrifying, life-altering word no ailing patient ever wants to hear: cancer. Having already been in and out of the hospital a number of times earlier in the year due to A-fib, it was discovered through routine blood tests her A1c level had skyrocketed.  A1c is the test doctors look at to analyze whether someone is diabetic/pre-diabetic. Though they were disturbed by its sudden onset, her doctors thought her diabetes could be easily managed and she was initially started on a medication called Metformin. After an adverse reaction to this, she was started on insulin. Her care team was surprised when her glucose only decreased by a negligible amount. She endured a few months of feeling a bit more unwell than usual, then there was an abrupt exacerbation of symptoms: nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and most alarming, extreme jaundice. When her color got so bad she looked like a bowl of yellow curry, she finally decided to go to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. Hours of poking and prodding and scanning ensued. Finally, about thirty minutes from the witching hour we were made aware of the evil in our presence. The doctors had discovered a tumor in the head of her pancreas. As the pancreas controls the production of insulin, this tumor was the culprit responsible for the rapid onset of diabetes. Unfortunately, this was not the worst of the news. Blood tests revealed several markers that indicated the tumor was malignant. My mother was officially diagnosed with cancer—pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma to be specific.

The wonderful staff at Banner worked tirelessly to manage her pain, place a stent in her pancreas, and flush the bilirubin out of her system in order to alleviate the jaundice. After a five day stay she was released from the hospital. Her MD Anderson team delineated a plan of care that will start with chemotherapy once every three out of four weeks for three to four months. After chemo a surgery known as the Whipple will be performed to remove the tumor. She will then begin another round of chemotherapy after which her team will determine whether or not a round of radiation is necessary. The doctors have stated this is the protocol that has had the greatest success with this type of cancer. Thus far we’ve met with an endocrinologist who is working to hone in on an insulin regimen to manage the diabetes aspect of the fight and we spent most of Friday at the MD Anderson clinic touring, registering, and lining up appointments. My mom’s first chemo appointment will be Monday 11/19.

So what do we need? There has already been an outpouring of love; many friends and family have done so much, from visits to preparing diabetic friendly meals to simply keeping my mother company so her mind can take a little break. While my mom is facing all of this with the bravery and tenacity of a warrior, it will take more than courage and determination to win this fight. Everything is moving very fast and the treatment will be aggressive. Insurance will indeed cover a small portion, though we are well aware of the high co-pays and the eminent astronomical bills we’ve been told to anticipate for the numerous items insurance does not cover. It’s not how much you give, its how much love you put into what you give! We would be exceptionally grateful for a donation of any amount. If you cannot donate at this time, please keep us in mind and share this page with everyone you know. As many of you who have used GoFundMe before know, they do take 2.9% + $0.30 per donation, so if you’d like to make every penny count and donate via cash, check, or Venmo these are options as well and I will make sure these donations are logged in on this page and count toward this fundraiser’s goal. Thank you so much!

Lots of love <3

Shannon