Cancer Surgery Cost for My Mom Renee

Thank you in advance for taking a moment to read about my mom’s story and what my family has gone through the last couple of months. At the beginning of 2023, both of my parents (Jeff and Renee) scheduled their routine and recommended colonoscopies for people their age. My dad’s fortunately went very well, the doctor found no issues, and he was sent on his way. During my mom’s colonoscopy, however, the doctor found a fairly large and concerning polyp that he removed during the procedure. We all waited anxiously while it was sent off for testing, and received the upsetting news that we were dreading about a week later - it was cancerous.

While we were all shocked, scared and overwhelmed with questions, her amazing medical team was hopeful and reassuring, and a plan of action was quickly put into place. She had blood tests and a full body CT scan that were thankfully clean and indicated no sign of spread, so the next step was to schedule surgery to remove a larger section of her colon and multiple lymph nodes to remove any remaining cancerous tissue and send it for testing. She had the surgery in the morning on March 16th after a rescheduling, anxiously waiting for weeks and a grueling preparation the day before. I live in Tampa so I drove down the 4 hours the night before so I could make sure I was there to support her along with my dad and older brother. By the grace of god, the surgery was a success! After hours glued to our waiting room chairs, the surgeon came out to tell us that she did great and everything looked very contained. We were relieved to hear that, and he advised we would get final confirmation of her status after we get the pathology report back. After some uncomfortable issues with her IV in post op, they finally got her a little more stable and admitted to a room. She was able to be discharged within 48 hours to continue to recover at home where she is now, and she is having less and less pain everyday. Unfortunately, my poor parents are also now sick with Covid which they must have gotten from their time in the hospital… they have been through a LOT. Fortunately, we received some wonderful news yesterday March 23rd - my mom’s pathology report came back clean and all colon tissue/lymph nodes were benign! She is now cancer free!!!

While we are extremely relieved at this news, I am making this campaign because my parents will still have to pay a significant out of pocket cost for her hospital visit, even with insurance. Due to some changes in employment and life circumstance the last few months, this unexpected medical cost will place a significant strain on them that I want to try and eliminate. If you are able to donate, it would mean the world to my family so that my mom can just focus on a smooth recovery rather than stressing about paying the bill for her treatment (a burden so many Americans have to navigate in our current healthcare system). Thank you so much in advance. I am eternally grateful for your kindness and support!