Dawn's Cancer Removal Surgery
On behalf of two of my closest friends, I have taken the initiative to
start a Go Fund Me page for Dawn Phillips who was recently diagnosed with a GYN cancer (cervical vs endometrial- still undergoing specific
testing) on 7/27/2018. She has too much pride to ask for a helping
hand, but I know any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
As a medical provider myself, I hate to think that this all could have
been prevented had she not been traumatized during her first well
woman gynecological examination. What happened, happened, but
that led to avoidance of screening which could have potentially caught abnormal cells prior to the transformation to cancer.
Dawn and my best friend Kristine recently got married. It took them
many years to finally get together even though Dawn was chasing
Kristine hard. Kristine was often playing hard to get, but in this year of 2018 they celebrated their first anniversary and are more in love with
each other with every day that passes. Kristine gave birth to her
daughter in 2010 and Dawn has scooped up Harmony with loving arms and has quickly taken on her 'stepmom' roll full force and the bond they have is priceless.
When I got that unsuspecting call recently that one of the dearest
people to me has CANCER, it took me back. Many thoughts and
questions quickly ran through my head as well as worry and a heavy
heart. I did not sleep well that night for I could not get their family,
primarily Dawn, off my mind. I went searching on the internet for
information on this uncommon/highly aggressive type of cancer in
hopes that I would read some reassuring data. Unfortunately, I did not. Myself and another close friend in our group texted for a while about
how we wished we could do so much more than just give condolences, keep positive thoughts, and pray. I eventually fell asleep, but when I
awoke the next day the news was the first thing that came to mind.
Since the diagnosis date, she has since had an US to check for other
gynecological organs that could potentially be involved. As well, today, 8/14/2018, she met with her new Oncologist.
Her oncologist mentioned the need for CT scan to check more
thoroughly for evidence of cancer spread and has scheduled her for
hysterectomy on September 13, 2018. However, the payment to have
the surgery even with her insurance is a whopping $6500!!! This just
blows my mind. This is a life threatening/emergent diagnosis and all the insurance cares about is the bottom $.
From time to time, Dawn and Kristine have struggled with money due
to losing jobs and other unfortunate circumstances. They are currently working towards brighter futures through education and saving by
living with family. They have future goals of a house of their own and
adding to their family. This has been a major setback and I would like to be able to help in anyway possible, but I cannot afford $6500 or I
would.
So, I have decided to ask for some help from friends and family for
them. ANYTHING helps, even $5. If you cannot afford something to
donate, PLEASE SHARE this campaign.
She has under a MONTH until the MEDICALLY NECESSARY
SURGERY.
Once the surgery is complete she will miss minimally 3 weeks from her new job (she has not been there for >1 year so does not qualify for
FMLA). They are being understanding, but there is always the fear that this could impact her current placement, which has been a blessing.
Once the organs are further examined post removal, there could still be the needed CHEMO/RADIATION which who knows have that will be a financial burden.
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SOME WORDS FROM DAWN'S WIFE KRISTINE:
My wife, Dawn and I have been married or a little over a year now and we have an amazing 8-year-old daughter. She is the light of our lives.
About 2 weeks ago, Dawn was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer and now we are facing some struggling times.
As a back story. Dawn and I met 10 years ago when working at Pizza
Hut together. She has loved me since the beginning, but for me it took a little bit longer. We were friends, and hung out all the time, but that is
all I wanted at the time. Fast Forward to 2015, Dawn was separating
from her wife and I was a lot more open to the possibilities of love. I
decided that I was finally ready to give it a try. Throughout the last
couple of years, we have dealt with death of loved ones, job losses, and many other financial struggles. But now, we are facing the biggest one
yet. Cancer.
Dawn is an amazing woman, and honestly, I don’t know what I would do without her. She is the light that keeps burning for me. She has brought me back from some dark places. She is only 34 years old and has faced
so much evil in her life, up to this point. We dream of owning a house
and having a baby together within’ the next few years and now we have the fear of if these dreams will ever become a reality. If Dawn will ever get to see our daughter go to high school, go to homecoming and prom, graduate, go to college, get married, and have children of her own. She
is facing the fear of missing every important moment of our lives.
While she has insurance the amount that it will cost our family is
detrimental. Today we found out that she has a good chance of beating this thing, but she must undergo surgery that will have her out of work for at least 3 weeks possibly more. Until that surgery we will not know
if Chemotherapy and/or Radiation are going to be needed. If it is we are facing even more time out of work and more money for treatments.
As we struggle to make it through this life, we pray to god that we are
strong enough to get through this time, but we aren’t sure if we are
going to be able to do it alone. They say that it takes a village to raise a
child. It also takes a village to help and amazing woman through Cancer.
If you can help financially, that would be the most amazing blessing in
the world. If not, a prayer for my amazing wife would be a fantastic
blessing as well.
I know that she will beat this beast, if she has her tribe behind her.
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So, again, I ask that you donate whatever you can at this time, DO NOT BREAK YOUR BANK! ANYTHING is APPRECIATED!
PLEASE SPREAD THIS CAMPAIGN.
