Fight like a Girl
Donation protected
Imagine being 24 years old. You just finished 2 grueling years of medical school, and you are about sit for the most important exam of your life --your 1st medical licensing exam. At this moment, the pressure is on and you are praying that all these long days of studying are going to pay off, but then, 1 week before you're about to take this exam, you're diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
This is exactly what happened to my friend, Gina Gilderman a few weeks ago. She found a lump in her right breast, had it checked out in early June that was found the be "strongly suspicious for malignancy". After talking to her relative, who worked for a breast cancer clinic back home in Minnesota for several years, she decided to go home to have the mass biopsied which came back as triple positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Since Gina did not have insurance that covered this clinic, she is stuck paying outrageous out-of-network costs – just the first of many thousands and thousands that her, her family, and boyfriend will be covering for the next foreseeable months.
Over the last few weeks, Gina moved out of state to Texas with the plan to start her third-year rotations. With this move, she had a change of health insurance, so she met with her in-network oncologist and surgeon who would be taking care of her. It seemed like things were finally falling into place, but after the first meeting with her oncologist, Gina found out that very few things would be covered in her network on her insurance. For starters, her chemotherapy medications would not be included. She then learned that her surgeon, who specializes in breast cancer, is actually NOT in-network and she would have to pay for all these things out pocket up-front.
Over the next few months, Gina will be undergoing several weeks of chemo prior to even having the surgery to remove the mass. The surgery will then be followed by more chemotherapy and radiation treatments for several weeks – maybe months - following the procedure. This is going cost 10's of thousands of dollars out of their pockets, as most of this isn't covered by her insurance at all.
Gina is one of the most selfless, caring, and hardworking people I have ever met. She finished her second year at the top of our class, and finished boards despite receiving her cancer diagnosis. She has spent the bulk of her free time during medical school volunteering in the community, collecting PPE for our healthcare workers during the pandemic, and serving as a mentor to high school students who want to pursue a career in medicine. In the time that I have come to know Gina, she has never hesitated to drop whatever she's doing to help another person. She has a heart of gold and she's an amazing friend. She will touch many peoples' lives as a future physician because of the type of person she is.
This is why I am creating this fundraiser for her. Gina and her family have a long road ahead of them, and my hope is that we can help ease one of the many burdens they are going to experience. I thank you so much for your time in reading this and for your generosity. Please feel free to share this page with your family, friends, and social media accounts. Everything is greatly appreciated!
This is exactly what happened to my friend, Gina Gilderman a few weeks ago. She found a lump in her right breast, had it checked out in early June that was found the be "strongly suspicious for malignancy". After talking to her relative, who worked for a breast cancer clinic back home in Minnesota for several years, she decided to go home to have the mass biopsied which came back as triple positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Since Gina did not have insurance that covered this clinic, she is stuck paying outrageous out-of-network costs – just the first of many thousands and thousands that her, her family, and boyfriend will be covering for the next foreseeable months.
Over the last few weeks, Gina moved out of state to Texas with the plan to start her third-year rotations. With this move, she had a change of health insurance, so she met with her in-network oncologist and surgeon who would be taking care of her. It seemed like things were finally falling into place, but after the first meeting with her oncologist, Gina found out that very few things would be covered in her network on her insurance. For starters, her chemotherapy medications would not be included. She then learned that her surgeon, who specializes in breast cancer, is actually NOT in-network and she would have to pay for all these things out pocket up-front.
Over the next few months, Gina will be undergoing several weeks of chemo prior to even having the surgery to remove the mass. The surgery will then be followed by more chemotherapy and radiation treatments for several weeks – maybe months - following the procedure. This is going cost 10's of thousands of dollars out of their pockets, as most of this isn't covered by her insurance at all.
Gina is one of the most selfless, caring, and hardworking people I have ever met. She finished her second year at the top of our class, and finished boards despite receiving her cancer diagnosis. She has spent the bulk of her free time during medical school volunteering in the community, collecting PPE for our healthcare workers during the pandemic, and serving as a mentor to high school students who want to pursue a career in medicine. In the time that I have come to know Gina, she has never hesitated to drop whatever she's doing to help another person. She has a heart of gold and she's an amazing friend. She will touch many peoples' lives as a future physician because of the type of person she is.
This is why I am creating this fundraiser for her. Gina and her family have a long road ahead of them, and my hope is that we can help ease one of the many burdens they are going to experience. I thank you so much for your time in reading this and for your generosity. Please feel free to share this page with your family, friends, and social media accounts. Everything is greatly appreciated!
Organizer and beneficiary
Courtney Cyr
Organizer
Las Cruces, NM
Gina Gilderman
Beneficiary