Fighting Ovarian Cancer and Fertility Loss

Hello, my name is Kat Bighinatti. If you don't know alot about me, I love going to metal and rock concerts, traveling, camping, and trying to find the best cup of coffee or taco in which ever city I am in. I also have two cats, Salem and Merlin that you can see in the banner!

This starts in October of 2021 when I woke up at 6am to the most intense pain in my abdomen and driving to the ER. A CT scan showed both of my ovaries were covered in cysts, and most likely one had burst. Within a week I was sent to an OBGYN and had an Ultrasound that confirmed multiple cysts, including a 7cm cyst that did not look normal. A blood test for my tumor markers confirmed that these cysts were not benign and I was sent to see an Oncologist. From there is was a fast process where I had my right ovary removed along with the 7cm cyst. They also removed any cysts that weren't directly attached to my remaining ovary.

After that I was on watch, every 6 months I had to have a CT scan, and blood tests. I then moved to Louisville KY for a job opportunity, and needed to find all new doctors. Unfortunately, by the time I had found an OBGYN, their wait time was 5 months out. Within that time period I started having issues, tired, weight loss, hair falling out, bloating and pain. When they finally got me in and did an ultrasound, they found another cyst on my remaining ovary that did not look benign. My Tumor Markers are twice as high as my previous fight with this and I ended up having debilitating panic attacks at the thought of fighting cancer again.

My new Oncologist did not want to take out my remaining ovary without me going through fertility treatment and attempting to save my eggs in hopes I could carry my own children in the future. I have been quoted the cost of the medications for fertility and they are between $4000 and $7000, and $2500 for the actual procedure and first year of storage of the eggs. These costs are for the Fertility side, and not for the actual Ovary Removal.

My surgery has been set for November 21st, at 9:30AM. I will be in the hospital for a day or two as the incision will have to be much larger than last time. My recovery time has been estimated to be 4-8 weeks with no driving for at least 2 weeks and limited mobility for a majority of recovery period.

The funds I am asking for will help cover the fertility medications leading up to my surgery, the procedure it self, and any groceries, pet supplies, bills, etc that will be harder to make while I am on leave from work.

I appreciate any donations, kind words, thoughts and prayers. Thank you.