Help Join Her Fight

My brother and I have decided to establish this GoFundMe account for my mother to help her with the astronomical medical expenses she will need to endure over the next few months and the past expenses that she is still struggling to pay everyday.  Her battle has always been handled by our family very privately but throughout her battle it has become quite apparent that there are many people who love, support and pray for her.  Our mom raised us as a single parent and gave us the most blessed life we could have asked for.  She struggled to send us to Catholic school, take us on vacations and give us all the things we needed.  As a parent myself now, I see the sacrifices she must have made and I only wish we could help her the way she has always helped us.  The burden of bills, debt collectors and the everyday necessities is not something we want her to have to even think about so this is why we came up with this idea.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the love, support and prayers.

Please read our mom's story in her own words:

Sixteen years ago I had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute leukemia. Somehow, with the grace of God, and chemo, radiation and a bone marrow transplant, I survived. The cancer went into remission and I was fine until 2005, when I started getting pre-cancerous lesions on the inside of my mouth. Each time the doctor discovered a lesion, I had to have it removed. From 2005 to 2012 I had 20 of these lesions removed. The last one was removed in June, 2013.  This time the doctor discovered that I had a tumor on the right side of my tongue. It was positive for cancer. I had surgery to remove the tumor, but unfortunately a part of my tongue was removed also. I went for radiation so the cancer wouldn't spread. I had a feeding tube for months and I still have trouble swallowing, eating and talking.  After the radiation treatments were completed, a year later the cancer has returned on the left side of my tongue and has gone into the lymph nodes on both sides of my neck. After speaking to several doctors yesterday, it was determined that the only way to get rid of the cancer is surgery. Both chemo and radiation would be ineffective and possibly fatal at this point. They will remove the tumor and reconstruct my tongue. The doctor will do his best to save some of the tongue, but if he can't they will still reconstruct, but life as I know it will never be the same.  I pray to God for strength and hope and I leave it in his hands now.  Thank you.