My name is Amber. I am a 44-year-old wife and momma to a beautiful 13-year-old boy. I have been fighting Stage 4 colorectal cancer for the last 8 years. In September of 2025, I started what I was told would be my last chemotherapy option for my type of cancer, likely working only a few years. My cancer was found in 2018 in my colon, liver, and left lung, and over the years it spread to my lymph nodes, right ovary, and most recently, I have two tumors and a fractured vertebra in my spine. Over the next several months, from September through the present day, we are learning through biweekly blood tests that the chemotherapy is working and the tumors are shrinking significantly, especially in the liver. Because of the tumors in my back, I am unable to work out in the field due to very limited mobility as one of the tumors is sitting on my sciatic nerve, causing my right leg to become very weak, painful, and almost immobile. I am unable to stand for more than 15 minutes at a time, if even that, and have not slept in my own bed in over 6 months.

I am looking into a second opinion at Cleveland Clinic as they have their own team of medical professionals who specialize in working with and on tumors on the spine. The first step for that to happen is for me to register and get into contact with a case manager, and then they will collect all of my medical information and match me with a physician who specializes in my kind of cancer and who will then provide a report of how they can hopefully help me. That initial cost is anywhere between $1,000-$2,000 depending on if I can have a virtual visit with the physician. My goal is to raise the initial $1,000 to cover the cost, and anything extra will be set aside for travel costs for when it is time to make the trip to the Clinic in person. This second opinion is not covered by insurance, nor can I attempt to bill Medicare for it. I have to 100% cover this cost out of pocket and with now being a single-income household, this cost is going to be very difficult and that is why I am asking for help.

When I am not down on the couch from being in so much pain, I really enjoy watching my son and husband bowl, spending time on the family farm with my horse and garden during the summer months, and really just being out in nature as I can be. I may not be as strong as I once was, but I am not giving up! I have the best boy to watch grow up and I want to be here as long as I can be to see that happen. Thank you for reading.