Help Doris Move Forward - Cancer still SUCKS!!

We are so grateful for all the support and truly appreciate you reading our story and considering a donation!! Start from bottom of page if this is your first time reading Doris's story...

Kind regards,

Rebbecca ‘her big sis’

Update (3) 3/30/2025:

The winter weather is beginning to wear on Doris, as the gloomy days and cold is very difficult for her. She is clinically blind at this point with very slow improvement with her vision. We did get a second opinion on the eyes and confirmed the diagnosis of water behind the eyes and not sure of the cause. We have found with a very high level magnifying glass she can read her phone, bills and bible. So because of all this she has to fully rely on support to do any daily activities outside her home for safety reasons. Speaking of support, her amazing niece chaperoned a recent visit to California. Doris was a trooper in every way, she kept up on all the fun activities, even though she had to explore them through all her senses without vision. She enjoyed the warm weather and loved getting away from the snow and cold. We are hoping she can do another exploration trip soon…

Other things going on are her low iron levels, neutropenia (chemotherapy induced low white blood counts) and multiple UTIs that have kept her from getting chemotherapy treatments. She has officially lost all her hair and has gotten some fun wigs, but doesn’t use them so much because she looks great without hair. The hair is already starting to grow back a bit and is coming darker and wavy.

Update on our Dad as well, who had pneumonia recently and has left him with a constant cough that is very triggering with his COPD. He is also hoping for spring and warm weather soon so he can get outside more and enjoy the sunshine.

In summary, Doris now lives alone and we are looking to get her some in-home care a few times a week because of her eyesight. For simple things like, cleaning out the expired food, some routine cleaning and general safety. This will be an expensive support but truly needed to assure the family that she is ok. We are all hoping her vision will return soon, as the doctors say this will take time. It has been almost six months now and Doris remains so patient and calm about her vision. She said there is some reason why this is happening and has accepted that this is out of her control.

We as a family continue to support Doris (and our Dad) as much as we can and your GoFundMe contributions make it all a little bit easier. She loves exploring and doing the simple things, and we love to give that to her. Keep her in your prayers, as she deserves the best we can all give her.

Tons of thanks from our family for any support and truly appreciate your consideration!!

Kind regards,

Rebbecca ‘her big sis’

Update (2) 1/21/25:

Wow, it’s been over a month since we updated everyone. The most important news to share with all of you is that Doris is responding to the chemotherapy and showed a decreased size in two lymph nodes from her last scans. I think this is truly the first good news she has gotten since diagnosis.

Doris enjoyed the holidays with her family and got lots of well deserved rest. From our last update she was not able to get the injections in her eyes due to uncertainty of the cause and risks from the procedure, so she has only been at 20% vision since. When she went to the doctor last week they started her on another steroid to bring down the water swelling behind the eyes. And come to find out today, the steroids were making it worse. She struggles to do daily tasks which is highly frustrating, but remains positive because they say it will subside over time. It feels like she has lost another month (now two months) of time with no improvement in her vision.

We were also able to get her to a second opinion visit in Madison, WI and it was a validating appointment. They confirmed her diagnosis of stage 4 gallbladder cancer, the treatment plan she has received thus far has been appropriate and that there are other chemotherapies available when this one she is on stops working. And fortunately there are also a couple clinical trials she can participate in if she is strong enough to do so.

The GoFundMe donations were so helpful in getting her to Madison so her family could further understand her cancer and treatment plan. We were also lucky to find a small inexpensive exercise bike to keep her moving. The doctors want her to be moving 50% of the time she is awake, which can be difficult some days. We are now just looking for ways to make her life a bit easier and things more accessible for her, especially on post-chemotherapy days. The weather in WI (-20 degrees) is not helping with motivation and being outside, but she is a trooper and doing what she can each day.

Thank you again for all your donations!! The donations will continue to support Doris's well-being, medical bills and living expenses since she is unable to work or drive.

Update (1) 12/9/24:

Since we started this GoFundMe it has been amazing and has helped Doris pay bills, fill her gas tank to get to appointments and buy medications her insurance does not cover. She wanted me to share how truly grateful she is for all the kindness that has been given to her and her girls.

When I left Wisconsin last month Doris was still in a lot of unexplained pain. We thought it was from the water weight and would soon subside, but then she started to miss much needed appointments due to the pain. Her daughter decided to take her to the ER because we couldn't see her in this pain any longer, "enough was enough"! She was hospitalized and they did some scans to try and determine the source of the pain. The pain was coming from the cancer which has spread as masses in the lymph nodes and the pancreas. This was very upsetting and a call for action to start chemotherapy immediately. Due to this urgency she received her first treatment via IV and two days later she had her long term port inserted. Thankfully they have gotten the pain under control with routine fentanyl patches, but there is still the issue of her vision. The water weight she gained had caused fluid to enter behind the eyes. She needs a magnifying glass to do most of her daily tasks and you can imagine the frustration. They will be doing injections for both eyes on December 16th and this should hopefully start to reverse the vision problems - thank goodness some good news!!

With all that is happening and how fast it is happening, Doris remains strong and determined to fight. On our phone call today she mentioned her biggest fear right now is restoring muscle in her legs so she can remain active. She is very thin from the malnourishment caused from the first chemo's side effects. With winter there are risk factors of her falling and therefore she needs to start working on some routine exercises. We will be looking to use money from the GoFundMe to purchase a used one for her. Another way we are trying to keep her positive and feeling good about herself!

Lastly, Doris is determined to get a second opinion on her diagnosis. It makes sense in what seems like a hopeless situation at times, that we are clear and fully understand all her options. We hope to raise funds for her to go to Madison, WI so her and her girls can get the answers they are looking for.

We appreciate all the support and kindness for Doris. She is such a giver in life and truly deserves it!

Initial Story 11/26/24:

First, who is my sister….. My sister is one of the strongest people I know and she is very generous in that she would give you her last dollar if you needed it. She has always been creative and does the most amazing DIY projects. She is the proud mother of two beautiful girls with one still at home with her. Doris is very sentimental and strives for closeness with her entire family. She has been a strong advocate for our Dad who is dealing with an aggressive cancer that started from bladder cancer in 2020 and has now spread to where he is receiving palliative care.

About four years ago, Doris’s family was struck with the unexpected loss of the girl's father due to health issues. Since then it has been a slow journey of learning how to live without him in their lives. And now... they are fighting for Doris’s health.

In June of this year my sister had severe stomach pain and went to the doctor where they took her into immediate surgery to remove her gallbladder. At this point, it never crossed her mind that there would be more to come from that. About a week later it was confirmed there was cancer in the gallbladder and had spread to the lymph nodes. She started a pill form chemotherapy in early fall with a successful first cycle. Just before the next cycle side effects kicked in and was hospitalized again with severe malnutrition and a blood pressure of 60/50. It took over a month to stabilize her and allow her to go home. During this whole time she is not able to receive chemotherapy.

She had her first oncology appointment since being hospitalized and the news was heartbreaking... It was confirmed from a CT scan that the cancer has spread to a point where it is unlikely curable.

Our family is devastated and has never done anything like GoFundMe before, but we are determined to make Doris’s quality of life the best it can be. Our goal is to make her days easier and take the medical burden off of her plate so she can enjoy the holiday season and life through chemotherapy. We are going to start this with family and friends, but hope that when you receive this that you send this to everyone that you know to find all the kindness and support we can for Doris and her girls!

Doris is only 48 years young and she deserves to be stress and pain-free so she can continue her chemotherapy so we can have as much time as possible with her.

Kind regards,

Rebbecca ‘her big sis’