Help Dr. Heidi Gastler fight brain cancer

The short story: In 2020, brain cancer turned Dr. Heidi Gastler’s life upside down. Heidi–who is the owner of her own physical therapy practice in Los Angeles, an avid hiker and powerlifter, dog lover, and caregiver for many–has spent the last two years fighting to regain her health and lifestyle after major brain surgery. Now the cancer is back. These Go Fund Me donations will be used to help Heidi bridge the gap to cover cancer expenses, oncology fertility treatments and travel expenses to and from her care team in San Francisco. Heidi has spent her life caring for and treating others. Now she needs our help.

 

 

The long(er) story–and why this fundraiser is necessary: In the summer of 2020, Heidi was thriving. Her days consisted of running her physical therapy practice, power lifting and crushing 10-20 mile hikes on the weekend. It wasn’t until August that we learned she’d been doing all of that with a tumor the size of a baseball in her brain. Suddenly other things like her diagnosed fertility issues and recurrent foot weakness began to make sense. They were all a product of cancer.

 

 

Three weeks after her diagnosis, she traveled to San Francisco where national experts at UCSF removed her tumor. That surgery bill alone exceeded $250,000. Even with good insurance, financial aid and state disability, her first bout with cancer drained all of her savings. She returned to work part-time after 4 months, determined to support herself despite exhaustion and a severely weakened immune system. She also battled major vision issues that made simple things like reading a text message excruciating.

 

 

 

If you know Heidi, you’re not surprised to hear that she returned to her regular life with vigor. As soon as possible, she was treating patients full time, competing in powerlifting meets, and exploring trails on the weekends.

 

But the tumor came back. Just 15 months after her first surgery, scans showed aggressive regrowth with multiple lesions. On April 12 2022, she was back in San Francisco, ready to be wheeled into surgery again when it was unexpectedly postponed. Preop scans showed her body -- miraculously -- was fighting off some of the tumor on its own. It appears that everything she’s been doing -- severe dietary restrictions, regular exercise, vision therapy, CBD and other naturopathics --has helped. But Heidi’s fight is far from over.

 

Her future is filled with monthly trips to San Francisco for scans, testing and visits with experts to monitor her cancer and decide again if surgery is needed. She also has to undergo fertility treatment to preserve eggs in the event of chemotherapy treatment.

 

 

Heidi had been saving for fertility treatment before her first cancer battle. Those savings went to cover expenses including out-of-pocket medical costs that exceeded $30,000 for the original diagnosis. Now in her second fight, just over a year later, state disability is paying her a whopping $27 a day in aid. Despite her doctor’s advice, she’s returning to work part time seeing physical therapy patients and will work around her own medical appointments. She’s spent her life caring for and treating others, now she needs our help.

 

 

Heidi could be any of us and she has done everything right. She takes great care of her health, works full time, owns her own business, has good health insurance and has applied for aid. But our system has failed her and she’s fallen into a financial gap we all know exists. Let’s help her make brain cancer just a chapter in her story so she can fulfill her dreams of building her business, seeking more adventures and having a family of her own after cancer.

 

 

Go Fund Me donations will be used to help Heidi bridge the gap to cover cancer expenses, oncology fertility treatments and travel expenses to and from her care team in San Francisco.