Attention: This fundraiser is for US friends and family. The money will be collected in US dollars. Friends of Gina’s in Europe who want to help, please reach out to Gina directly.

Many of you know and many of you do not - so let's just start with the basic information:

In mid-May, Gina Billy received two pieces of “out of the blue bad news.” First, Gina was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, Stage 3B. A week later, her (private) insurance company informed Gina that contrary to what she’d been told, her policy did not cover cancer treatments. She and her husband* would have to pay for the life-saving treatments she needed themselves. And that is what they decided to do.

Gina began an aggressive three-phase course of chemo and radiation therapy. Phases one and two are taking place in Heraklion on Crete, with phase 2 set to end on October 2nd. Two days later, Gina and her husband will travel to Athens where phase three of her treatment (Brachytherapy) is to be given. For those who do not know, Gina is a US citizen who lives in Europe with her husband (a German citizen who resides full-time on Crete).

Cancer treatment is fortunately less expensive in Greece than it is in the United States. Yet it is still a hefty amount of money – and meanwhile, the original estimate Gina received for the total therapy costs has doubled from EUR 11,000 ($12,889 in US dollars**) to EUR 20,000 ($23,435 in US dollars).

In detail, Gina's 12 prescribed chemotherapy treatments cost on average EUR 447 ($525 in US dollars) each. The 28 intensity-modulated radiation therapy sessions’ average cost is EUR 155 each ($182 in US dollars). Gina is waiting on the cost estimate for the four Brachytherapy sessions. She expects it will range between EUR 5,000 ($5,858 in US dollars) and EUR 10,000 ($11,716 in US dollars). Gina’s oncologist and radiologist have both strongly recommended that she undergo Brachytherapy. When given following the chemo and external beam radiation therapies, this (internal) radiation treatment significantly improves chances of long-term survival.

Of course, there are additional expenses for medications (e.g., white blood cell “booster shots,” and to help limit side effects such as nausea, pain, etc.), diagnostics, doctor consultations, and travel to and from Heraklion (circa 2.5-hour drive per round trip) and soon, the very long Athens stay. On Crete, Gina has a wonderful tribe of local friends who help transport her to and from treatments (or as Gina puts it “take me on road trips to radio and/or chemo.”) This is a huge help as it allows Gina's husband to continue his work as a self-employed carpenter, constructor, and “general handyman.” At the moment, Gina is not able to supplement her early-retirement benefits as planned through freelance translation, academic editing, writing “easy-English” short stories and books, and ESFL teaching.

So, that's why we are here. I have somehow convinced Gina and her husband to let us help them – just like the two of them always try and help other people when they can. Now is not the time for them to worry about how it may look or feel to ask for help. We all have times when we need a little help from our friends. This is one of those times for these dear friends. Please consider donating to help them pay for Gina's treatments, medications, travel expenses, etc., to fight this battle against cancer and save Gina's life.

No donation amount is too small. You can see that several people making a small donation would create enough money to cover one or more of Gina's treatments! How wonderful it would be to relieve that burden for her right now!

In true Gina form, she is optimistic and enthusiastic about her recovery. She's keeping the very best attitude and is extremely grateful for the friends helping her during this time. It's a little too late to save her fabulous hair, but I've assured her we will all love and adore her just the same. She is carrying the new look fabulously and still has that gorgeous smile and wonderful sense of humor.

I will post updates to this page as Gina completes phases of her treatment, and you can always reach out to me via Facebook Messenger if you need more information or want to check in on Gina. I will collect these donated funds in my US bank account and transfer the funds to Gina’s German bank account on a regular basis. I will keep you posted on the donation totals (GFM does this, too) and will let you know if needs change or if we should adjust our goals.

* Gina’s husband is meanwhile also a dear friend and an amazing guy who also happens to be “internet shy.” Hence, Gina asked me to not use his name here.

**The USD amounts obtained via an online currency converter on Sept. 7, 2025 – and are provided here as a ballpark reference only.