Help Joanna Find Strength and Hope in Her Cancer Battle

Dearest friends, family, and kind strangers,

We are reaching out in a moment we never expected to face. This isn’t easy to ask, and we never imagined we would be the ones writing something like this. We all hear of life-changing hardships, quietly counting our blessings and being grateful they aren’t happening to us – until, one day, they are.

Joanna is our mother, biggest supporter, and best friend. She’s the warm, funny person who brings people together with her light-hearted jokes, silly dancing, and made-up songs. She raised four children (mostly as a single mother) and always put our needs first. Joanna loves the outdoors, 80’s music, reading, and spending time with her children and seven (soon to be eight) grandchildren.

At 60 years old, after ensuring we were settled, she finally made a decision for herself and moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to nature. Tragically, just two days after arriving, she noticed a lump on her neck. What began as a check-in with telemedicine led to urgent care, then the ER, and finally to a diagnosis that shook us all: lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes.

In the few weeks since her diagnosis, time has seemed like a blur and Joanna has faced one challenge after another. A blood clot extending from her neck to her arm, an emergency procedure to remove a clot near her heart, countless MRIs, CTs, PET scans, and biopsies—all unimaginable for a woman who’s only ever been in a hospital to give birth.

We’re still waiting on more tests to start treatment, and we are bracing ourselves for the long road ahead. Alongside the emotional toll, there’s also the stress of how Joanna, who still works full-time at TSA, will manage financially if she can’t work.

It is never easy to ask for help and certainly difficult to imagine burdening anyone else with the sadness in our story. But our love for Joanna and her hope and resilience are the light in this story and drive us to reach out. If you are able to contribute, we would be forever grateful. And if a donation isn’t possible, words of hope, kindness, or an inspiring story would mean the world to us.

With our deepest gratitude,

Anna, Penelope, Miranda, and Christopher - the children of Joanna Costello