Help 25yo Teacher Kasey Fight Ovarian Cancer

My name is Erica. My younger sister, Kasey, is a 25 year old second-grade teacher in North Carolina. If you don’t already know Kasey, she has a contagious, positive energy. Wherever she goes, she lights up a room. Despite her current devastating situation, she is still trying to find the positives.

On September 15th, doctors found a very large cyst on Kasey’s ovary. On October 18th, a successful surgery was performed to remove the cyst. On October 26th, Kasey shared the news that she got the pathology report (before her doctor saw it) from the surgery, and the report stated she had Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma…Ovarian Cancer. At 25 years young.

Approaching 4 months since her diagnosis of Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer, it has been a whirlwind like none she has known before. The diagnosis alone is scary enough, but then Kasey learned that she will never be able to carry her own babies, as a hysterectomy is a requirement of her treatment. So she started with an egg retrieval procedure. Then on to the debulking/hysterectomy surgery, removing as much of her cancer as possible, along with her dreams of carrying a child.

Currently recovering from the debulking surgery, after 6 weeks she is still adjusting to her body “waking up” and relearning things from the reconstruction of her internal organs. As she prepares to start her second round of chemotherapy, we are hoping she gets through a full session as she had an allergic reaction to the medicine the first time around. Her treatment plan has 4 more rounds of chemotherapy followed by an aromatase inhibitor. After that, her doctors will see how her body responded to the chemo.

Kasey has learned that this type of cancer has a high recurrence rate, but we are leading with hope and taking it one day at a time. Kasey has been through such a rollercoaster of emotions, non-stop invasive procedures and numerous scary medical appointments, but nothing has ever impressed me as much as her strength and fortitude to just keep tackling the next hurdle in front of her.

While she has been consumed by the emotional and physical demands of her diagnosis and the immediate need for treatment, the financial strain is building. Aside from the cost of the procedures and surgeries, she no longer has any sick days left from work, as she has already had to take extended time off. Incredibly, she has recently started back at school, but anticipates needing more time off in the future due to the side effects from the chemo. To help with the medical expenses, treatments, and time off of work, we set up this GoFundMe with the hope that ANY AMOUNT will help her not have to worry about the financial implications and focus on her healing and fighting for a cure. PLEASE consider supporting her in any way you can; no donation is too small. For Kasey, the battle ahead is long and arduous, but knowing she has a village of people supporting her and helping to cheer her on means more than you will ever know. THANK YOU!