Help Katie Tocci Kick Cancer's Butt

To our family, friends, friends-of-friends, and to those kind strangers who this reaches -

We are Rachael Clanin (sister) and Bernadette Schuster (friend), we’re making this on behalf of Kathryn (Katie) Tocci, who earlier this year was diagnosed with stage IV Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the lung. This diagnosis came after 3 separate hospital stays and many doctor’s appointments before her final diagnosis in January of 2021.

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Katie’s diagnosis process was especially tricky. She’d been seeing her doctor for over a year complaining of a cough and various other symptoms. She was told it was Acid Reflux, then allergies, she felt she was going unheard. In July 2020 she contracted Covid and afterward her cough started progressively getting worse so her doctor sent her to an Asthma/Allergy specialist who kept giving her ineffective and expensive inhalers. One of these inhalers caused lung inflammation which sent her to the E.R. that was when doctor’s first saw her lungs and were extremely concerned. They diagnosed her with Pneumonia and kept her there for a few days. Within a week of being home she had contracted Covid a second time sending her right back into the hospital this is when doctors realized the “Pneumonia” never actually cleared up. On top of that she was now in need of supplemental oxygen because of the Covid. This hospitalization was over a week long as doctors ran numerous tests to figure out what was wrong. It wasn't until they all started coming back negative that they decided to do a Biopsy. January 13th 2021 she was told she had Lung cancer and it’s been a whirlwind of doctors appointments, meds, treatment, and another lengthy hospital stay ever since.

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Katie is someone with a positive outlook on life. She loves to help anyone who is in need and does so without any expectations. If you’ve ever laughed with her, confided in her, asked her for advice, you know this about Katie, and have experienced it first hand. She’s a friend to all who need one.

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At the moment, Katie is receiving aggressive Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy treatments. The treatments appear to be helping clear the cancer according to her last scan. That being said, treatments will be an ongoing thing since she is deemed treatable but not curable. Her medical bills/expenses will be on-going as she continues to receive life-saving treatments and they are unfortunately expensive even with insurance.

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It is with quiet and humble intent that we are asking for donations to help Katie with her ongoing medical bills, so that she is able to stay in this fight and keep receiving these life-saving treatments. We are not able to cure Katie ourselves, but we can help ease her financial burden and the stress that comes with the financial expenses of cancer. We recognize that all of your donations are a gift and a blessing. Even sharing this link on your social media page(s) or with your friends and families will help us reach a wider audience and raise awareness for Katie’s situation and need for our help.

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We will be keeping all of our friends and family updated on Katie’s progress, and treatments moving forward. Thank you so much for reading, donating, sharing, and sending your warmest thoughts to Katie and her family during this tough time. We love you <3