My close friends and family know I amfiercely private and proud. To ask for help just isn’t my nature and even with the smallest task, it’s hard for me.

On November 28th (the same date as the 12th anniversary of my husband’s death) I was diagnosed with high-stage 2, low-stage 3 colon cancer. My medical team in Tupelo really let me down by postponing surgery for 6 months and changing “the plan”. They did not make me feel in any way that my treatment or saving my life was in any way urgent. This prompted me to explore my options. I have wanted to live in Arizona or New Mexico since I was a teen. The University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson looked amazing, so I sold my home of 20 years and moved to Arizona. I am about a one-hour drive from the Cancer Center. All of my cancer doctors are located at the center. When my insurance made the switch to Arizona and I made contact with the Oncology Surgeon, they moved so fast they made my head spin. We moved in May, 2023 and I had major surgery in June! They removed the majority of my colon and gave me a permanent colostomy which has in turn caused a huge hernia that will require another major surgery.

Needless to say, these expenses have piled up and created major financial hardships. Daily living expenses, food, utilities, housing, and even the gas to get to the cancer center are a burden. It is difficult for me to ask for any kind of help but I crossed that line.. Absolutely any donation is helpful at this time and a huge blessing.