Help My Sister Battle Late-Stage Cancer

My name is John Lisi, and my big sister’s name is Jennifer. My sister has never asked for help a day in her life, but this time, she desperately needs it.

At only 36 years old, Jen has endured a myriad of sudden health complications, and recently learned she has late-stage thyroid cancer.

For those who don’t know Jennifer personally, she is the personification of joy and positivity. My sister is the strongest person I know, and a real-life hero. As the older sibling, Jen shouldered the burden of taking care of my elderly parents, who both have dealt with medical complications over the past few years. As the pandemic began in 2020, my father, who had been critically ill for years, ultimately passed away in the early phase of the pandemic. Jennifer was the one who guided us through that dark time, and is the reason our family was able to move forward together.

Jen is fiercely loyal to her family and friends, and has ALWAYS put others before herself. That’s just the kind of person she is. Now, my big sister is the one who needs to be taken care of.

As Jennifer does with all things, she has taken her current tragedy head-on with positivity, grace and relentless strength, always believing in her ability to overcome whatever is in her path.

Your support will help cover expensive at-home medical equipment and medication, which is critical to sustaining her. At this moment, Jen’s quality of life depends on her ability to recover her muscles and strengthen her body so that she can begin treatment for her late-stage thyroid cancer. The out-of-pocket costs associated with this are completely overwhelming, which is why I created this fundraiser. Your contribution will give her a fighting chance to overcome this disease.

More on Jennifer’s story:

The week before Thanksgiving 2022, Jen’s breathing suddenly became so labored that I had to rush her to the emergency room.

Jen was admitted to the hospital with hypoxic respiratory failure. She had a partially collapsed lung, pneumonia, as well as several other severe complications. Jen was quickly put on a ventilator and moved to the ICU.

During a seemingly-endless period under sedation in the ICU on the vent, her doctor called to give us terrifying news: Jen was experiencing severe internal bleeding, and unless they could find the cause, she would most likely die. I will never forget that visit to the hospital with my mother, where we gave what we thought were our final goodbyes.

I broke completely.

Jen, however, is a fighter, and she did something that shocked us all:

She made it through the night.

Without explanation, her bleeding slowed just enough for the doctors to find the cause, which was an ulcer in her stomach. They cauterized it and stopped any further bleeding, miraculously saving Jen's life. By then, she had lost 8 pints of blood (there are about 10 pints in the human body). The resulting blood loss caused an infarct in her brain that she still fought through. The doctors were stunned that she lived.

With the onslaught of complications Jen had endured at this point, she was left unable to breathe on her own. Consequently, the doctors determined that she needed a tracheotomy.

This is how we came to her thyroid cancer diagnosis.

After all of the trauma and exhaustion she had endured up to this moment, Jennifer’s first words were about us. “How are you and Mom? Are you both okay?” After all the unending weeks of non-stop medical issues, unforgivingly brutal battles, incredible amounts of pain…. Her first vocalized thoughts were only for her concern about her family, not herself.

Following her diagnosis, Jennifer was bedridden for over 8 weeks in the hospital--most of the time either on a vent or sedated, leading her muscles to atrophy on top of everything else. Her primary focus is getting her body strong enough to stand and walk on her own again. Despite all she has endured, her spirit is unwavering and her focus is relentless.

As of now, Jen has finally become stable enough to move to a specialty hospital with a focus on physical therapy. 9 weeks after this all began, Jennifer would take her first steps on January 19th, 2023. While she has a long road of rehabilitation ahead of her, she has already made amazing strides.

If you know Jennifer at all, you might know that she’s not great at asking for help.

Unfortunately, she now needs it more than ever.

After 10 weeks in the hospital medically disabled and unable to go back to work for the foreseeable future, and with her upcoming fight against thyroid cancer, the financial strain on Jennifer is intense, to say the least. Her medical deductible through her employer-provided insurance is beyond maxed-out, as well as her out-of-pocket expenses. Meanwhile, the medical bills continue to pile up.

Her insurance has denied her transfer to a more intensive rehabilitation facility where she would get more of the PT she needs--despite her rapid progress. Instead, she will likely be sent home this week prematurely, before her muscles have properly recovered.

My goal is to help take care of my big sister, because she has always taken care of me.

If you can help alleviate Jennifer’s financial burden in any way possible, know that you are doing it for a truly wonderful person that this world needs.

Please share Jen’s story--that would mean the world to us. Thank you to everyone who offers their support, appreciation, and love for Jennifer as she bravely continues her fight.