Help Sarah Save Her Life From Bone Cancer

My name is Yan Luo. I'm organizing this fundraiser with Sophia Xiong for our close friend Sarah Saeed, who's diagnosed with a type of bone cancer that spreads aggressively (Malignant Overlapping Neoplasm of the Bone and Cartilage). This fundraiser is urgently needed so Sarah, 32 years old, can get the treatment that she needs immediately to save her life.

We desperately need your help because Sarah’s treatment can’t be delayed anymore. Due to years of misdiagnosis and loss of her job because of medical conditions, Sarah is going through a life disaster where she has a life-threatening disease on the top of other medical conditions, but no health insurance or tons of out-of-pocket money to save her life. Her first visit to an oncologist and her treatment should have started in March, 2024, which has been forgone because of her uninsured status and financial situation. Sarah and her family have been trying to seek any opportunities to get help, but the waiting for the results of those opportunities have been long and doesn’t seem to end any time soon. The system has failed Sarah time and time again, but please let us be there for her and give her a fighting chance.

Since Sarah has never been able to see an oncologist and we are not sure when Sarah's Medicaid will be approved, we don't have an accurate estimation on the amount of money that Sarah needs for the treatment. The current amount is just a prospective amount we can see in a very short window.

If you know Sarah personally and would like to send her the support through online payment, that's possible too. Sarah has been disconnected from her phone due to health issues but Hailah will be around.

The following details further explain Sarah’s situation and why Sarah is in an urgent need of your help.

The treatment can’t be delayed anymore and Sarah is in great need for all of us to save her life.

In the last 1.5 year, Sarah started having an increase in odd symptoms: she had severe brain fog to the point of forgetting how she did her work, simple tasks were no longer simple for her. She had areas in her body that were swelling; she had lumps; she fainted several times to the point when it was no longer safe for her to drive; she was having mental health symptoms as sever anxiety, etc. Sarah was always a responsible, hardworking person, and her work ethic is beyond what we can testify for others. Not to mention that she is the breadmaker in her family. She is the person that everyone trusts to get things done. However, Sarah was no longer the person she was. She became a shell of herself.

With the help of her sister, she went to all the possible physicians in Tuscaloosa Alabama (where she used to reside) to seek medical advice regarding this condition. After seeing multiple PCP, a neurologist, a GI specialist, and cardiologists, she was diagnosed with Cyst fibrosis, Epilepsy, Polycystic ovary syndrome, Syncope, Chronic Migraine Syndrome, POTS Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc. Although some symptoms caused by those diseases resemble symptoms caused by cancer, none of her physicians suspected that cancer might be also the cause.

A specialist did find a benign growth in her breast that was removed. And that was only the start. She left Alabama and moved to Atlanta to be close to her sister that assists her every step of the way. From one lump in her breast, many more lumps appeared in her body, still no diagnosis of cancer. When she was having trouble walking, and saw an orthopedic, and he diagnosed her with bone cancer.

The orthopedic surgeon said she need to do surgery to remove the affected bone in her left foot and replaced with something artificial. But before she can do that, she has to get an MRI and see an oncologist to see if radiation is needed to work on a treatment plan with orthopedic, which can’t be done without insurance or a lot of out-of-pocket money. Sarah and her sister Hailah have been trying hard to find ways to get her treatment, and they haven’t been successful.

Sarah is in severe pain and can barely walk. When her pain and weakness get worse, Hailah usually takes her to the ER so she can get pain meds because the ER is the only place that will not return her due to lack of insurance. She reports lumps all over her body which might indicate that her cancer has spread. She needs urgently to see an oncologist and start treatment but can’t afford it. And the door has been closed for her again and again when she was begging for help from hospitals. She applied for financial aid through a hospital in Atlanta and waiting for results but even with that, it will barely scratch the surface with the huge debt she is going to encounter.

Sarah lost her job and health insurance due to health issues.

Not only that the physicians failed her, her workplace failed her, too. Because of her multiple health conditions, the doctors told Sarah that she can’t work and had to be on medical leave. Without knowing the cause of her symptoms is cancer due to misdiagnoses, Sarah listened to the doctors and took medical leave as if she would become healthy again soon. However, the employer terminated her job due to medical leave. At this point, she lost her medical insurance, which is greatly needed.

Application for SSDI and Medicaid are taking longer than the exacerbation of her sickness.

Hailah helped her apply for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) six months ago and haven’t got a determination yet. Sarah had a consultation exam few weeks ago, and they found out that the case worker didn’t put correct health info on her application, which might jeopardize Sarah’s eligibility for SSDI. Hailah called the case worker and called his supervisor but they never returned the call. Sarah would be qualified for Medicaid (or more likely to get approved by Medicaid) if the SSDI was approved (which is very likely based on her situation). American Cancer Society estimated that the SSDI reviewing process takes three to five months. Sarah would’ve have been approved for disability benefits if the case worker had put the right information and documented what was shared with him in her application. The Social Security office is in Tuscaloosa, AL, three-and-a-half hours’ driving from Atlanta, where Sarah and Hailah live. Having to deal with this hectic process, along with everything else (plus Hailah is currently pregnant), makes things terribly frustrating.

Sarah’s financial situation has been tight due to years-fight with health issues.

Sarah was pursuing her master’s degree when her health started to deteriorate, and she couldn’t complete her last semester due to her health issues. She has been working for non-profit organizations with positions helping vulnerable populations since her completion of her bachelor’s degree. As a social work researcher, I’m aware of how much those jobs pay. Since I knew Sarah, she has been working on campus and studying at the same time. Sarah’s health hasn’t been at the perfect status since 2017 and had to constantly fight against various health issues. Sarah had a job, a house, a car, and she supported her family in addition. From a strong person who helps everyone, she became dependent on her sister for everything. She lost everything she had due to the health problems, and her house was sold, and the little saving that she got was used to cover her medical expenses. Before leaving Alabama for a job in another state in 2022, I visited Sarah in the cute house that she just bought. I was so happy for her that she managed to provide so much for her family and be so successful at such young age. It only took less than two years, Sarah lost everything she had due to the health problems and the house was sold and the little that she got was used to cover her medical expenses.

I knew Sarah since the first year I came to Alabama for my degrees in Social Work. Sarah was in the same MSW (Master of Social Work) program as me, and we had multiple classes together. Sarah’s part-time job was working at a community-based program on campus called Global Café. I would say she’s the best worker there, and nobody would deny it. She helped hundreds of international students and visiting scholars with language, adjusting to American culture and daily life. Many of us became close friends with Sarah and her family, who are also the kindest people we met during our journey in Alabama. Sarah taught me how to drive, how to order from Starbucks with proper English, how to write proper emails, how to buy good used cars, how to get resources to study better, etc. I graduate with my doctorate in social work and realized my dream, which wouldn’t have happened without Sarah and her family’s kindness.

I’m sure all the people who Sarah has shown kindness to will have different sweet stories to tell about Sarah. I hate it when kind people are not treated with the most kindness. Please, please, help us to show kindness to Sarah and help her get through this difficulty stage, so she will keep shining in other people’s life and help more people in need.

We would also like to thank you if you:

1. have connections to oncologists in Alabama or Georgia areas,

2. can help with accommodations in Atlanta for Sarah (Sarah has to stay in Airbnb currently to be close to her physicians),

3. have information on how to facilitate Sarah’s SSDI approval in Tuscaloosa.

If you can help with any of the situations listed above, please contact let us know in the comment.