help Sarah with ovarian cancer medical bills

Hi friends & family,

Last November, I was diagnosed with a form of ovarian cancer, and I've had so much help and support throughout my recovery. I really appreciate all of your words of kindness, texts and voice notes, prayers, food, and flowers. I'm writing now to ask for help covering outstanding medical bills and treatment costs that have accrued over this past year.

My cancer journey has been a huge lesson in humility and learning how to ask for help when needed. I'm reminding myself that I don't need to do this alone.

Getting cancer is a very stressful experience. Unfortunately, in the broken healthcare system in the US, the financial aspect of getting sick is also extremely stressful, not to mention the loss of income from being unable to work. Having help with these medical bills will be a huge relief and will allow me to take some deep breaths and continue to recover my energy and strength. I hope get back to playing music and being creative soon, too!

With love,

Sarah

P.S. Here are more details about what happened and what the funds will be used for, too.

What happened...

Last year I was having a lot of fatigue, digestion issues, and abdominal pain. The doctors thought that I was dealing with IBS until I had an ultrasound on November 16, 2021 that showed a grapefruit sized tumor on my left ovary. The next day, I had a CT scan that showed that it was likely malignant ovarian cancer, and I went in for emergency surgery on November 18.

The surgery was successful - they were able to remove all of the cancer, and the lab reports showed that although the tumor was very large, it was only stage 1 endometrioid cancer (basically it was a super rare form of ovarian cancer that is actually endometriosis cancer, and it hadn't spread). Fortunately, I didn't need to undergo chemotherapy.

The surgery recovery was tough to say the least. The incision is about 10-11 inches, from my pubic bone to a few inches above my belly button. There was nerve damage during the surgery to a major pelvic nerve, which caused pain for about 5-6 months after surgery, and I had psoas and pelvic floor muscle spasms until around April. As most people know, one of the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer is GI distress, and my GI system got totally messed up from it, that the UCSF doctor thinks happened because my immune system was under such stress from cancer. I also needed help managing the endometriosis pain and regulating my hormones after having an ovary removed, and I got a protocol from a functional medicine practitioner that worked really well.

Of course, my hope is that the cancer is gone forever, and that I will be able to have children someday, but there is a chance that my other ovary will need to be removed if it does come back. I have decided to undergo fertility preservation at UCSF this winter for the peace of mind of having a backup plan in case the cancer returns, which costs $10K per cycle. I'm unsure how many cycles I will need to do, but your contributions will help me get started.

The summer has been a slow and steady recovery, where I have been able to slowly increase my activity. I feel like my energy is starting to come back, and I'm feeling better (hallelujah!). Now I'm dealing with the aftermath of going through such a difficult event, including all of my medical bills.

The Financial Details

I haven't posted a gofundme until now because it's taken me a long time to figure out the total amount of my bills, and I have good insurance and wanted to get them to pay the most possible. I needed to get my 2021 taxes done, I've been back and forth with my insurance a lot, and I've been applying for grants. This is my current best estimate of costs.

The medical treatment that this amount will cover is:

Remaining $10K:

Thank you for all of your support.