Hi, my name is Gwen Newberry, and I started this GoFundMe for my mom and step-dad. My mom, Kim McMillion, is an at-home caregiver for my younger brother, and my step-dad, Terry, has worked for a package manufacturing company for 20+ years. He regularly works 50-60 hours a week without complaint to provide for my mom and brother.

Over the last year, they have faced a lot of health and financial hardship. My mom had been dealing with a lot of abdominal pain when her gynecologist finally had her sent for imaging, where they found large masses causing her pain. Her number one concern was the cost of a total hysterectomy, but without it, her chances of developing cancer were high. So they went through with the procedure and started making payments on the surgery.

Shortly after that, their home required a costly roof repair which wiped out their modest savings and prohibited them from scheduling vehicle repairs that had been pending. They never asked for help and managed to shuffle money around each month to make ends meet.

In December, Terry visited his doctor in Bethel, Ohio. He had been losing weight before the visit but thought it was due to increased work hours and stress. The doctor there referred him to Cincinnati GI, where 8 large polyps were found throughout his colon. Dr. Lam was able to remove them for biopsy and sent them home.

On March 11th, they received the call that the biopsy showed malignancy. They met with Dr. Guend at TriHealth on March 20th to discuss his diagnosis and next steps. The visit confirmed invasive adenocarcinoma with suspicion of lymphovascular invasion. The confirmed diagnosis as of March 22nd is Malignant Neoplasm of Sigmoid Colon (hcc).

The first treatment step will be a colon resection, pending scheduling as of March 25th. The surgery will put Terry out of work for at least a month while he recovers, if not longer. His work is labor-intensive and will be challenging to return to quickly after surgery. In addition, they are already behind on their mortgage and fear foreclosure without a source of income.

We are doing what we can to help them stay afloat, but the incoming medical expenses, building mortgage debt, and even the costs of driving 40 miles each way to an appointment are devastating.

They would not ask for this help directly, and while my mom tries to stay calm and laugh, I know they are scared. This is why I am turning to GoFundMe to help them keep their home and relieve some of the burdens of medical debt while they try to focus on staying healthy both physically and spiritually through Terry's cancer journey.

If you can help at all, even just by sharing this page, I would be grateful. I will keep this page updated as procedures are scheduled. Thank you so very much.