Help Tiffany's Mom Fight Stage 4 Small Cell Lung Cancer

My name is Tiffany Tolentino and my sweet mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Small Cell Lung Cancer on March 23, 2024. She lives in rural IL where the medical field isn’t that great. She went to her doctor a couple of times with the complaint that she was losing weight and not feeling great. The doctor ran no tests and instead told her to “eat two eggs a day.” My mother would eat and eat but not gain any weight. She became really sick in March 2024 and went to the Emergency Room thinking she had pneumonia. The ER doctor ran some tests and came back and surprised her with, “You have stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to your liver and bones.” My mom began seeing a cancer doctor who was amazing and got her into a clinical trial right away. She did 12 weeks of chemo and immunotherapy, and the cancer tumors were starting to shrink. She completed that trial in August 2024. She was feeling pretty good, and we all were happy that she responded so well to the clinical trial. Well, in September 2024, it progressed again in her lungs, liver, bones, and now lymph nodes. She was removed from the trial because they said it didn’t work. She then had to start a different chemotherapy. Her insurance denied the treatment at first, and she had to wait 2 1/2 weeks of the doctor’s office fighting with the insurance to begin treatment, so the fast-growing cancer had 2 1/2 weeks to grow because big insurance companies dictate people’s lives. It’s so sad what they put people through. They have recently denied her PET scan. She is supposed to have that every six weeks so we can monitor if the chemo is working or the cancer is spreading. My mom is 67 years old and has Medicaid, but even with that, she has co-pays for expensive inhalers that insurance doesn’t cover and out-of-pocket costs for each treatment, PET scan, and bloodwork. Every other week she has to have bloodwork that costs $170 out of pocket, and each time she gets a scan, that’s $250 out of pocket. The chemo treatments also have an out-of-pocket cost that is adding up. She has to do chemo treatments 3 weeks out of the month. The Cancer Care Center that she has to go to is an hour away (one way) from her home. The doctors have told her that the type of cancer she has is not curable but treatable. She will probably have to be on chemo for the rest of her life.

That’s her cancer story, but let me tell you her story. My mama is the MOST selfless person you will ever meet. She gives everything she’s got to others. She has always donated to others in need and makes sure to take care of others before herself. If she had just $5 to her name and you asked for it because you needed it, she would give it to you. My mother is a simple person who loves big, has always worked hard, and has always been able to see the bright side of things. She spent her life working in a children’s shoe store, never making much money but did what she had to do since she was a single mom raising two kids (me and my brother).

I’ve hesitated making this GoFundMe because she is a very private person and does not like asking for help, nor would she ever ask for help. My family is hosting a benefit in her small town trying to raise some money by having a spaghetti dinner, but I thought to start this GoFundMe for people who cannot attend the benefit and/or live far away. I’m in WA, she’s in IL.

The money I’m trying to raise is to help ease some of the medical costs that she has been burdened with and will continue to be burdened with. My mama is a fighter and is fighting a very tough battle. Please, if you can spare any money, the family and I would greatly appreciate it.