For the past five years, Kory has been fighting her colorectal cancer with great determination, bravery and faith. Now, faced with a possible prognosis of just three to six months, Kory is continuing to battle courageously, undergoing chemotherapy yet again while also putting every effort into identifying a clinical trial that is a match for her specific type of cancer. Pursuing and participating in clinical trials is expensive and time consuming. In order to offset this financial burden, we are reaching out to Kory’s family and friends for their support.

Kory’s cancer journey has been filled with ups and downs: radiation and surgery following her initial diagnosis in 2020; remission for eleven months, major abdominal surgery in December 2023 to remove areas of cancer which had spread to her abdomen and pelvis; further chemotherapy and abdominal surgery (coupled with Hot Chemo) in July 2024 following yet another recurrence; and most significantly, the onset of increasingly severe and frequent grand mal seizures in reaction to her chemotherapy treatments, which resulted in those treatments being curtailed and paused.

In April, Kory received the distressing news that her cancer had spread to her liver. Kory’s medical team at the Mayo Clinic and Emory Hospital placed Kory on another course of chemotherapy, this time paired with a regimen of strong anti-seizure medications. During each round of treatment, Kory was hospitalized for several days in order to be monitored for any signs of seizure activity. On July 11, Kory completed her fourth round of chemotherapy and successfully remained seizure-free. Unfortunately, this small piece of encouraging news was quickly offset by the disheartening results of Kory’s July 15 follow-up scans, which indicated a new spot on her liver and, for the first time, two nodules in her lungs. Shortly thereafter, Kory received the devastating news that her prognosis could be as little as three to six months.

Following subsequent discussion with her medical team, Kory has now been placed on yet another course of chemotherapy. Once again, Kory will undergo four rounds of treatment over the course of eight weeks. The chemotherapy agents Kory will receive are those believed to be the most effective against Kory’s specific genetic mutation of cancer, but also include the same agent that previously triggered a severe seizure reaction. Kory underwent her first round on August 20, which required a five-day admission to Emory Hospital for observation. Thankfully, Kory did not experience any seizures. The subsequent rounds will be administered at Emory's outpatient infusion center, followed by 24 hours of observation. After completion of the cycle in mid-October, Kory will again have scans of her abdomen, pelvis, and lungs.

While the hope is that these chemotherapy treatments are successful and that the October scans do not show further progress of the disease, Kory’s medical team have also recommended that she begin investigating any and all clinical trials available throughout the country which are match for the particular genetic makeup of her cancer. The process of identifying an appropriate clinical trial challenge requires not only time, but money. Clinical trials for cancer are costly for both researchers and participants, with estimated costs now reaching $500,000 in some cases. Longer trial durations are often necessary to assess long-term outcomes and newer, targeted, and immune therapies can be particularly expensive. And of course, there are “hidden costs,” such as travel expenses, lodging and meals, time off work, and childcare.

Over the past years, despite the ongoing and overwhelming challenges she has continued to face, Kory has continued her work as psychologist, seeing clients remotely when unable to drive due to her repeated episodes of Grand Mal seizures, and adding psychological assessments of veterans to her own client caseload. Following the Hollywood writer’s strike in 2023 and its aftermath, which sharply curtailed motion picture and television production, Kory’s husband, Paul, has been largely unemployed, and the position he began this past August ended after only a month due to the production’s cancellation. When Paul’s health insurance coverage expired in February 2025, they undertook the significant expense of paying for COBRA in order to allow Kory to retain the ability to seek cancer treatment anywhere with maximum coverage. While the past five years have understandably taken a toll on Kory’s health, this current round of chemotherapy has been especially brutal, causing Kory to experience weight loss, little appetite, and overwhelming fatigue, compounded by nausea and nearly continuous diarrhea. This reality, coupled with a five-day hospital admission every other week, has made it more and more difficult for Kory to maintain her work schedule. And, given the overwhelming news of a prognosis of three to six months, Kory is keenly aware of that which is of primary importance to her: time to be with Paul and their 11 year old son Caden, time to take walks, perhaps time to take a family trip, and time to simply enjoy life.

As Kory shifts away from full-time work and instead toward focusing her energies on pursuing clinical trials, we would greatly appreciate any financial contribution from those who love and care for her.

Joanne (Kory's mom), Bob (Kory's dad) and Bonnie (Kory's sister)