I have cancer. It's stage 3 sqamous cell cancer and it's spread to my lymph nodes.

I am blessed with insurance which covers medical costs.

But my insurance doesn't pay for lodging for the six to eight weeks I need outpatient chemo and radiation treatment, five days a week; and it doesn't pay for transportation back and forth to NYC from Cortland—250 miles each way—for testing and appointments before starting treatment. And it doesn't pay for a myriad of cancer related expenses. Those are up to me.

The longer I wait for treatment, the more the odds of surviving this go down. Right now, it's just the small lymph nodes which drop my survival rate to start with. But if this cancer metastasizes, my survival rate goes down by 50%.

We have to do this quickly.

I need to raise about $30,000 to cover what insurance will not cover so i can start chemo and radiation as soon as possible.

Housing in New York City is really expensive whether it's a hotel room or a sublet of an apartment. Cancer centers do not have any housing and the free housing for the American Cancer society It doesn't work for anyone like me who has severe allergies or celiac disease because the kitchens are shared with people who eat food that I'm allergic to. If I get cross-contaminated and glutened it will be difficult to continue radiation and chemotherapy.

Until I can pay for housing in NYC for six to eight weeks for my treatment, I cannot start treatment.

I am a disabled policy analyst with a medically complex adult daughter for whom I am her full-time caregiver. We live on one very small income. I cannot do this without your help.

Thank you.