Jessica's Journey to Super Powers via Chemo

I am fundraising on behalf of Jessica Gómez Graham, my lovely friend and co-worker.

After a dream trip with students to the Galapagos, Jessica was in the first month back to school when a mammogram identified a mass that led to an excisional biopsy at the end of September. Shortly after that, she received the dreaded diagnosis---cancer. She then endured a whirlwind of scans, genetic tests, and port surgery. The final diagnosis was invasive medullary carcinoma, triple negative. It is a rare, aggressive type of breast cancer. Only 3-5% of breast cancer diagnoses fall into this category.

After receiving the results of her genetic testing, a treatment plan was developed, and Jessica received a second blow. Intensive cancer treatments would require her to take the remainder of the school year off. Jessica loves teaching and helping students find the joy of science. In addition, she runs the Garden Club in our courtyard and is our resident botanist. She will also miss watching her eldest son experience his first year of high school.

Jessica started chemotherapy and targeted immunotherapy on October 31st. She will be receiving treatment every Monday for 24 weeks. During chemotherapy, she must wear ice packs on her hands and feet to reduce the chances of permanent nerve damage. Jessica says this is one of the hardest parts to endure each week. In the spring, she will have further surgery and then continue immunotherapy for seven more months. This will be a long haul for Jessica, and she is trying to keep things as “normal” as possible for her boys. Her treatments are experimental, but the doctors have high hopes for success.

Unfortunately, giving up her students is only one aspect of taking leave for the remainder of the school year—there is also a financial burden. Jessica has contributed to the district sick leave bank and has been granted the maximum amount of time, but this will only get her and her family to February. For the rest of the year, they will see a loss of income. Meanwhile, the uncovered medical expenses have already begun to roll in. This is creating a great deal of stress for Jessica and her family during a time that needs to be focused on healing. The purpose of this account is to help the Grahams meet their financial needs during this very difficult time and to offset the cost of her treatments.