*UPDATE 6/20/2025*
As of this recent week, Jessika was informed that her cancer has now spread to her brain, in addition to still being very active in her liver and bones. Due to symptoms, such as confusion, dizziness, fatigue, muscle, weakness, and terrible headaches, Jessika is no longer able to work at all, or earn any sort of income besides, what was left for her from her husband‘s passing. To say this is a struggle to help support she and her daughters is an understatement. Any financial donations, meals being provided, help with household duties and expenses, or any other help is so greatly appreciated at this time as she faces the biggest battle of her life in this journey. Jessika is slated to begin radiation therapy on June 26th to try to fight the many cancerous tumors on her brain.
*UPDATE 11/1/24*
As many of you know, 5 years and 3 days after being declared free of breast cancer, Jessika’s diagnosis has taken a sharp change for the worse. January 19, 2023 after being rushed to the hospital in severe pain, she received word from her doctors that her cancer had returned. Only this time, the doctors had much more catastrophic news. Jessika now has Triple Negative, Stage 4, Metastatic Breast Cancer that has spread to her liver, bones, lung and lymph nodes. Her more recent prognosis is a much more aggressive and a more difficult to treat mutation than her original cancer was. She is fighting to extend her life as long as possible with chemo and immunotherapy.
Jessika is now also a Type 1 diabetic because the immunotherapy given to her, Keytruda, attacked her pancreas as a side effect. To add to the list of medications she now needs insulin, monitors and testing suplies.
Most recently, (10/30/24), her scans showed that the 2 main tumors on her liver doubled in size since July, so unfortunately the chemotherapy that was being used is not working anymore. Her oncologist is trying to start her on a new chemotherapy, but it comes with serious side effects on the heart, so she is going for an echocardiogram soon to see if her heart is strong enough to handle this new drug.
She also recently went and had the 2 largest liver tumors biopsied again to see if there has been any mutations to the cancer which could possibly, and hopefully, open up some new options for treatment.
Because of the growth of the tumors and not receiving any treatment for almost a month now while waiting on the new chemo, her liver is swollen, inflamed and she is in a great deal of pain everyday. She is on palliative care now and her nurse is working on getting her on a stronger pain medication since her current one is not keeping up with the pain any longer.
Jessika has fallen behind on some expenses and currently owes about $30k in medical bills, in addition to credit card debt she accrued to help stay afloat as a single mom with very limited income. Also, because of a series of unexpected expenses, (a car accident, having to euthanize Lucas, the family dog, and a painful dental emergency because her teeth have been breaking due to extended chemo), she has been left her in a position where she is in need of help with her finances during this trying time just to get back on track, with her health declining and no longer being able to work.
Our goal is to raise as much money as possible to help with the medical and credit card debt incurred through these many medical and personal setbacks to give her a bit of relief financially and help her get caught up.
Please help us as we find a way to support Jessika and her daughters through another devastating challenge fighting this wicked disease called cancer. ANY amount will help.
Original post:
To say she is a fighter, and a survivor is an understatement.
This is a story about Jessika Lile. She is a mother of two, Farrah (16) and Skylar (11), a widow, an animal lover, and a great friend. It was in the summer of 2017 when Jessika caught sight of a change occurring in her body. After a visit with her family practitioner, she was advised to get her first mammogram at the age of 38. It was on November 20, 2017, when Jessika was diagnosed with breast cancer. Rather than allow the cancer to spread, she made the immediate decision to receive a double mastectomy. On December 29, 2017, after a successful procedure, she received the wonderful news…No evidence of the disease.
It was only four years later when Jessika had to face another obstacle in life. Tragically on January 3, 2021, she lost her husband, Nic Lile, a Marine Corp Veteran and Railroader. Nic was not only her husband, but he was also her best friend, soul mate, and biggest supporter during her fight and recovery from her initial diagnosis of breast cancer. Her husband had his life selfishly taken from him by a stranger they welcomed into their home. The murder of her husband occurred in front of Jessika with their youngest daughter asleep upstairs in her room. As heartbreaking and tragic the death of her husband was, Jessika fought tirelessly to avenge her husband’s death. In January of 2022, the sentencing for her husband’s murderer allowed her to have some peace of mind and closure.
Through all of this pain, it didn’t seem things could get much worse until she was re-diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to her liver, lymph nodes, bone and lung. Jessika is now stage 4 and intends to continue to aggressively fight this awful disease to ensure as much time as possible with her 2 daughters.