Join Crystal's Journey to Overcome Cancer

Hi Family & Friends -

The Gillespie family is starting a GoFundMe on behalf of our beloved sister and mother Crystal who has Invasive ductal carcinoma.

On Oct 7th, 2024 Crystal felt a lump in her right breast. After going through mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies she held out hope for good news. On Oct 16th she received a call that would alter her life immensely. Her results came back positive for Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the right breast. This has been an incredibly difficult and overwhelming time for her and our family. Since she received her diagnosis, her life quickly changed. She went from an active, healthy woman thriving in her career as a PA to being overwhelmed by countless doctor's appointments, oncology visits, imaging, lab tests, and more hospital visits than she ever imagined for herself. Although she has been forced to face very difficult decisions, she has been working hard to keep her head up and keep her faith bigger than her fear. Since her cancer is aggressive her treatment plan has had to be aggressive as well. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy 11/25/2024. Unfortunately pathology results for the tumor demonstrated aggressive characteristics so the decision was made that her treatment plan will also include chemotherapy and a long road to healing both mentally and physically.

In addition to the emotional and physical challenges she's facing, she now has the financial burden of taking care of home while also paying co-pays for chemotherapy, surgeries, medication, medical appointments, and other expenses that are proving challenging for her to handle on her own. She is a Physician Assistant and has worked in Urgent Care for several years providing care to those who need it most, but will no longer be able to work for the next several months due to her diagnosis and treatment. We've set up this GoFundMe to help alleviate her financial stress and allow her to focus on what matters most — her mental & physical health, strength, and achieving her goal of reaching a pathological complete response and beating this disease that so many women are forced to face. She is ready to fight this cancer as hard as she can, but she does need support.

We are so lucky to have a strong support system of friends and family! To best support her during this time, we humbly ask for any contribution, no matter the amount, to help make a difference in her fight against cancer. Crystal and our family greatly appreciate your kindness, prayers, support, and generosity.