I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Tabra Bay over the past couple months and am struck by her enthusiasm, humor, and genuine joy in life. She has an incredible strength and sense of responsibility for others. Seeing her light up with her son can turn around a tough work day instantly. She’s an incredible mom. There’s not one day she doesn’t encourage her coworkers or give them personal compliments. She’s the center of our little veterinary urgent care and I can only imagine how much more that is true for her family.

Tabra was recently diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma. This type of cancer is rare and often occurs in older people. Tabra’s age is so unique alongside her diagnosis that the tumor board thought it was a typo. Merkel Cell tends to recur even after appropriate treatment. It becomes a repeated process of surgically removing tumors, following-up with radiation, and watching for new ones. Merkel Cell is associated with a type of virus and immunotherapy is a new form of treatment that can make a huge difference for patients. This type of treatment enables the body’s immune system to recognize and target the cancerous cells. Because of this, it is very beneficial for decreasing recurrence of tumors.

Unfortunately, as most of us have some knowledge or personal experience, health insurance can make or break what treatments are available. Tabra’s insurance has denied her access to this immunotherapy because it isn’t considered standard therapy prior to surgery. In Tabra’s case, her tumor is too large to remove surgically because skin grafts would fail with the radiation treatment necessary after surgery. Each immunotherapy treatment costs between $6000 - $11,000. Tabra would need an estimated 8 treatments.

Please help us raise funds to get her immunotherapy treatment. She deserves access to the treatment she needs. More than that, she deserves to be able to be there for her son, Arés. Any bit helps! Her family, friends, and her work-family are extremely grateful to everyone who can contribute anything to support this lovely and wonderful woman.