Help Sarah Beat Brain Cancer
On January 3rd, in the middle of her work shift, Sarah experienced what would be the first of many grand mal seizures. She was rushed to the ER at Good Samaritan Hospital and was immediately admitted to the trauma center and stabilized. An MRI showed a mass in the frontal lobe of her brain, and a subsequent emergency craniotomy was performed that night and found that the mass was indeed a cancerous brain tumor. Another neurosurgery was performed on January 5th to remove most of the tumor, and pathology of the tumor revealed the brain cancer to be stage 3 anaplastic astrocytoma. Sarah spent 4 days in ICU before she was discharged home on an array of medications and a list of doctors to follow up with immediately. After 3 weeks of recovery, Sarah then underwent a 3rd neurosurgery to remove the remaining cancerous cells, and spent another 4 days in the ICU until she was discharged home.
Thankfully, Sarah was considered a candidate for proton radiation therapy, and was able to receive these treatments as soon as her surgical site healed. Sarah received proton therapy through NorthWestern, alongside taking daily chemotherapy treatments for 6 weeks. She has since finished with proton treatments, and will be continuing chemotherapy monthly as long as her future brain scans show to be stable with no tumor growth.
Unfortunately, Sarah was unable to claim short or long term disability through her work, and her unpaid 3 months of time off with FMLA has come to an unpaid end. Sarah has had to return to work in order to keep her insurance benefits at this time, all while recovering from stage 3 brain cancer treatments. Though her family has done everything they can to help Sarah financially at this time, Sarah is still facing hefty medical bills that are not covered by insurance, as well as unexpected expenses.
Sarah is 29 years old. She just graduated from UIC with a bachelors degree, and was in the process of applying to nursing programs when her life was suddenly turned upside down. Anyone who knows Sarah knows how strong she is to have overcome so much and gotten to where she is today. She is passionate, conscientious, and absolutely hilarious. Despite her medical set backs, she still plans to go to nursing school to pursue her goals.
Sarah’s type of cancer, stage 3 anaplastic astrocytoma, is not curable, and though the surgeries and treatments are helpful and can prolong life, the tumor is often recurrent, and often grows back as stage 4 glioblastoma. We are asking for donations for Sarah to help cover her current and future medical bills, insurance premiums, and life necessities.
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