Kelly Martin's Brain Cancer

In 2012, at the age of 29, Kelly Martin was running on a treadmill in Norwalk, Connecticut when her limbs started to go numb. Following the workout, Kelly could sense something was wrong. The next morning Kelly went to her primary care physician who sent her immediately to a neurologist, who--over the course of a few months--performed 16 MRIs, a spinal tap, and several CTs. The neurologist's initial diagnosis was Multiple Sclerosis. When Kelly was sent to a neuro-oncologist, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and immediately scheduled for surgery. A craniotomy (while awake) was needed to officially diagnose Oligodendroglioma Grade II, a rare type of brain tumor that will continue to regrow throughout Kelly's life. Only 5% of all brain tumors are this type. Two brain surgeries to extract the tumor were successful, but the tumor will continue to regrow until medical advances can catch up.

In 2018, Kelly left Connecticut, where all her family resides, to move to Austin  for a new beginning and a new oncologist. She found a new job in automotive software sales and a new oncologist, Dr. Fisher, who offers superior support and treatment than the doctors she worked with previously. After several scans over the last two years, Dr. Fisher determined the next course of action for Kelly would be a year of chemotherapy to help control the growth of the rare recurring brain tumor. Kelly just finished her 3rd round of chemo in early October, with 9 more to go. The side effects of chemotherapy came quickly, and forced Kelly to take disability from her career. Unable to work steadily, Kelly is only receiving a small portion of her salary from disability, and isn’t receiving her usual sales commission. Kelly's medical bills are adding up, on top of the regular cost of living. Kelly is responsible for paying for her own medical insurance, chemotherapy, copays, and so forth. We are trying to make sure she can stay in Austin so she can carry out her treatment plan with Dr. Fisher.

This is a trying time to say the least, from the chemotherapy side effects, uncertainty of the tumor’s regrowth, and unexpected loss of work. Any and all help is appreciated beyond words to help offset medical costs. We will continue to keep everyone up-to-date on Kelly's journey, and pray that medical research can offer a better solution to the tumor’s recurrence.

Fuck cancer!