Our friend Lisa Schmiege Shrestha needs some help.

Our dear friend, Lisa Schmiege Shrestha is undergoing medical treatment for non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma and is in need of a bit of help. She was initially diagnosed with indolent non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma in 2021 which quickly transformed to aggressive Diffuse Large B cell double hit non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She has had six rounds of chemo in 2022 and was in remission. The cancer came back the next year and she underwent bridging chemo the fall of 2023. Recently Lisa has received cart-t gene therapy and is in remission awaiting PET scan this spring, 2024, for a full prognosis. She will remain in Seattle for the duration. The costs of these treatments are beyond standard medical insurance benefits. Some of the treatments are not covered at all. She has had many trips to Seattle in the last several years requiring days, weeks and months of living in rental housing while receiving treatments. Insurance does not cover many additional costs including transportation, (airline, taxis, rental cars, Uber) food, and caregiver costs. There is still the cost of maintaining her home in Juneau. At this point, the costs have piled up and are adding to the stress of an already difficult situation. Lisa is fortunate to have her family as caregivers and supporters, daughter Freya, sister Cindy and husband Naresh, while she is navigating ongoing treatments and battling their side effects.

Lisa is friends with so many in our community; she is cherished by all who are fortunate to know her. Throughout her life she has reached out and discovered common ground with people and has acquired many lifelong friendships. She is always a source of encouragement and an uplifting presence to those around her.

If you are able to help Lisa and her family tackle ongoing bills that are piling up, please donate. It is very difficult and stressful to be undergoing lifesaving treatments while worrying about how to pay for everything.