Our rock star Angela Katsuleas Lasky needs your help today!

We are Samantha and Amanda Lasky and Angela is our mother! If you follow my mom on Facebook, we think you have seen us grow up in front of your very eyes! We are our mom’s favorite topic and favorite picture posts, especially the embarrassing ones.

As we are writing this, never in a million years we would have thought we would be going through this… and the following words would be written

…Recently, our mom was diagnosed with Cancer….

As you can well imagine this was a complete shock to her and our family. In 2022, my parents decided to move to Arizona for their health and a climate more conducive to their needs. They have enjoyed a little more than 2 years in their new life. Unfortunately, 2024 has been cut short by this diagnosis. First shock, then anxiety, and struggles with day-to-day life appeared in just a few short weeks. Based on her type of cancer my mother will be unable to work for at least a year if not longer. She had not planned to retire for many years. With all their support system back in Illinois, and after such a life-altering diagnosis we are looking to aid with the incidentals and other unexpected costs that are piling up. You can well imagine that when your support system is located 1400 miles away this can be costly. We are looking for donations to aid with transportation, food/meals, medical bill incidentals, and other unexpected costs. All these come at a great cost and expense that no one is truly prepared for. So, after weeks of juggling all by ourselves with support from some of our family members and friends, we have decided to reach out to our broader community for support. Additionally, our parents are researching and working with several organizations to remedy some of these issues however it might be 6 months to a year by the time they can resolve them. Normally, we would not ask but we know that some of you have offered to help in any way you can and that it would be difficult from so far away from the source.

Fast forward to now, Mom will have Chemo every week for the next 6 months or more, followed by surgery, then radiation. During this time, she has a couple of good days but there are days when our mom cannot do much and struggles to do the smallest tasks. On her good days, she can have more energy, but she runs out of time to accomplish everything that needs to be done, hence the struggle. Our mom is one of the strongest people we know, and we know she will get through this, but she needs a little help from her friends. We thank you in advance for your contributions. If you know our mom, you know she is not the one to give up, and in turn, her courage, willpower, and discipline will push her through to the end of this protocol. On a side note, it does not come easy for our mom and dad and us to share this publicly, but no fight is won in isolation. It is a testament to our mom’s emotional side and to show her vulnerability. However, on the other side, as she has said recently, she is at times one bad B!+(# and will kick the S#!+ and fight this f’n demon inside her. For the Greeks in the crowd, I think she used Malaka in there somewhere Google it! Lots of expletives came out of her mouth but you get the jest!

Additionally, Mom has started a ‘Caring Bridge’ account that updates family and friends through this process. That way she will not have to ‘repeat’ the same story over again and none of us want to hear that for the 14th time, you know she has long stories! Lol! If you are interested in keeping up on moms' progress, send your phone number and/or email address through our email on here with the subject ‘Access to Caring Bridge”.

Finally, 2024 sucks and our parents have met other hardships and within the last few weeks, they have had side complications because of chemo and biopsies. In January, my mother fell and broke her foot and tore her tendons/ligaments which needed an in-depth surgery with a recovery period of 1 year for that as well. That surgery was to happen next week but has since been canceled. The hope is that she can have that surgery after the Cancer treatments are concluded. Dad is continuing to work but has had to leave work suddenly and taken several days for runs to the ER and dealing with the things mom cannot manage alone. Unfortunately, this is their prime time which started as their new adventure and now has been derailed and we are doing our best to help from afar. Any contributions will help alleviate some of the stress and burdens on Angela, who is just trying to fight this with all she has but also live life wholeheartedly you know Angela’s way….

“A true 60’s child, 70’s rocker, an 80’s club goer and believe it or not emerging businesswoman, a 90’s mom, a turn of the century mid lifer reliving her 20’s, and now her golden years. As she calls Surprise, AZ is a piece of paradise for her and dad and her second youth as an empty nester. Although that umbilical cord goes all the way back to us in Illinois. Shout out to the younger one of us!

Feel free to share this GoFundMe with family and friends who know our parents. We can never repay your kindness. She holds great love for people like yourselves who have touched her life at some point, whether through childhood friendships, work family relationships, us, our extended families, and Larry, our dad. Our mom is always the first to run for a friend in need. Thank you all for being a special part of our parents' lives. A few of you have offered to visit if you are interested in heading to AZ, please contact us through here, we have set up a calendar for that. AZ is starting to have great weather.

It is with heartfelt gratitude that we say thank you for reading and for any contributions made, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, a thousand times over, thank you.

With love and gratitude,

Samantha and Amanda Lasky oh and Milo too!