Support Sara's Healing Journey

My name is Sara! I’m a hardworking, fun-loving, passionate mom of 2 fantastic children (Declan, who is 6, and Riley, who is 1) and wife to Brandon, whom I’ve been married to for 3 years. I have many fantastic lifelong friends all over the country (and world) that I’ve met through school, work, social media, and the many journeys I’ve had in my life.

Last December, I noticed some symptoms I wrote off as early peri-menopause and ignored.

In March of this year, I began experiencing nausea and urinary symptoms. By April, I thought I had kidney stones and went to the ER.

While at the ER, they found a mass on my left ovary and suggested I follow up with my OBGYN. I was able to get an emergency appointment and ultrasound that week, and they measured a 4.5 cm teratoma on my left ovary. They sent me for bloodwork which, thankfully, suggests the teratoma is benign. However, my symptoms and the growth rate of the tumor are still concerning.

Due to the risk of ovarian torsion, they are surgically removing the tumor on May 20th and are likely taking my ovary with it. Because of this, I will be out of work for 2-4 weeks. Because I started my job just 1 month ago, I don’t yet have time off or benefits through my job. I thankfully have health insurance through my husband's work, but I still have to take recovery time off work unpaid.

After the tumor is removed, they will send it off to pathology, and we will know if I have cancer or not. At that time, I’ll update the funds if needed to help cover those expenses as well.

Many friends have suggested I set up this account to crowd fund to help with recovery expenses such as missed pay from work while I recover from a partial hysterectomy and removal of my tumor, medical bills, and medication. I have set the goal very modestly as I fully expect to be able to cover part of the cost. 100% of all donations will go to these expenses, and if there is anything leftover, it will be donated to ovarian cancer research via American Cancer Society as those funds have been cut recently.

Any amount is appreciated if it’s $5 or $500, but the breakdown of what we are expecting out of pocket is as follows:

$1,102.66 - Co-insurance by May 20th

$214 - Deductible by May 15th

$2,000 minimum missed pay for time off work

totaling $3,324.66.

If you prefer to donate directly, ask for my Venmo!

Thank you all so much and remember to not ignore symptoms your body is giving you! Ovarian cancer and tumors can happen to anyone, and it’s important to recognize them! Changes in the urinary tract without the presence of UTI or kidney stones, fatigue, nausea, and belly swelling and pain are the ones to look out for!

Please be well and thank you so much!