Project Pilkey #TinaStrong
Since the age of thirteen, Tina Pilkey has battled one healthcare obstacle after another. From seizure disorders to a kidney transplant after 7 years of hemodialysis, to going deaf due to drug interactions, and re-learning to hear after receiving cochlear implants. Tina has handled it ALL with grace, courage, and her sense of humor intact.
More recently, in 2018 Tina was diagnosed with Squamous cell cancer in her left eye, also due to side effects of anti-rejection drugs. After nearly three years of treatment and many trips to the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, surgical excision of the cancer and initial reconstruction was performed in January 2021. Hopeful that the cancer was gone for good, Tina was devastated to learn this April that the cancer had aggressively returned. With her doctors emphasizing survival as the primary goal and no other option available, Tina underwent a full surgical removal of her left eye just last week, which included removal of lymph nodes and head/neck reconstruction. To reduce the likelihood of the cancer returning, Tina will undergo 6 weeks of radiation, 5 days per week.
Simultaneously, during a PET Scan to determine if the eye cancer had spread elsewhere, suspicious lymph nodes were found in her abdomen and chest. Biopsy results confirmed a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Now fighting two forms of cancer, Tina will face six months of Chemotherapy for her Lymphoma cancer once her radiation is complete.
Always one to research and inform (Yes, she reads her car and appliance manuals cover to cover!), Tina has been busy identifying her options and learning about her journey ahead. Now armed with her treatment plan, she tackles each day with incredible bravery, never once complaining or asking, “Why me?”.
Tina Pilkey has been through it all - and done so with a smile on her face, all while helping others. Tina is a cool aunt, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and an advocate for victims of crime and domestic abuse as the Director of Victim Witness Services for the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. She has never asked anyone for help nor shared her story publicly. We don’t want Tina to have to fight this battle on her own anymore.
We ask that Tina’s friends and family come together for continued support & prayers during this next difficult chapter, while she once again kicks cancer’s ass.
Your donations will help with the following:
- Ongoing medical/cancer expenses not covered by insurance (prosthetics, out-of-network insurance deductibles, prescriptions, specialty glasses and eye coverings, etc.)
- Frequent travel and lodging costs to/from Philly for continued eye medical care
- “Chemo-Care Item(s)”: Such as meals, head coverings and wigs, care packages, etc.
- Savings for future 3D bioengineering eye technology
- Anything else that will make her smile :)
- Any additional funds will be donated to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo) & Wills Eye Hospital (Philadelphia).
