Katie's Road to Recovery Fund

Katie’s Story

"When I was initially diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 it changed my life. But then how could it not, right? It’s funny how a life-altering event has a way of putting truly important things into perspective. One minute you are worried about making it to dance or baseball on time. The next you are sitting in front of a neurosurgeon explaining your diagnosis and prognosis all the while wondering if you will be around for the next school event or important milestone in your child’s life. At the time of my diagnosis I had a three year-old son and a nine month old daughter. This was not happening to me. I was too young. Truth be told, cancer doesn’t discriminate based on age. It was happening and I was going to do whatever I had to do to make sure I beat this disease. Thankfully, I had a great surgeon and radiation oncologist that successfully treated the tumor. It was time to live life to the fullest. And we did…for nearly seven years.

Fast-forward to Spring 2014 and I began to have back pain. It seemed normal as I had recently slipped and injured my back. Well, after a few x-rays and physical therapy with no relief, an MRI revealed my worst fear – a mass on my tailbone. It was déjà vu all over again. I was sitting in front of the same neurosurgeon who initially diagnosed my tumor in 2008. Unfortunately, it is a metastasis of the original tumor – all so rare – and still too young. Nevertheless, we have spent the last several months traveling to The Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson to determine the best course of treatment. Weighing all opinions, we ultimately decided on MD Anderson for the primary care.

To date, I have successfully completed several rounds of chemo to stabilize the tumor, and am soon headed to MD Anderson for 8 weeks to begin radiation. The tumor has shown signs of necrosis and we are optimistic that radiation will shrink and send the tumor into a dormant state.

Unfortunately, with radiation, I will have to leave my two beautiful children behind for a while so “mommy’s back will stop hurting”. My goal is the same as before - I plan to live to see them grow up, graduate, get married, and have children of their own. Being away will be tough, but my plan is to have friends and family stay with me a week at a time to transport me to and from treatment.

We are so blessed to have such faithful family and friends willing to help. You have already helped us so much bringing us dinners and helping to keep our children during this trying time. Many of you continue to ask what you can do. I have been so thankful for the many prayers we have received and we truly believe it has made a difference. Beyond that, I have been approached on numerous occasions about setting up a GoFundMe account to help with the expenses. We are fortunate to have good insurance, but there is no doubt the expense goes well beyond insurance. So, after much thought and prayer, we have decided to move forward with the account. All of the monies will be used for my care, living expenses, and travel to and from Houston. Any excess monies will be donated for research associated with my tumor.

Cancer research has made tremendous strides in the last 10 years and the upcoming 10 years will transform how cancer is treated. I know we will find a cure. Know that I deeply appreciate all of your thoughts and desire to help. We are truly blessed."

We are starting a Facebook page for Katie's recovery so that friends, family, community members and contributors can follow her story and leave messages of encouragement and support. 

You can visit the page here !

Please consider making a generous donation to help Katie and the Sanders family on Katie's road to recovery. It is my privilege and honor to bring our friends and colleagues together to assist strong supporters of our community in their time of need.

-Deborah Barnhart