Saving My Mom's Life ~ Sandy Maffiold
Donation protected
My mother is the strongest person I know. She is independent and has always fought to excel in everything she does. It's time I help her in the only way I know how to...
On March 14, 2017, she was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). At that moment, our lives completely changed. But being the fighter she is, she wiped away my tears and said, “Okay, what’s the next step?” Within 10 days after the diagnosis, she was having her first of 4 surgeries, along with 6 weeks of radiation, 3 months of immunotherapy, and even a cancer oral medication which made her extremely sick. The oncologist gave her a life expectancy of less than 6 years. That was the best and worst thing my mother could hear. She decided to become her own advocate and start fighting for herself. She researched alternative treatments in other countries and fortunately, found a treatment facility in Phoenix, Arizona called Euromed Foundation. When the doctor called her, she sent him all of her records and scan reports and he said, “We can definitely help you. We can’t cure you, but we can help you.” Less than a week later, on June 15, 2018, my mother packed her car and got her Chihuahua, Papi, and headed across the country (2,500 miles) to start treatments. She had to be there for approximately 4-6 weeks for the initial treatments. After 4 days a week for 5 weeks, and 2 blood transfusions, my mother got the good news that her blood work showed that her cancer markers had gone down and that the treatments were working. This was the first good news we had gotten since that horrible day in March the year before. The doctors have put her on a monthly recall, and she has been back twice since the initial treatments. Unfortunately, because none of this is FDA approved, insurance doesn’t pay a dime of the treatments. She has depleted all of her savings and every time she goes back, it costs her $6,000 for 3 days of treatment and that doesn’t include travel or lodging.
Any donation helps tremendously.
On March 14, 2017, she was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). At that moment, our lives completely changed. But being the fighter she is, she wiped away my tears and said, “Okay, what’s the next step?” Within 10 days after the diagnosis, she was having her first of 4 surgeries, along with 6 weeks of radiation, 3 months of immunotherapy, and even a cancer oral medication which made her extremely sick. The oncologist gave her a life expectancy of less than 6 years. That was the best and worst thing my mother could hear. She decided to become her own advocate and start fighting for herself. She researched alternative treatments in other countries and fortunately, found a treatment facility in Phoenix, Arizona called Euromed Foundation. When the doctor called her, she sent him all of her records and scan reports and he said, “We can definitely help you. We can’t cure you, but we can help you.” Less than a week later, on June 15, 2018, my mother packed her car and got her Chihuahua, Papi, and headed across the country (2,500 miles) to start treatments. She had to be there for approximately 4-6 weeks for the initial treatments. After 4 days a week for 5 weeks, and 2 blood transfusions, my mother got the good news that her blood work showed that her cancer markers had gone down and that the treatments were working. This was the first good news we had gotten since that horrible day in March the year before. The doctors have put her on a monthly recall, and she has been back twice since the initial treatments. Unfortunately, because none of this is FDA approved, insurance doesn’t pay a dime of the treatments. She has depleted all of her savings and every time she goes back, it costs her $6,000 for 3 days of treatment and that doesn’t include travel or lodging.
Any donation helps tremendously.
Organizer
Erica Englebert
Organizer
Winston-Salem, NC
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