She is fighting the good fight, again!
Donation protected
Hi-
As most of our friends and family know, my sister Michele was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in July of 2017. Chemo began in October and finished up in April of 2018. Finally! After a few bumps in the road, she got through it, successfully. After enduring months of chemotherapy and all of the horrors that go with that, she was able to go back to work after almost a year in June.
One month later she noticed another lump in her neck, so the ultrasounds, scans and biopsies began, again. By November she had to go out on short term disability again but this time, because she had only worked for a couple of months the amount she began receiving was less than half of what she got the first time. She has been through multiple scans, surgeries and biopsies. She has worked with Infectious Disease, Penn and Kimmel Cancer Center in addition to her own Oncologist because although her PET scan became increasingly worse, they were unable to obtain a positive biopsy result and believe me, they tried.
They biopsied her bone, her bone marrow, her sinus, throat, neck, lymph nodes - you name it. To add insult to injury, she spent 3 days in ICU in January with a rare form of Pneumonia. Once that cleared she was scheduled for the latest biopsy procedure, one that was extremely invasive, painful and again, would involve spending time in ICU and a few months of recovery. They took many biopsies, again, lymph nodes, spots in her chest and from her lung. After two painful weeks, finally - a diagnosis. Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 2, AGAIN. So, that means another few months of chemotherapy followed-up by a stem cell transplant (more than likely).
Unfortunately, we all know someone who has gone through this horror, or have done it yourself. Dealing with insurance and co-pays is expensive enough when you have insurance through work or your spouse, but having to go through all of these procedures, doctors and now treatments while paying for your insurance through COBRA, plus copays is a devastating expense. Short Term Disability ends in a month or so and an application for SSDI is in the works but it takes forever and who knows if they will approve it.
We are all helping with anything and everything we can and now I am asking for your help. She has gone through so much and has more to come so if we can alleviate even some of the financial burden that this has caused, it would mean so much to her and all of us. She is a strong girl to have done this once already and I know she can do it again with a strong support system (which she certainly has!).
Please share and help spread the word. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Michele and the rest of our family appreciate your support so much, your calls, texts, FB messages - mean more than you realize.
<3 <3 <3
As most of our friends and family know, my sister Michele was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in July of 2017. Chemo began in October and finished up in April of 2018. Finally! After a few bumps in the road, she got through it, successfully. After enduring months of chemotherapy and all of the horrors that go with that, she was able to go back to work after almost a year in June.
One month later she noticed another lump in her neck, so the ultrasounds, scans and biopsies began, again. By November she had to go out on short term disability again but this time, because she had only worked for a couple of months the amount she began receiving was less than half of what she got the first time. She has been through multiple scans, surgeries and biopsies. She has worked with Infectious Disease, Penn and Kimmel Cancer Center in addition to her own Oncologist because although her PET scan became increasingly worse, they were unable to obtain a positive biopsy result and believe me, they tried.
They biopsied her bone, her bone marrow, her sinus, throat, neck, lymph nodes - you name it. To add insult to injury, she spent 3 days in ICU in January with a rare form of Pneumonia. Once that cleared she was scheduled for the latest biopsy procedure, one that was extremely invasive, painful and again, would involve spending time in ICU and a few months of recovery. They took many biopsies, again, lymph nodes, spots in her chest and from her lung. After two painful weeks, finally - a diagnosis. Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 2, AGAIN. So, that means another few months of chemotherapy followed-up by a stem cell transplant (more than likely).
Unfortunately, we all know someone who has gone through this horror, or have done it yourself. Dealing with insurance and co-pays is expensive enough when you have insurance through work or your spouse, but having to go through all of these procedures, doctors and now treatments while paying for your insurance through COBRA, plus copays is a devastating expense. Short Term Disability ends in a month or so and an application for SSDI is in the works but it takes forever and who knows if they will approve it.
We are all helping with anything and everything we can and now I am asking for your help. She has gone through so much and has more to come so if we can alleviate even some of the financial burden that this has caused, it would mean so much to her and all of us. She is a strong girl to have done this once already and I know she can do it again with a strong support system (which she certainly has!).
Please share and help spread the word. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Michele and the rest of our family appreciate your support so much, your calls, texts, FB messages - mean more than you realize.
<3 <3 <3
Organizer
Kris Valente Pilarski
Organizer
Blackwood, NJ