On December 17th, our lives changed in an instant. What started as a trip to the Emergency Room for what we believed was a painful kidney stone quickly turned into something far more serious. While doctors did find a stone, they also noticed something unexpected on Tara’s scans — innumerable tiny spots throughout both of her lungs. In that moment, everything shifted from a routine diagnosis to a much bigger and frightening reality.

Since that day, Tara has been on a whirlwind journey of tests and procedures. Just two days before Christmas, she underwent a highly specialized robotic lung biopsy at Munson. We spent the holidays waiting and praying for answers, hoping for the best while preparing our hearts for whatever might come.

The results confirmed what we feared. The cancer Tara fought so bravely in 2024 has returned and has metastasized to her lungs and lymph nodes in her chest and abdomen. The official diagnosis is metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, stage IVB. A recent PET scan also revealed additional areas of concern in her spine.

This diagnosis carries a devastating reality. Without treatment, doctors have explained that Tara’s life expectancy could be drastically shortened — potentially to just months. Treatment offers hope: hope for more time, for quality of life, and for the chance to fight back against this disease. That is the path Tara has chosen.

This news is heavy, overwhelming, and deeply unfair — but Tara is a fighter. She is facing this next battle with courage, faith, and determination, and we are moving forward with an aggressive treatment plan.

As Tara begins this journey, the road ahead will include extensive medical care, frequent travel to appointments, and significant time away from work for John so he can care for her and be by her side. The financial strain of medical bills and daily expenses is already beginning to build, and our greatest hope is to remove as much of that burden as possible so Tara can focus fully on healing and fighting.

We are asking for help from our friends, family, and even kind strangers who feel moved to walk alongside Tara during this fight. Any donation, no matter the size, will go directly toward easing the financial pressure of this journey and allowing Tara the best chance to pursue treatment.

If you’re unable to give, sharing this page and keeping Tara in your prayers means just as much.

Thank you for taking the time to read Tara’s story. Your support, love, and encouragement remind us that she is not walking this road alone.