Support for Christine Weidinger's Fight Against Cancer

I’ve sat down to draft this fundraiser more times than I care to admit. Today I’m not going to worry about finding the “right” words. Today I’m just going to speak from my heart.

On February 27th my stepmother Christine was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma. The news was unexpected and devastating.

On March 4th, Christine underwent surgery at Duke Hospital to remove a 4.7 cm tumor. The procedure was a success, the mass had been atypically removed in one piece. She was to follow up with a series of radiation treatments to begin in a few weeks once her post-surgery swelling went down. We were feeling hopeful that she had miraculously beat the odds early in her journey. Then on March 18th that glimmer of hope was extinguished when it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to the frontal lobes of Christine’s brain. Radiation was no longer a viable option as there was too much area to cover without causing permanent brain damage. Her road ahead had taken a turn and her treatment options were now fewer and less predictable. As it stands, she will soon begin a course of oral chemotherapy. My father is also looking into metabolic ketogenic therapy with Dr. Eric Westman of Duke and Chicago based oncologist, Dr. Christy Kesslering. Though the trials are showing Metabolic Therapy combined with Standard of Care treatments to be very effective in the treatment of cancer, it is not yet recognized by most medical practitioners and is therefore, not covered even partially by insurance companies. The out of pocket cost for this would be $2,000 to $3,000.

My folks have been hit with several unfortunate circumstances over the past few years, depleting them of all their savings. They are currently living solely off their combined social security, which only covers their basic living expenses. They just received a bill for $18,000 from the rehabilitation facility where Christine was sent after her hospital stay, and they also owe $1,950 to the facility she was recently transferred to for the remainder of her skilled care needs. The hospital bills have just started coming in and are already at a few thousand dollars. We have learned the hard way that the Advantage Insurance Plan my folks were told would provide them with so many more benefits than their traditional Medicare Supplemental, falls short of its promises.

Many know Christine Weidinger as the gifted soprano whose voice has brought audiences in opera houses around the world to their feet. She is powerful and strong and charismatic. She is smart, witty, and funny as hell. She is caring and passionate and beautiful, inside and out. She loves her students, her husband, her family, her friends, and her fur babies. Christine means so much to so many and she urgently needs our help.

No donation is too small and if you aren’t in a position to make one, please consider sharing Christine’s story with your friends and family. Your support in spreading the word would be invaluable and any words of encouragement you want to give, greatly appreciated.

On behalf of the Weidinger/Smith family, thank you in advance for your kindness.

Note: GoFundMe deducts fees from all individual donations so anyone wanting to contribute a larger amount might consider making a private donation. Offline gifts will be manually added to the total amount reflected on Christine’s fundraiser page.