Support Cynthia in Her Cancer Fight

I am deeply conflicted about posting this, but it has come to the point where I can no longer hide my situation.

At the end of September 2024, I caught what I thought was some food poisoning. That morphed into additional symptoms. In mid-October, I found myself in the emergency department at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where I live. They ran a series of blood tests and CT scans and discovered I had a kidney stone. They also discovered that I have pancreatic cancer.

To tell you that the diagnosis blind-sided me would be an understatement. I have very little cancer on either side of my family. I have never smoked, rarely drink, don’t do drugs, weed, or vape.

Still, the diagnosis is real.

I have no illusions that I am in the battle for my life. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is eight percent. I intend to be in that percentage. Because of the kidney stone, they caught my cancer early. It may end up being the kidney stone that saves my life. My prognosis is good.

For the past few months, I have been undergoing a grueling regime of chemotherapy. That may be followed by an even more grueling surgery. The good news is the chemotherapy is working.

As you might imagine, this has taken a professional and financial toll on me. Being self-employed, I have no real financial safety net and cancer treatment is expensive. I have a mortgage, bills to pay, and two cats to feed. I continue to do some work for clients, but I’ve had to scale back some on that to focus on my treatment.

This is a long-winded way of saying that I am going to need some financial support to get me through the next several months, as I complete my treatment. As I said, I am deeply conflicted about this post. I pride myself on my work ethic and my independence. I’ve always earned my own way. I’ve realized over these past few months that I will get through this, but I simply can’t do it alone.

To that end, I am setting up a GoFundMe page to help me with my living expenses and my cancer care. I know this past year has been difficult on a lot of people, so please do not contribute to the fund if it is going to be a hardship for you. For all others who do contribute, please know, from the bottom of my heart, how much I appreciate your support.

And, again, thank you.

Cynthia.