Support for Carlie during cancer treatment

I am rallying support for my friend, Carlie, who was recently diagnosed with and is being treated for an aggressive form of cancer.

In October 2023, Carlie found a mass near her right armpit that was growing daily leaving her in increasingly more pain and unable to use her arm. She wasn’t able to get in for a mammogram for weeks and the pain got so bad she went to the ER. On December 1, she was scheduled for surgery for the large mass in her armpit, in addition to a huge swollen lymph node that appeared to be full of the same substance as the mass. Carlie was sent home with a drain in her armpit after the surgeon removed the 11 cm mass and lymph node. For comparison, that’s larger than a full-term baby’s head. Larger than a grapefruit. LARGE.

When Carlie went back for a follow-up and drain removal on December 8, she learned that the mass was cancer, specifically Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Carlie’s care was transferred to oncology at KU Medical, a research and teaching hospital with incredible doctors. More tests and scans quickly followed: a breast MRI, mammogram, CT, ultrasound, and PET scan. Fortunately, the scans showed that there was no cancer in her breast, but that the cancerous mass in her armpit was already coming back quickly after only TWO weeks. A rigorous treatment plan was established of chemotherapy, more surgery, and radiation.

Carlie started her 4-6 rounds of chemotherapy treatments on January 23, 2024. Because of the strength and type of chemo, she will be going in for treatment every 3 weeks for a total of 12-16 weeks. As many people know, chemo is brutal. Her side effects have been nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, hair loss, joint pain, tongue pain and swelling, and neuropathy (nerve pain, tingling, numbness in her fingers). With the mass growing as rapidly as it is, despite the chemo, Carlie is still in a great deal of pain. She has been unable to use her right/dominant arm fully, making basic self-care challenging. The pain has made it incredibly difficult for her to care for her patients as a hospice nurse, and has been really feeling the effects of pushing past her body’s limitations.

Carlie is now halfway through chemo and is beginning to worry about lost income with her upcoming second surgery and radiation. Surgery will require a few weeks of recovery time and radiation will be EVERY DAY Monday-Friday for 6 weeks.

In Carlie’s words:

For two months, I will have almost ZERO income. I'm scared to death of having cancer AND being homeless. How do I schedule 12 hour nursing shifts if I have to go do radiation? Employers aren't too happy about nurses just leaving in the middle of a shift. I am an agency nurse, so I self-schedule. Some shifts are close, but others can be an hour away, meaning they would be pretty far away from where I go for radiation. It's not cool to walk into your job and say, "By the way, I'll have to leave in the middle of my shift and I'll be gone for 2-3 hours.” I'll also have the added expense of gas, with going to radiation every day. No one, including me, likes to ask for help. In fact, I'm crying and feeling nauseated just writing this. But I need help. I can't do this by myself.

We are raising money to support Carlie through this scary and challenging time. Please help Carlie with her lost income and added expenses so she can focus on her healing and recovery.