I’m posting this to ask for help for my sister, Jessica Gunning. On January 28th, Jess went to the ER for pain in her back and just below her ribs — something that had been bothering her for a few months. She works as a manager at Olive Garden and assumed she had simply lifted something wrong, but the pain kept getting worse and harder to ignore.

After a CT scan in the ER, everything changed instantly. She was admitted immediately, and the word “cancer” was spoken — not as a possibility or something to test for, but as a diagnosis — while she was alone in the ER. I was one of the first people she called, and being that call is something I will never take for granted.

Jess spent five days in the hospital, undergoing a biopsy but leaving with very few answers. After discharge — despite one doctor recommending she stay — she was asked to return the very next day for another biopsy as an outpatient.

Over the past three weeks, we have navigated countless appointments, tests, and requirements. We have now learned that Jess has abnormal metastatic ovarian cancer that has spread to multiple areas of her body, including her back muscle, abdomen, and diaphragm — and that’s only what has been seen so far on imaging.

As I write this, she is undergoing three MRIs and a PET scan, hoping to gather the information needed so she can begin chemotherapy next week. We are holding onto that hope tightly.
 I’m reaching out because Jess is going to need help — even though asking for it is something she would never do herself. She has always been fiercely independent, but right now she cannot work, and chemotherapy will keep her out of work for some time.

Funds raised will go directly toward:
 • Medical treatments and medications • Travel and gas for appointments
• Everyday living expenses
• Mortgage and household bills during treatment

 We fully believe she will beat this and return to work and the life she loves — but she needs support to get there.

Through all of this, Jess has remained incredibly positive and strong, holding firmly to her faith in God.

If you are unable to contribute financially, we completely understand. Your prayers mean just as much. Please pray that chemotherapy shrinks the cancer, that her pain lessens, that healing comes, and that God’s plan carries her through this journey.

We will be setting up a Facebook page soon so friends and family can follow Jess’s journey toward recovery (God willing). Updates and the link will be shared as soon as it is available.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love, prayers, and support.