Support for Juju

On October 7th, 2022 Juju was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. After follow ups with a specialist and lab work, it was determined that she was going to need to do an immediate D&C to remove a tumor in her uterus followed by a partial hysterectomy in December.

In December of 2022 she had the main procedure completed to remove her uterus fully. The procedure was a success and biopsies revealed that the cancer was stage 1A which meant that it had not spread, and therefore she would not be needing to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

However, on January 26, 2023, further lab results revealed that Juju had tested positive for Lynch syndrome. This is a genetic mutation that is hereditary, and as it turned out, Juju had a 50/50 chance of getting it. Having Lynch Syndrome means that Juju will always be high risk for several different types of cancers, and she will need to undergo multiple different screenings each year. It also determined that she needs to get her ovaries removed, and that if she wants to have children in the future, she needs to freeze her eggs as soon as possible.

Furthermore, after an endoscopy and colonoscopy in the spring of 2023, Juju had two polyps removed from her colon and one of the polyps biopsied did turn out to be cancerous. Fortunately, after several more tests and a second opinion, it was determined that cancer had not spread past the polyp and that all the cancerous tissue had been removed. However, this means that Juju will need to continue to be extra vigilant in the years to come with her screenings.

Juju is currently scheduled to have her ovaries removed on December 19th of 2023. It’s imperative that she gets the procedure done as soon as possible due to her risk level of ovarian cancer and the fact that ovarian cancer screenings are fairly unreliable generally speaking.

Lynch Syndrome tends to affect each generation a decade earlier than the last, and Juju is currently in the age range where she would be even more prone to cancers. For example, her aunt who has the syndrome was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 42, so this means that Juju could get it as early as 32.

Not only has Juju had two cancers in less than a year, but she has also had to undergo countless tests and screening procedures. On top of that, she is a full time graduate student, studying to become a physical therapist.

She continues to be committed to her bright future as a physical therapist, and she has remained astoundingly resilient in the face of the many tremendous hurdles that life has thrown at her this year.

Our goal is to help our beloved friend cover the cost of some of her outstanding medical bills, as well as to help cover the cost of her egg freezing procedure so that she may start a family when she so chooses to. We know that she would make an an amazing mother, and due to testing available this will provide her the opportunity to ensure that lynch syndrome is not passed down to any of her future children. Additionally, we hope to aid in covering outstanding medical bills from her past procedures, as well as help cover costs for some of her upcoming procedures and future screening and tests down the line. Below please find a complete list of the aforementioned procedures for reference.

Past Procedures with outstanding bills:

D&C Tumor Removal

Partial Hysterectomy

Endoscopy & Colonoscopy

Lab tests & Blood work

Upcoming Procedures:

Egg retrieval - est within the next 4 weeks

Ovary Removal - December

Hormone Replacement Therapy - ongoing post ovary removal

Second Endoscopy and Colonoscopy - December

Future Procedures:

Lynch Syndrome Testing for Viable Eggs when family planning

Possible Thyroid Removal & additional hormone replacement Therapy

Continued annual screenings & biopsy procedures

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through Juju’s story. If you know her, you know she has a heart of gold and would do anything for her friends and family. She is an incredible person and through this campaign we are hoping to support her as much as possible with her ongoing Lynch Syndrome battle. We greatly appreciate any donation big or small.

With Gratitude,

Traci & Megan