Support for Susy's Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

Co-organized

Heidemarie Petersen and Christine Williams are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Sarah Cathryn.

Donation protected

Hi there, I'm Heide, a longtime friend of Susy Spence, creating this campaign on behalf of Susy and her family. We have an urgent need for your help.

On January 20th, Susy had an MRI done to understand why she was getting persistent headaches. A 4x4 cm mass was found in her brain and she has been diagnosed with a probable glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer. This is beyond devastating news, as she is not only a mother of 2 young children, but she possesses one of the gentlest and kindest souls despite having to overcome so much in her life...only to be met with this diagnosis.

The average survival timeline for glioblastoma is 12-18 months, but she is committing everything she has to prepare for whatever the future holds.

Here's the plan:

Surgery to remove the mass on February 4th, then 4-6 weeks of recovery before beginning aggressive radiation and chemotherapy;
Pay for a second opinion from a premier cancer hospital;
Opt in for experimental treatments where available.

Obviously, we all know that cancer causes chaos, and Susy's life already didn't have much flexibility to it. She's a devoted mother to her two beautiful children, Cosette (5) and Ivan (1.5). Her love and perpetual sacrifice for them is overwhelming, despite the obstacles she has faced as an adult. I can speak directly to this point, because even though Susy is a private person, I've gotten to witness first-hand the grueling work she's put in to carve out a future that's healthy, balanced, and peaceful for her family.

To that point, she's been studying at Eastern Michigan University, working her way towards a degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She will have to drop out of school, which also means losing half her small income overnight.

We are raising money to immediately help with the following expenses:

Medical and pharmacy costs;
Second opinion consultation with expert;
Travel expenses for treatment at hospital/s out of state, if necessary;
Basic necessities (rent, bills, food, etc);
Other costs related to her diagnosis.

Please consider donating during this time. We will update as we know more and, on behalf of the entire family, thank you from the depths of our hearts.

(Susy's sister, Sarah Spence, is managing the finances of this campaign.)