Support Karen Tollie's Fight Against AML Cancer

My name is Emily Lokka and I am raising financial support for my mom, Karen Tollie (Dulany) as she battles AML cancer. In September 2024, my mom started feeling fatigued and sick for a few weeks. After multiple visits to urgent care, Rogue Valley Medical Center, and OHSU - she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) cancer, turning our lives upside down. Her journey through treatment has not been easy and she has faced many complications. After being accepted into a national trial, her first two rounds of chemotherapy went well, but did not reduce the cancer cells enough to get her to the bone marrow transplant that she needs to reach remission. Since then, she has had two additional rounds of treatment (totaling 4 rounds) that have landed her into long hospital stays to treat her various infections and side effects of the more invasive chemotherapy’s. Karen just finished her 4th round of chemotherapy and after a 4-week stay at OHSU, she has finally been discharged to head home for a couple of weeks. She had her bone marrow biopsy earlier this week and we are praying for better results, with less cancer & abnormal cells, so that she will hopefully qualify for her bone marrow transplant in 2 weeks.

The bone marrow transplant will not be easy and will require her to stay in the Portland, OR area with 24-hour care for 100 days post-transplant. She has found a generous family that is helping to provide housing close by so that her living expenses can keep to a minimum. Our family will take turns taking care of her during this time. Many have stepped in to offer support, but if we are being honest - it’s not enough. My mom has not been able to work since her cancer journey began, leaving her and Mark (my stepdad) with just one income. Mark has had to take many days off work to drive her to appointments and to provide care as her proxy. He will need to take even more days off work in the upcoming weeks as we prepare for her transplant. Her post-transplant care will also require our family to travel long distances (from Nevada, California, and Southern Oregon) to care for her in Portland - as we don’t have family close by who can help at this time. All funds raised will go directly towards travel fees and to fill the gap as they live with only one income. We are grateful for any support that you are able to provide. We know that times are tough, so even if you can’t help financially, sharing this page goes a long way too. Thank you for all of the continued thoughts and prayers to my mom, Mark, and our entire family. If you know my mom, you know she’s a fighter #RaisedTough