Support Katlyn's Battle Against Cancer

Hi, my name is Rachel. I am Katlyn Girolami’s manager and friend. As you may or may not know, Katlyn is a survivor of childhood cancer, Ewing sarcoma. She has been struggling with what she thought was a canker sore in her mouth for months and having trouble with her teeth and jaw (the site of her former cancer). A CT scan ordered by her doctor revealed significant bone loss, a 4-5cm mass on her tongue, and an enlarged lymph node. Biopsies confirmed the worst: squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue, most likely caused by the radiation from her former cancer treatment.

Katlyn has a successful career for a 26-year-old, making her the main breadwinner for her young family. She’s a mom to a 2-year-old little boy named Jamari, who is her entire world. She has already been out of work for 2 weeks because she can’t talk or eat and is exhausted both emotionally and physically. She is not eligible for paid FMLA and has used up all of her PTO. Her bills are piling up and this fight has only just begun.

In the next week or so, she will undergo surgery to remove a portion of the node for biopsy and half of her tongue. They will use skin from her forearm to repair what was removed. As you can imagine, this is a very long and difficult surgery and recovery. She will be on a ventilator in the hospital while she heals, followed by a tracheotomy tube, feeding tube, and most likely chemotherapy. She has a long, hard road ahead of her. Anyone who knows Katlyn knows she is tough as nails with a heart of pure gold. She can and WILL beat this.

This diagnosis is still very new, and we don’t have a whole lot of information right now, but I will update as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you can spare anything to help cover her bills and help her know her family is taken care of, it would be much appreciated. If you can’t spare anything, please just say a prayer for our girl.