I want to share an urgent update on my health and my fight against cancer. On December 11, 2024, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Nodular Melanoma, a rare and very aggressive form of melanoma that grows and spreads quickly. In my case, it has spread to my lungs, making treatment especially difficult. Over the past year I have gone through multiple treatments and clinical trials, many with severe side effects that have made it challenging to work, and my employer let me go. My doctors are now evaluating me for CAR-T cell therapy at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. This advanced treatment uses a patient’s own immune cells that are specially engineered to recognize and attack cancer cells. It offers hope, but it is also a complex process and a long road ahead.

Because I have been unable to work for over a year, I am now facing a serious financial crisis. Everyday living expenses, medical costs, and maintaining my health insurance so I can continue treatment have become overwhelming. Asking for help is very difficult for me, but I truly cannot do this alone. If you are able to donate, share my fundraiser, or keep me in your prayers, it would mean so much. Thank you for standing with me during the hardest fight of my life. Lydia