Support Nicole after her latest cancer surgery.

Over the past four years my partner Nicole has navigated through a rare form of salivary gland cancer. Her journey in this time has included biopsies, two separate diagnoses, and two maxillectomies to ultimately remove her entire palate. She has undergone two rounds of radiation in the months following these procedures. Her recovery has in part required the construction of several successive custom prostheses, replacing the palate and eleven of her top teeth. The cancer and its aftermath brought on severe, chronic and sometimes debilitating pain. She has faced this all with grace and resilience undue to such incomparably difficult experiences.

The financial side of this entire process is its own separate ordeal, of course. For a time, Nicole received disability benefits through her former employer. Those benefits were terminated suddenly and unexpectedly at the end of November. The justification for this termination rested on poorly-formulated evaluations by consultants with no special knowledge of oncology or cancer recovery. The process to challenge any of this legally is long and winding - I'm making this fundraiser in anticipation that she will lose at least six months of disability as we fight for an appeal.

In the meantime, Nicole has been advised by her doctors to rest. This was already going to be difficult enough with things running smoothly, but the loss of these benefits puts us in a difficult position. And it adds needless stress to Nicole's recovery. She's told me so many times she wants nothing more than to feel better, to return as fully as possible to everything she loves so much. With the whole of what she's dealt with these past few years, she deserves at the very least relief from financial strain, enough to rest and heal.

With my salary and the disability benefits Nicole was receiving, we were able to make ends meet. But those benefits were her singular income during this recovery. There are many costs directly associated with her treatment: doctor co-pays, medications and prosthetics. The termination of her benefits came completely out of the blue. We're now looking for support to stay afloat as we navigate these next couple of months. Thank you so much for helping us and supporting Nicole in her recovery.