Support Tammy's Battle Against Rare Cancer

Not even two months ago, on September 26, 2024 Tammy Marquez went in for a simple outpatient procedure to clear her sinuses. We expected her home that day; we still remember our weekend plans. It was supposed to be minor.

A week later, on October 3rd, just about a month ago, Tammy was diagnosed with cancer. We learned these words for the first time: Olfactory Carcinoma.

How did we get here?

Tammy has been suffering from migraines for decades; nothing the doctors were doing helped. Last Easter, Tammy went to the emergency room after the pressure in her head was so bad she couldn’t tolerate it. She also couldn’t breathe through her left side, which only made the discomfort worse.

Tests showed that she had some kind of mass in her nasal cavity above her sinuses. Surgery was performed — by a wonderful team of medical professionals in Santa Barbara — in order to create an airway through the mass of tissue. The tissue was sent to pathology for testing. A few days later we were given the results: Tammy’s sinuses contained a malignant tumor.

A PET scan was performed to confirm that the tumor still partially remained in her sinus cavity. To paint a picture, the mass is located at the roof of her nasal cavity, and from there it is putting pressure against her brain. Because this is a rare cancer (affecting only about 1 in 2.5 million people each year), she was referred to specialists down at UCLA, one of the premiere medical institutions in the world.

On Thursday Nov 14th we are heading back to UCLA where she will undergo a 3 hour surgery to remove the tumor. The ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) surgeon will begin the surgery to remove the part of the tumor located in her sinus cavity and then the Neurosurgeon (Brain Surgeon) will tag in to remove the portion that is pressing against her brain and complete the surgery.

Tammy will be in recovery and under observation at UCLA anywhere from 2-5 days. We are certain she will be under the care of the very best physicians, nurses, and support staff while there.

We ask for your prayers to keep Tammy protected through this procedure and for the Lord to guide the hands of these amazing surgeons.

As Tammy would for any of us, we ask that you send messages of encouragement here. The power of healing through positivity is real!

We have started this GoFundMe to offset expenses during her journey.

As many of you know, the road to recovery is long and arduous. Tammy will be off work and back and forth to many appointments and treatments between Santa Ynez and UCLA over the next 3 months. Anything donated will support her during recovery and assist with everyday self care, medications, meal restrictions, as well as all the extra travel expenses while she is missing work.

We are using the gofundme platform to help keep people updated while she is resting. Regular updates will be posted to keep everyone informed. Check back here frequently so we can share more of her journey.

We love and appreciate you all.