Update 12/24: Thank you SO incredibly much to those who have donated and shared! It means so much to us! Because of the support from this fundraiser, she will be able to pay her mortgage next month which takes a HUGE amount of stress off her shoulders! She will begin chemo, immunotherapy and radiation within three weeks and she can focus more on getting ready for that and beating this s**t!

My mom, Whitney, started experiencing breathlessness in October and went to urgent care to get it checked out. She was told she had COPD and was prescribed inhalers and antibiotics. When her symptoms didn’t improve within a week, she went to the ER. There, scans revealed a large tumor in her left lung. A bronchoscopy biopsy was performed, and somewhere during that process—either due to the tumor itself or the procedure—her lung partially collapsed. This led to a pneumothorax diagnosis, and she is now on oxygen.

Because of this, she is unable to do much physical activity during the day, which has been one of the most frustrating parts for such a fiercely independent woman. She was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma lung cancer, with metastases to her brain, breast, liver, and lymph nodes. She is scheduled to begin targeted radiation therapy for her brain lesions. Unfortunately, the closest cancer center to us does not offer this type of targeted radiation, so we will need to travel 58 miles each way for treatment.

At this time, we are still waiting to learn the plan for her chemotherapy and immunotherapy options for the rest of the cancer. Personally, I find it incredibly frustrating that it is taking several weeks from diagnosis to the start of treatment at such a critical time—but that’s another rant for another day...

My mom is my best friend. She has always been a giver, and her life revolves around family and work. No matter what financial ups and downs we’ve faced over the years, she has always done everything she could to give us a good life. And not just my brother and I but also my nephew, who she got kinship custody of from foster care. (He's a grown 19 year old now) She works incredibly hard and deeply cares for the people she serves. For the past few years, she has worked as a direct support professional for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and it is heartbreaking for her not to be working right now. She really misses her clients!

She went from working 10-hour days, four to five days a week, to a completely sedentary life almost overnight, and it is really wearing on her mentally and emotionally. She has never been a sedentary person—even on the few vacations she’s taken, she’s always been on the move. Being forced to slow down like this has been extremely difficult for her.

Because she is unable to work, finances are becoming tight, which is adding a lot of stress. Her Oregon Leave benefits have not yet been processed, and she has used all of her PTO. She needs a financial lifeline during this time to help cover her mortgage and basic bills until those benefits begin. I have been helping financially where I can, but my resources are limited, especially since I’ve had to take time off work to accompany her to appointments.

One thing about my mom is that she does not like handouts, so the idea of starting this GoFundMe has been a struggle for her. As soon as her leave benefits are processed, this fundraiser will be taken down.

She is truly fighting with everything she has. We’ve started a nutritional regimen and changed her eating habits—from a steady diet of Dr Pepper to the herbal teas I’m now forcing her to drink. She’s doing her best to stay strong and keep going.

I need my mom.

She needs to be here to watch my kids come into this world and grow up, along with her current grand kids. There are so many things she still wants to do and hasn’t had the chance to yet. It is not her time to go.

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you to every single friend, family member, and “stranger” who contributes—big or small—or even just shares this fundraiser. You are appreciated more than you could ever know.