Teresa Corder Cancer Treatment Fund

In late 2017 my mom was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mouth, a common cancer of the head & neck. She had a lump on her jaw that was causing severe pain, headaches & migraines. It was this issue that lead to her cancer diagnosis. In December 2017 she underwent a 10 hour surgery to remove the mass from her jaw as well as all of the lymph nodes in her neck, to prevent the cancer from spreading. During this surgery she also underwent 2 skin grafts, one top-layer graft on her leg & one multi-level graft on her right forearm that went all the way down to the muscle. The larger skin graft from her arm was used to fill the space in her mouth where the tumor mass was removed & the layer of skin from the leg graft was used to cover the tissue removed from her forearm. She was placed on a feeding tube until her mouth could heal. She was told this would be in place for up to six weeks. Shortly after this difficult surgery she was told that the skin graft in her mouth had failed, the skin tissue had died & needed to be replaced immediately with donor skin. This was done successfully right after Christmas 2017. Everything looked great, despite severe swelling & a scar that covered the entire width of her neck, things were healing well. Finally on January 17th 2018 her feeding tube was removed. Her surgeons & doctors were very happy with her recovery but there was more to come. During her second surgery to repair the failed skin graft in her mouth, several biopsies were taken to retest the area around the original cancer mass. One of these biopsy samples came back positive again for cancer. The team of surgeons & specialists working on my mom's case couldn't agree wether or not the result was positive or negative due to an infection that was present at the time the biopsies were taken. These samples were sent to outside labs to determine if they were in fact cancerous. After multiple reviews they were found to be negative & clear of cancerous cells. Her surgeon believes she could have a type of cancer than can return in various areas & has the potential to be extremely aggressive. In the meantime, my mom is unable to work as she is on a temporary medical leave from her job & her medical bills are piling up. She has health insurance, however it is not covering all of the massive medical bills that have come in. As of March 1st 2018 she owes over $14,000.00 in medical bills. She is still going through physical therapy treatments so the bills will continue to grow. My mom is the most loving, giving & genuine person you'll ever meet. She has a sweet soul & brings so much joy to her children & grandchildrens' lives. There aren't words to describe what an incredible person she is & how desperately her family wants for her to be healthy & happy again. I know it would be extremely helpful to relieve some of the financial burden, so please donate what you can & please share this with anyone & everyone you know. Even if the only thing you can give are words of encouragement, it will be so helpful to keep my mom's spirits high during this difficult time. Please keep her & our family in your prayers!