Tonja's cancer has spread to her liver. She is scheduled for a liver ablation procedure called NanoKnife this month. This is a five-hour surgery and hospital stay in Miami. Hopefully, the procedure will kill the cancer tumor in her liver. As you can imagine, this is a costly surgery that is only partially covered by insurance (if at all; they are currently in the approval process.) Any help you can give with the cost of this is greatly appreciated!

You never think it will happen to you, but for my friend, Tonja Pektas, it did.

In the early part of this year she was diagnosed with cancer - Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma, an extremely rare blood vessel sarcoma in her lungs. Only a few hundred people a year are diagnosed with this type of cancer….it’s so rare that there is no standard treatment. Instead, treatment is experimental at best and it often metastasizes to other major organs, leaving Tonja with a very uncertain future. She recently learned that it has metastasized to her liver.

Tonja has five children and two grandchildren. She homeschools her two youngest children, has one in college, one a recent college grad, and her eldest daughter has two of her own children. Tonja is an active member at her church and also works a part-time job. Life pre-cancer was busy and full. As you can imagine, a cancer diagnosis creates a whole new realm of stress and uncertainty.

When Tonja was first diagnosed in the early part of 2021, the insurance denied all claims, calling them a pre-existing condition. She had been misdiagnosed for several years as they thought the cancer was an autoimmune disease. In a short amount of time, the medical bills mounted into thousands and thousands of dollars! Though she was able to change the insurance, the deductible was also very high.

My hope is that this GoFundMe account will alleviate some of the financial stress that this diagnosis has put on Tonja and her family. This was an unexpected and unplanned diagnosis (obviously), and stress is not good in finding victory over cancer. Thank you in advance for the part you will play in Tonja's fight against this cancer and her ultimate healing. Anything that you can do to help is greatly appreciated and an answer to prayer!