$4,410 raised
·58 donations
Tracy Hess Benefit
Donation protected
To say Tracy is strong is an understatement. At 28 years old, Tracy has been through more than anyone should in a lifetime. She is strong. She is beautiful. She is a fighter. She is an inspiration to us all. Here is her story......
Fall 2014 {26 years old}, Tracy was having issues with her mouth and worried that her wisdom teeth had shifted and were moving her teeth, causing issues with her tongue. As a result, she had two wisdom teeth pulled on the left side of her mouth. The right side looked ok so it was decided to wait to do anything more until the near future.
December 2014, right after Christmas, Tracy noticed a lump on her tongue. She had noticed that the irritation she thought she had experienced from her wisdom teeth was coming back. After Christmas, a lump appeared on the top back left side of her tongue. She had a dentist appointment coming up and figured she would ask them about it then.
January 2015, the lump began to get really painful and it became difficult to speak and eat.
February 2015, Tracy visited her dentist and no one could figure out what the lump was. She was sent to an oral surgeon, where she underwent a biopsy. Within a week, it is confirmed it is squamous cell carcinoma. Tracy meets her new head and neck cancer surgeon and surgery was scheduled for Feb 26, 2015.
Tracy had a subtotal glossectomy, which is the removal of a portion of the tongue. One-third to one-half of Tracy's tongue was removed and reconstructed from a portion of her left thigh.
She spent two days in the ICU, five days in the hospital and three more in a rehab facility.
March 30 2015, Tracy began six weeks of radiation (30 treatments, everyday for about 10 minutes per treatment). She spent six months in speech therapy. Tracy had a feeding tube from February to August 2015.
Tracy had one year of clean scans. At her year and half scan, a blip was noticed on her CT scan.
October 2016, Tracy underwent a scan and found a new nodule (lump) on her right lung. After discussion with other doctors, Tracy decided a biopsy was the best option. Within days, the pathology came back that it was cancer in her lung. The same as her initial diagnosis.
November 2016, Tracy had wedge dissection of the lower right lobe of her lung. They removed about 3cm of her lung using robotics. It was minimally invasive, but required intense recovery. She spent 2 days in the hospital, but even months later, she is still exhausted most days.
December 2016, Tracy is in her last year of grad school, focusing on getting healthy and back to her 'normal self'. Tracy is now undergoing scans every three month, with her next scan in February.
Tracy is so strong. But she needs our support. Help her #squashsquamous! Any donation is greatly appreciated and will go towards ongoing medical bills and expenses.
Fall 2014 {26 years old}, Tracy was having issues with her mouth and worried that her wisdom teeth had shifted and were moving her teeth, causing issues with her tongue. As a result, she had two wisdom teeth pulled on the left side of her mouth. The right side looked ok so it was decided to wait to do anything more until the near future.
December 2014, right after Christmas, Tracy noticed a lump on her tongue. She had noticed that the irritation she thought she had experienced from her wisdom teeth was coming back. After Christmas, a lump appeared on the top back left side of her tongue. She had a dentist appointment coming up and figured she would ask them about it then.
January 2015, the lump began to get really painful and it became difficult to speak and eat.
February 2015, Tracy visited her dentist and no one could figure out what the lump was. She was sent to an oral surgeon, where she underwent a biopsy. Within a week, it is confirmed it is squamous cell carcinoma. Tracy meets her new head and neck cancer surgeon and surgery was scheduled for Feb 26, 2015.
Tracy had a subtotal glossectomy, which is the removal of a portion of the tongue. One-third to one-half of Tracy's tongue was removed and reconstructed from a portion of her left thigh.
She spent two days in the ICU, five days in the hospital and three more in a rehab facility.
March 30 2015, Tracy began six weeks of radiation (30 treatments, everyday for about 10 minutes per treatment). She spent six months in speech therapy. Tracy had a feeding tube from February to August 2015.
Tracy had one year of clean scans. At her year and half scan, a blip was noticed on her CT scan.
October 2016, Tracy underwent a scan and found a new nodule (lump) on her right lung. After discussion with other doctors, Tracy decided a biopsy was the best option. Within days, the pathology came back that it was cancer in her lung. The same as her initial diagnosis.
November 2016, Tracy had wedge dissection of the lower right lobe of her lung. They removed about 3cm of her lung using robotics. It was minimally invasive, but required intense recovery. She spent 2 days in the hospital, but even months later, she is still exhausted most days.
December 2016, Tracy is in her last year of grad school, focusing on getting healthy and back to her 'normal self'. Tracy is now undergoing scans every three month, with her next scan in February.
Tracy is so strong. But she needs our support. Help her #squashsquamous! Any donation is greatly appreciated and will go towards ongoing medical bills and expenses.
Donations
Organizer and beneficiary
Cassidy Williams Kuyper
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
Tracy Hess
Beneficiary