Abby Taylor's Fight for Life Fund

Abby Taylor is a mother of three, two girls and a boy (Evyn-8, Jason-5 and Ellyson-2) She is wife to Jesse, her supportive and loving husband of 9 years. Abby and Jesse have always been self-employed, entrepreneurs at heart. She owned a hair salon for 12 years and Jesse is dedicated to his family-owned business constructing beautiful pools.

On December 17, 2017 Abby was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer with metastasis in her spine. At the time of her diagnosis she was 37 year old. Abby had several major surgeries, followed by chemotherapy and radiation to save her life.

A year went by after her surgeries and treatments with clean scans. In that year, she began to eat clean and educated herself on nutrition and its impact on cancer. She became a yoga instructor and a very spiritually centered person. She uses her yoga practice to strengthen herself- body, mind and spirit. This has helped her to accept her diagnosis and live life to the fullest and not in fear. When she graduated and became a yoga instructor she vowed to take what she had learned and share it with other survivors and anyone else in need. She volunteers her time and expertise with a breast cancer survivors group, the elementary school where her children attend as well as a weekly class that is open to the public on a donation basis. Providing healing, comfort and peace of mind to as many people as possible is her goal.

Abby is all of these things but they aren't what makes her who she is. At heart, she is a sweet and kind person with seemingly endless energy and gumption. Giving her family the most normal life and environment possible, despite her diagnosis, is her first priority. No matter how she feels or what stage of treatment she is in, she strives everyday to create a healthy and happy childhood for her three children.

In October 2019 the cancer came back. Abby was diagnosed with a brain tumor and a spinal tumor. She has undergone the surgeries necessary and continues to fight cancer and the side-effects of treatment with grace and courage. 

One of the worst parts of cancer is the financial impact of treatment on her family of five. This second crisis in her fight for life, in addition to the previous medical bills has put significant strain on her family. Insurance premiums and out of pocket costs are huge. Her family is already several thousand dollars in debt from her first course of treatment and their financial future is uncertain.

Ongoing costs are adding up. Abby developed severe lymphedema after her original surgeries.  Lymphedema therapy and compression sleeves have become essential.  Abby has already had to limit her therapy visits to half of the recommended protocol due to insurance benefit limits. This has become a constant out-of-pocket expense for her family. There is a new surgery that could significantly reduce or cure her lymphedema. This would profoundly improve her quality of life and overall health. The surgery is being performed at the Cleveland Clinic. Obstacles include airfare, travel expenses and a $2000 deductible for this surgery.

There is a medicine that could make a big difference in supporting her immune system to help her to fight cancer even harder. Unfortunately, it is not covered by insurance. The cost of the course of medication is $3600.

It is important to Abby, because of her stage 4 diagnosis, to have experiences with her kids NOW. For instance, she would like to take the children to the beach so that she can watch them see the ocean for the first time. Alleviating the financial stress on the family caused by cancer would make this dream possible.

Since her cancer diagnosis, Abby has been surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family. But with cancer, it is not easy to know what we can do to help. It is urgently important that we make a giant impact to improve her life and the life of her family immediately. As a team of people, let's help to support Abby and her family in their fight against cancer! Please give if you can and please share this message with the great people you know.