Help Support Joy's Cancer Relief

An Update on Joy:

Joy has just completed her 20 grueling weeks of Chemotherapy and is on to the next chapter.

Her body now needs some healing time. Her whole body is swollen from the Taxtol Chemo. On March 1st she is scheduled for surgery called a Lymph Node Dissection. This is to remove lymph nodes and check them for microscopic cancer cells. If all goes well, they will proceed with a Lympha procedure. This is to help prevent Joy from getting Lymphadema in her arm, which would probably be a life long ailment.

Unfortunately, the insurance company does not believe that this is a necessary surgery so she has to pay for it up front.

After healing from the surgery, Joy still faces five weeks of Radiation therapy for five days a week.

The fatigue all of this has caused her has been very rough but she has been amazingly strong through all and is still focusing on her twin girls and making sure that they get to all of their activities and get their schoolwork done.

Thank you to everyone for your continuing love and support.

Wholeheartedly,

Kathi Goettling, Joy's Mom

Dear Friends, Family, and Kind Hearts,

This story comes from the son of Joy Puhrmann/Goettling.

In May of this year, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in a routine mammogram at the age of 42.

At first, it was classified as a Stage 1B meaning that in her case, several tumors were found in her left breast and two of the lymph nodes under her arm.

After extensive testing, it was agreed upon through several doctors that surgery would be done and that, unless something unforeseen arose, she would begin radiation only approximately 4 weeks after the surgery.

On August 4th, she had a Lumpectomy and lymph node dissection to remove the two lymph nodes. However, during her pre-surgery exam, there was evidence of more lymph nodes that showed signs of microscopic cancer. The surgeon removed 9 nodes, the two original, and 4 of the other 7 turned out malignant.

Her cancer is now considered Stage 3. Her road is lengthened with two months of Aggressive Chemotherapy, then 12 more weeks of additional chemotherapy, after which she must have another surgery, including a Lympha to help prevent Lymphedema and then the radiation 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Even though she has insurance, an overwhelming number of bills still need to be paid.

My mom's strength and resilience have always amazed me, and I have no doubt she will conquer this challenge too. For as long as I can remember, she worked hard to raise my sister Cadence and me, and now she is working hard to raise my two twin sisters, Madilyn and Mariah, who are just six years old. She has done this much of the time as a single mother working a 9-5 job as a schedular for the Olympic Medical Center. Now we have much help from John, her husband, and our stepfather, who has been a tremendous financial help to the family and a caring and supportive father to us and now my twin sisters. She can do almost no work during chemo and surgeries, making this expense all the worse.

I am a senior in college and can not help very much, but I know, and anyone who knows her knows, that she deserves much better than this. She has given me an amazing opportunity in life, and I want her to have the rest of hers to be just as amazing. She has a long journey ahead of her, and the medical bills are already starting to pile up.

Please consider supporting my mom on this journey. Your donation, no matter the size, will make a real difference. It will help cover medical expenses and provide the peace of mind she needs to focus on getting well.

If you're unable to contribute financially, your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement mean the world to us. Please share this message far and wide to reach as many people as possible.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Deven Biehler