Gina's Cancer Treatment

Thank you all for taking the time to hear my story. This past decade has been tough for my physical and emotional health. Like most people, I don’t enjoy asking help. I always liked to be the person who could help others and it was those experiences that brought me my greatest joys in life. I have found myself needing help more regularly than I would like in these past few years and due to my recent cancer diagnosis, I find myself in that position again. I am going to share a bit of my story with you all to bring some understanding to my situation. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting me and my family. We are grateful for the help we have already received and could not make it through this without you. I am deeply grateful for all of your time, prayers and love.

Ten years ago my son, Jonathan, was killed in action by an IED in Afghanistan. Six years later, I had a heart attack and a quadruple by-pass surgery. The next year, I had a stroke that thankfully didn’t have too many lasting repercussions, and one year after, I had to have surgery for an aortic aneurysm. This last May I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Squamous Cell Carcinoma. In April, I noticed what I thought was a cancer sore and by May it had grown covering half of my tongue. It took our insurance until August 1st to approve the surgery to remove it and by that time it traveled to my lymph nodes and I had lost 40lbs because I could not eat. I believe if I could have had surgery right away they might have been able to contain it. They removed 47 lymph nodes (2 had cancer in them) and a portion of my tongue. At the end of October, I will begin radiation and chemo therapy for 6 1/2 weeks. It has not been easy and I’ve been fighting with all I have to push forward.

I’ve often wondered if my declining health and the death of my 19 year-old son were connected. I’m sure medically I will never know, but the shock and grief of losing him was very hard to recover from. My husband Ben (Richard Storll) has also been fighting for us by advocating on my behalf with the insurance companies while supporting us financially. We’re both exhausted, but determined to beat this. This is why we are asking for help. We have been trying as hard as we can to fight this on our own, but the medical expenses on top of everything else have put us in a position where we need to reach out and ask for help. Currently our expenses are as follows: $5,000 for surgery on my thyroid, $1,000 for chemo, $3,000 left over from the initial surgery on my tongue on top of countless deductibles, medications and existing bills from my heart surgery. Most urgent, we need at least $1,000 for chemo therapy. Radiation will also cost $8,500 and we are uncertain of how much insurance will cover. I am hoping to start these treatments as soon as possible so that I may be well in time for my youngest daughter's wedding in the spring. Unfortunately, our insurance only covers a small amount needed for my treatments and the deductibles alone have created tremendous difficulties in seeking care. 

Once again, thank you for your love and prayers. We would not have made it this far without you.

-Gina

*Note for GoFundMe purposes: Richard Storll is my Husband and the beneficiary of this campaign