Help Anne beat cancer
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Written by a close friend of Anne's:
Stoic, hard-working, strong, generous, patient. These are the words I would use to describe our friend Anne.
I’ll never forget a trip we took to Yosemite. Every day was spent hiking our hearts out for the spectacular views, of which there were many in that breathtaking valley. At the trailhead of each hike I would be chatty and excited, Anne focused and quiet. She ran up the steepest climbs with unbelievable strength and sure-footedness.
This is how I think of Anne even today. Confidently pushing herself to new heights and into unknown territory. Although, now, she can’t do it alone. She needs our help.
Anne was first diagnosed with cancer in September of 2014. She had to quit working as a full-time waitress and dig into her savings in order to cover medical costs, living expenses and to continue to support her three sons. As a single mother, she was used to bearing the burden independently and hoped to be back to work as soon as possible. Close friends only heard details about Anne's fight with this horrible disease in snippets after she had beaten it many months later. That's Anne; fighting battles on her own, not wanting to inconvenience others with her struggles.
When the cancer returned in September of 2016, she began to fight again the way she always does: with a positive outlook and a strong will to succeed. Again not wanting to burden others. This time, however, treatment was trickier and the cancer more aggressive. Doctors found cancerous cells in her lymph, stomach, and lungs. Anne underwent another round of chemotherapy, but this time the treatment was unsuccessful.
She persisted.
Applications to clinical trials, insurance coverage and nutritional research consumed her. With the spring flowers came new hope; Anne was admitted to a clinical trial. Everyone who cared about Anne prayed that the cocktail of Ipilimumab and Nivolumab would bring back her strength, her health, her life. Unfortunately, after a digestive problem Anne’s body became too weak to undergo the infusion process and she was eventually released from the trial.
She is once again waiting on insurance, doctors and drug companies to offer her new hope, but meanwhile she worries about how she will pay for rent, food, her boys’ college expenses - even the cost of the bandages that cover the wound of her pressure sore isn’t completely covered through insurance.
As anyone who knows Anne will understand, she is reluctant to ask for help, but she needs us. Any small support will help relieve her stress while she waits for disability and financial assistance from the government. To go back to work, to take care of her kids, to go for a morning jog, to go hiking with friends: these are the things Anne would say she'd love to do. While we can’t directly help in her physical struggle with cancer, relieving some of her financial burden is something we can do to support Anne when she needs it most.
A few words from Anne:
I am so lucky to have three amazing children and true friends in my life. I have worked very hard to give my children the best that I could and to raise them in a safe and supportive home. I believe firmly in hard work and independence. However now that I’m sick and am unable work, I humbly ask for your help during this uncertain time for myself and my boys. Thank you to my friends who put together this campaign and have constantly supported me. I feel the love.
Stoic, hard-working, strong, generous, patient. These are the words I would use to describe our friend Anne.
I’ll never forget a trip we took to Yosemite. Every day was spent hiking our hearts out for the spectacular views, of which there were many in that breathtaking valley. At the trailhead of each hike I would be chatty and excited, Anne focused and quiet. She ran up the steepest climbs with unbelievable strength and sure-footedness.
This is how I think of Anne even today. Confidently pushing herself to new heights and into unknown territory. Although, now, she can’t do it alone. She needs our help.
Anne was first diagnosed with cancer in September of 2014. She had to quit working as a full-time waitress and dig into her savings in order to cover medical costs, living expenses and to continue to support her three sons. As a single mother, she was used to bearing the burden independently and hoped to be back to work as soon as possible. Close friends only heard details about Anne's fight with this horrible disease in snippets after she had beaten it many months later. That's Anne; fighting battles on her own, not wanting to inconvenience others with her struggles.
When the cancer returned in September of 2016, she began to fight again the way she always does: with a positive outlook and a strong will to succeed. Again not wanting to burden others. This time, however, treatment was trickier and the cancer more aggressive. Doctors found cancerous cells in her lymph, stomach, and lungs. Anne underwent another round of chemotherapy, but this time the treatment was unsuccessful.
She persisted.
Applications to clinical trials, insurance coverage and nutritional research consumed her. With the spring flowers came new hope; Anne was admitted to a clinical trial. Everyone who cared about Anne prayed that the cocktail of Ipilimumab and Nivolumab would bring back her strength, her health, her life. Unfortunately, after a digestive problem Anne’s body became too weak to undergo the infusion process and she was eventually released from the trial.
She is once again waiting on insurance, doctors and drug companies to offer her new hope, but meanwhile she worries about how she will pay for rent, food, her boys’ college expenses - even the cost of the bandages that cover the wound of her pressure sore isn’t completely covered through insurance.
As anyone who knows Anne will understand, she is reluctant to ask for help, but she needs us. Any small support will help relieve her stress while she waits for disability and financial assistance from the government. To go back to work, to take care of her kids, to go for a morning jog, to go hiking with friends: these are the things Anne would say she'd love to do. While we can’t directly help in her physical struggle with cancer, relieving some of her financial burden is something we can do to support Anne when she needs it most.
A few words from Anne:
I am so lucky to have three amazing children and true friends in my life. I have worked very hard to give my children the best that I could and to raise them in a safe and supportive home. I believe firmly in hard work and independence. However now that I’m sick and am unable work, I humbly ask for your help during this uncertain time for myself and my boys. Thank you to my friends who put together this campaign and have constantly supported me. I feel the love.
Organizer
Heather Marie
Organizer
DesMoines, WA
