Help Frankie With End of Life Expenses

Wish Lists
Health care supplies 
Household Supplies 
Self-Care 




In September of 2017 I was diagnosed with StageIIB cervical cancer. After a full hysterectomy it was discovered during surgery that my cancer had spread and I would need chemotherapy and radiation treatments. 

What followed were grueling months, every weekday heading to the cancer center for radiation treatments, and every Friday spending eight hours with an IV of chemo pumping into my body. It made me weak, sick, and miserable - but I got through it. 

I started to feel normal again a few months after treatment, and I felt as though I had control over my life. I was back at work, full time, and spending time with my friends and family.  Then things started to go wrong. 

I noticed lumps on my groin, the size of a pea. At first I thought it was a cyst or something benign, and my oncologist assured me it was not an issue. On my next post-treatment check up in January of 2019 the masses were much larger and very painful to the touch. My oncologist booked an emergency biopsy because he feared a recurrence. It was benign, but he had no explanation for it.

The biopsy caused necrosis, and it spread rapidly. I was not working at the time which was a relief as I was confined to my bed or sofa, and in excruciating pain. Eventually I was sent into hyperbaric treatment. Every weekday I head to the hospital in the morning and change into scrubs to be put into an acrylic chamber which is then filled with pressurized oxygen. I stay there for 90 minutes, then the chamber is decompressed and I leave. This treatment can be effective for wound healing, and for a moment it did help the necrosis. During this time I started researching what was happening to my body. All of the doctors were not giving me information. I found a support forum and another cancer patient asked if I might have pelvic radiation disease. This sent me down a rabbit hole to try and find a diagnosis. 

I went in to see my oncologist armed with information. At this point he seemed shocked when he examined me and asked me my opinion. I told him I believed I may have PRD, and subdermal radiation fibrosis. He agreed and asked me what I wanted to do. I was scared, and had no idea how to help myself. 

A month ago my health started deteriorating more. I was back to work but struggling each day with immense pain. The masses in my groin started permeating deep into surrounding areas, and were more and more painful by the day. I was having difficulty sitting down, and driving. I could no longer wear jeans or any tight pants without very bad pain. The hyperbaric therapy has not stopped nor slowed down the spread of the radiation fibrosis. The fibrotic tissue does not heal well, and areas have developed painful ulcers. I am still undergoing hyperbaric therapy, and attend a wound care clinic once a week. I also have developed a herniated disc in my neck and and have physical therapy twice a week.

Two weeks ago my doctor told me I should no longer work. Any amount of sitting causes extreme pain, and I am not able to walk well, or very far. The fibrosis prevents me from being able to do simple things. I have been bed ridden for weeks, and there is no answer to when the fibrosis will stop spreading. It is a permanent condition. 

I am losing my home. I can no longer afford my rent as I am out of work. I was hired as a temporary employee for the Forest Service and thus am not covered under the family medical leave act. I have applied for disability, but it is a long and grueling process and there is no way to know when or if I will be approved. 

I will be moving into a small mother in law connected to my sister's house where the rent is minimal and the bills are much lower. I have begun trying to sell belongings to raise money to help with medical and monthly bills. 

I'm not very good at asking for help. I pride myself on being independent and self-sufficient and this has been a difficult thing to accept. I need your help. I need more help than I want to admit. 

My medical bills are high, as you can imagine. I do have insurance, but with the regularity that I have to see specialists it is costing hundreds of dollars each month. For example - I reached my deductible of $6,850 in April. My family has been amazing in managing my care for me, but we are rapidly running through savings. I've been looking into social services that can help while I wait for approval of disability. 

The funds raised through this campaign will go to the following, in order of importance:

Medical Bills

Insurance premiums

Household bills (Rent, utilities)

Living expenses

Moving expenses

...and maybe a dog treat or two!

Thank you for helping me, Thank you so much. Thank you for caring.