Help Katherine Lick Tongue Cancer!
Donation protected
UPDATED March 13, 2018:
Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraiser. My name is Katherine Stafford, and I am battling tongue cancer (Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mobile part of the tongue). I have left my original story post below so that you may read about what I was trying to achieve before now (which was that I was seeking to raise funds to fight the cancer WITHOUT surgery or radiation.)
However, as I was over 20 months out from diagnosis of this recurrence, and the tumor had grown quite large and was very painful, and I literally had blood pouring out of my mouth from the tumor bleeding, and was very weak and ill, and I had not raised enough funds to go to CMN Hospital in Mexico for my primary treatment, I finally had to surrender to accepting surgery as part of my treatment.
On Wednesday, February 21st of 2018, I underwent a 10 hour surgery to remove 70% of my tongue, and all of the lymph nodes from both sides of my neck (I have an incision from ear to ear from the bilateral neck dissection). The doctors also performed what is called a "free flap reconstruction", where they took tissue from my leg to rebuild the floor of my mouth and to construct something that (while it is not a "new tongue") will hopefully help me to be able to eat by mouth again. (I have an incision that runs from hip to knee on my left thigh; my leg is very weak and in a lot of pain now).
Because of the immense swelling in my jaws, neck, and throat, I have a tracheotomy so that I can breathe (it is meant to be temporary, and will hopefully be coming out soon... But it has been 3 weeks with it now, and has been challenging). I also have a PEG feeding tube for nutrition because I am currently unable to eat by mouth. (Hopefully that will be changing as well; I really miss being able to eat food most of all).
Since I no longer have much of a tongue, I also cannot speak anymore, at least not at a functional level that is understandable. I am currently researching online to find out which iPad and app will be best for me so that I can have a voice again. (There are assistive apps that will speak the text a person types, and I'm hoping to find one that is fairly easy to use, and that also has a relatively natural / human-sounding voice. I don't want to sound like a robot.)
Though I have undergone surgery, and I have an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow (the doctors insist that I should undergo radiation treatment to make sure that it doesn't come back), I would still like to go to CMN Hospital in Mexico to receive their therapies because they will help to rebuild my immune system so that I can heal to the best potential, and also to minimize the damage from the radiation. The woman I first learned of CMN Hospital from who has been cured of breast cancer for 6 years now, she had also already undergone surgery (double mastectomy) as well as radiation treatments BEFORE she went to CMN Hospital (CMN was NOT her sole source of treatment for breast cancer, but it was where she went AFTER the traditional doctors in the United States told her that the cancer had returned and that there was nothing else they could do for her, and that she only had 3 to 12 months to live.)
While I pray that the cancer does NOT return again, I would still like to go to CMN Hospital for treatment as a preemptive form of insurance so that I do not have to hear the words "STAGE 4" or that I only have X amount of months to live.
Please continue to donate so that I can go to CMN Hospital in Mexico to make sure that the Squamous Cell Carcinoma NEVER returns!!!
Thank you for your continued support.
ORIGINAL POST:
Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraiser. My name is Katherine Stafford, and I am battling tongue cancer (Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mobile part of the tongue). I am 20 months out from diagnosis and have not been able to receive treatment due to lack of funds.
I am the sole caregiver for my 5 year old daughter who is on the Autism Spectrum, and it is super important to save my life so that I can continue to be here for her. Otherwise, she will be an orphan (we have no family or friends who can take care of her in the event of my death). My daughter does not understand that Mommy is ill, nor does she understand that I might not be around anymore. Please help me so that no one has to explain to her where I've gone. She means the world to me, and I would do anything to be able to stay and care for her, and see her grow into an adult.
I am seeking support in my quest to prove that no one has to lose their tongue to cancer. The reason I have not received treatment here in the United States yet is because the "standard of care" for tongue cancer here is to surgically remove at least HALF of one's tongue, and to follow that with radiation. Surgically removing one's tongue causes numerous complications, (many of which would be detrimental to my ability to communicate with and parent my special needs child, and some of which could be fatal, not to mention permanent impairment to my ability to eat and drink normally, which is the basis for sustaining life).
I am raising money to go to the internationally renowned CMN Alternative Cancer Treatment at CMN Hospital in Mexico. They provide cutting-edge and life-saving treatments that are non-toxic and minimally invasive. I personally know a success story who went here after undergoing standard treatment in the US (surgery and radiation) who was later told by her American doctors that she had become deemed Stage 4 (she had metastasis to all 4 lobes of her lungs and to her bones), and they told her they had nothing more to offer her, and sent her home to die, saying she only had about 3 months to 1 year to live. That was 7 years ago, and I am happy to tell you that she is alive and healthy today, thanks to the amazing treatment she received at CMN Hospital in Mexico! Since then, her twin sister has had the same type of cancer, and went straight to CMN Hosipital for treatment, and she has now been cancer-free for 2 years also. They are walking miracles, and I hope to be one too! (But I need your help to get there, and fast!)
I invite you to please visit CMN Hospital's web site and read about the many treatments they use to save lives. One of those treatments is the FDA-approved Bone Marrow Transplant / Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy. However, currently, this is the fourth most costly medical procedure in the United States after a heart transplant (ranging from $350,000 to $800,000 depending on whether they use one's own or a donor's bone marrow), but is performed in other countries (including Mexico) for a fraction of the cost. In fact, this procedure is done at CMN Hospital at no additional cost for qualifying patients. (And please know that this is only ONE of many cutting-edge treatments provided at CMN Hospital that work synergistically to restore the immune system and defeat the cancer.)
Taken from CMN Hospital's web site:
" The advanced therapies in CMN’s ACT protocol target cancer cells and destroy them, while simultaneously restoring the immune system’s innate ability to protect the body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal, viral infections and further growth of tumor cells and gently detoxify the body from cancer die off cells and other toxins, with minimal side effects. "
I have decided to reach out for help because I cannot get to treatment on my own, and time is of the essence. Also, my health has recently started to deteriorate (I am 5'10" and have lost down to 98 lbs due to difficulty eating and drinking, and also due to the immense stress I am under). I was kept overnight in the hospital this past week for observation due to severe dehydration, and am hoping to be in Mexico for treatment no later than the end of January.
Please help my fundraiser go viral so that this won't be the last Christmas I spend with my family! If 5,000 people could donate just $10 each, I could get to treatment in NO TIME!! (or vice versa, if 1,000 super generous people could donate $50 each, I could get there even faster!)
I only use these numbers to illustrate that this goal is VERY ACHIEVABLE, but only with YOUR HELP.
Donations of any size are greatly appreciated, and if you are unable to donate it is still a HUGE help if you would PLEASE SHARE the LINK to this FUNDRAISER.
Blessings and Much Love to you and yours this holiday season!! Be well, and take care.
Love, ~Katherine xoxo
Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraiser. My name is Katherine Stafford, and I am battling tongue cancer (Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mobile part of the tongue). I have left my original story post below so that you may read about what I was trying to achieve before now (which was that I was seeking to raise funds to fight the cancer WITHOUT surgery or radiation.)
However, as I was over 20 months out from diagnosis of this recurrence, and the tumor had grown quite large and was very painful, and I literally had blood pouring out of my mouth from the tumor bleeding, and was very weak and ill, and I had not raised enough funds to go to CMN Hospital in Mexico for my primary treatment, I finally had to surrender to accepting surgery as part of my treatment.
On Wednesday, February 21st of 2018, I underwent a 10 hour surgery to remove 70% of my tongue, and all of the lymph nodes from both sides of my neck (I have an incision from ear to ear from the bilateral neck dissection). The doctors also performed what is called a "free flap reconstruction", where they took tissue from my leg to rebuild the floor of my mouth and to construct something that (while it is not a "new tongue") will hopefully help me to be able to eat by mouth again. (I have an incision that runs from hip to knee on my left thigh; my leg is very weak and in a lot of pain now).
Because of the immense swelling in my jaws, neck, and throat, I have a tracheotomy so that I can breathe (it is meant to be temporary, and will hopefully be coming out soon... But it has been 3 weeks with it now, and has been challenging). I also have a PEG feeding tube for nutrition because I am currently unable to eat by mouth. (Hopefully that will be changing as well; I really miss being able to eat food most of all).
Since I no longer have much of a tongue, I also cannot speak anymore, at least not at a functional level that is understandable. I am currently researching online to find out which iPad and app will be best for me so that I can have a voice again. (There are assistive apps that will speak the text a person types, and I'm hoping to find one that is fairly easy to use, and that also has a relatively natural / human-sounding voice. I don't want to sound like a robot.)
Though I have undergone surgery, and I have an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow (the doctors insist that I should undergo radiation treatment to make sure that it doesn't come back), I would still like to go to CMN Hospital in Mexico to receive their therapies because they will help to rebuild my immune system so that I can heal to the best potential, and also to minimize the damage from the radiation. The woman I first learned of CMN Hospital from who has been cured of breast cancer for 6 years now, she had also already undergone surgery (double mastectomy) as well as radiation treatments BEFORE she went to CMN Hospital (CMN was NOT her sole source of treatment for breast cancer, but it was where she went AFTER the traditional doctors in the United States told her that the cancer had returned and that there was nothing else they could do for her, and that she only had 3 to 12 months to live.)
While I pray that the cancer does NOT return again, I would still like to go to CMN Hospital for treatment as a preemptive form of insurance so that I do not have to hear the words "STAGE 4" or that I only have X amount of months to live.
Please continue to donate so that I can go to CMN Hospital in Mexico to make sure that the Squamous Cell Carcinoma NEVER returns!!!
Thank you for your continued support.
ORIGINAL POST:
Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraiser. My name is Katherine Stafford, and I am battling tongue cancer (Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mobile part of the tongue). I am 20 months out from diagnosis and have not been able to receive treatment due to lack of funds.
I am the sole caregiver for my 5 year old daughter who is on the Autism Spectrum, and it is super important to save my life so that I can continue to be here for her. Otherwise, she will be an orphan (we have no family or friends who can take care of her in the event of my death). My daughter does not understand that Mommy is ill, nor does she understand that I might not be around anymore. Please help me so that no one has to explain to her where I've gone. She means the world to me, and I would do anything to be able to stay and care for her, and see her grow into an adult.
I am seeking support in my quest to prove that no one has to lose their tongue to cancer. The reason I have not received treatment here in the United States yet is because the "standard of care" for tongue cancer here is to surgically remove at least HALF of one's tongue, and to follow that with radiation. Surgically removing one's tongue causes numerous complications, (many of which would be detrimental to my ability to communicate with and parent my special needs child, and some of which could be fatal, not to mention permanent impairment to my ability to eat and drink normally, which is the basis for sustaining life).
I am raising money to go to the internationally renowned CMN Alternative Cancer Treatment at CMN Hospital in Mexico. They provide cutting-edge and life-saving treatments that are non-toxic and minimally invasive. I personally know a success story who went here after undergoing standard treatment in the US (surgery and radiation) who was later told by her American doctors that she had become deemed Stage 4 (she had metastasis to all 4 lobes of her lungs and to her bones), and they told her they had nothing more to offer her, and sent her home to die, saying she only had about 3 months to 1 year to live. That was 7 years ago, and I am happy to tell you that she is alive and healthy today, thanks to the amazing treatment she received at CMN Hospital in Mexico! Since then, her twin sister has had the same type of cancer, and went straight to CMN Hosipital for treatment, and she has now been cancer-free for 2 years also. They are walking miracles, and I hope to be one too! (But I need your help to get there, and fast!)
I invite you to please visit CMN Hospital's web site and read about the many treatments they use to save lives. One of those treatments is the FDA-approved Bone Marrow Transplant / Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy. However, currently, this is the fourth most costly medical procedure in the United States after a heart transplant (ranging from $350,000 to $800,000 depending on whether they use one's own or a donor's bone marrow), but is performed in other countries (including Mexico) for a fraction of the cost. In fact, this procedure is done at CMN Hospital at no additional cost for qualifying patients. (And please know that this is only ONE of many cutting-edge treatments provided at CMN Hospital that work synergistically to restore the immune system and defeat the cancer.)
Taken from CMN Hospital's web site:
" The advanced therapies in CMN’s ACT protocol target cancer cells and destroy them, while simultaneously restoring the immune system’s innate ability to protect the body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal, viral infections and further growth of tumor cells and gently detoxify the body from cancer die off cells and other toxins, with minimal side effects. "
I have decided to reach out for help because I cannot get to treatment on my own, and time is of the essence. Also, my health has recently started to deteriorate (I am 5'10" and have lost down to 98 lbs due to difficulty eating and drinking, and also due to the immense stress I am under). I was kept overnight in the hospital this past week for observation due to severe dehydration, and am hoping to be in Mexico for treatment no later than the end of January.
Please help my fundraiser go viral so that this won't be the last Christmas I spend with my family! If 5,000 people could donate just $10 each, I could get to treatment in NO TIME!! (or vice versa, if 1,000 super generous people could donate $50 each, I could get there even faster!)
I only use these numbers to illustrate that this goal is VERY ACHIEVABLE, but only with YOUR HELP.
Donations of any size are greatly appreciated, and if you are unable to donate it is still a HUGE help if you would PLEASE SHARE the LINK to this FUNDRAISER.
Blessings and Much Love to you and yours this holiday season!! Be well, and take care.
Love, ~Katherine xoxo
Organizer
Katherine Stafford
Organizer
Macon, GA
