Stage 4 diagnosis for Hope

Lori Graham is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Hope Hintz.

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My name is Lori Graham and I want to share the story of a very special person who needs our help. My friend, Hope Hintz was diagnosed in October with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the bone. Unfortunately her cancer is inoperable. She is only 45 years old.

Hope’s history with cancer began 3 years ago when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. She had both breasts removed along with lymph nodes on her left side. The lymph nodes were next to nerves and removing them caused her to lose partial mobility on her left arm. She had to undergo 15 months of physical therapy to regain usage of her left arm again while receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In December 2014 she was thrilled when she was told she had beaten cancer. She went back to work and moved forward with her life. But in August 2016 Hope began having back pain throughout the left rib area, the middle thoracic region, and the lower right hip area which continued to get worse as the weeks went on. A bone scan and a PET scan confirmed the breast cancer had metastasized to the bone with cancer being found on her 8th rib, her spine, and her tail bone. Her oncologist told her that the average life expectancy for patients with this diagnosis is 2 ½ - 3 years, but with continued treatment we hope for many more.

Hope is in constant pain and many of the simple tasks we take for granted are very difficult and at times intolerable for her. It is tough for her to find a comfortable position to sit, stand, or lay down. Her oncologist has prescribed many medications to lessen her pain and Hope has started endocrine therapy to try to get her constant pain to a manageable level. From this point on, Hope’s doctor will try different treatment options to see what works best to keep the cancer from spreading further.

Hope’s family is living solely on her husband’s salary and facing an alarming amount of medical bills throughout the remainder of her life. She has shared with me that she is grief-stricken, not only over her diagnosis, but the thought of leaving her family with all the debt from her battles with cancer. Since December 2013 Hope has accumulated over $24,000.00 in medical bills after insurance has paid their portion. With this new diagnosis her family will incur even more debt and they desperately need help!

Like anyone who is given a Stage 4 diagnosis and told their days are limited, she is overcome with sadness and struggling with the reality of her situation and knowing she must leave her family. In all likelihood she will not be there for so many mother/daughter experiences as her girls grow older and wiser. She will never experience watching one of her daughters go through a pregnancy and bring a beautiful baby in this world. My heart goes out to them. I desperately want to help Hope so I've decided to set up this account and pray that people will want to help ease Hope's burden she faces with her medical expenses that have gotten out of control. We cannot fix the cancer but together we can make her time left less stressful.

Please know that no donation is too small and will be greatly appreciated. I know we have a lot of wonderful people in this beautiful world we live in. I truly hope some wonderful people see this request for help and act upon it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my lengthy plea to help Hope.

If you are unable to make a donation but feel inspired to help, please share this on social media for the world to see.