Phyllis Gowen's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Please folks who care for and love Phyllis and Mike...this is a dire situation and as you can imagine, they feel embarrassed about asking for help, so I am doing it for them...This is their story...
Towards the end of 2017, Phyllis started experiencing severe abdominal pain. Initially diagnosed as a combination of anxiety and IBS, she was treated with various over the counter remedies, dietary changes, etc. In March of 2018, her symptoms got increasingly worse, and she was forced to spend more and more time either in bed or in the hospital as her primary care team, local gastroenterologist, and local ER and attending physicians involved with her multiple hospital stays struggled to figure out what was going on.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with "chronic calcific pancreatitis" by the head of the GI department at UF Shands Hospital in Gainesville after a series of increasingly invasive endoscopic procedures. All pathology up to then had been inconclusive as to the cause, and no pathology whatsoever (blood tests, cytology, needle biopsies, CT scans, etc.) indicated cancer.
In August 2018, out of desperation, her surgeon recommended that she undergo a Whipple procedure. This highly complex procedure involves removing a large portion of the pancreas, a large portion of the stomach, and all of the duodenum… and is usually reserved for advanced cancer patients in an attempt to prolong and provide a better quality of remaining life. She underwent this surgery on September 10th… two weeks later, Mike and Phyllis received the call that nobody wants to receive. The pathology report from the portion of her pancreas that was removed revealed “node negative, margin positive for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma”. Miraculously, there was no cancerous involvement of the 23 lymph nodes excised during the procedure, and only a very small presence of cancerous cells in the margins. She was staged at 1B – another miracle, as most pancreatic cancers are only discovered at stages 3-4, indicating surrounding organ involvement or the cancer having spread into the lymphatic system. Within 24 hours of receiving the diagnosis, Phyllis and Mike were back at Shands and, along with her care team, began making plans to start an aggressive course of chemotherapy to hopefully stop the cancer in its tracks, with the potential for eliminating it entirely.
Due to the extreme amount of pain she was experiencing throughout the entire ordeal - and the opioids prescribed to counter same - Phyllis has been unable to consistently work as a freelance graphic designer since the beginning of the year (both she and Mike are freelance graphic designers, with a wide array of clientele that they have developed over their 13+ year relationship). When Phyllis is in pain, she is unable to even sit at her desk for the prolonged periods required to satisfy client demands ... and when she is NOT in pain, due to the influence of opioids and now the combination of opioids and the cognitive-robbing impact of "chemo-brain", she is unable to produce the quality of work that their clients expect from them, causing her to withdraw from any active participation in the business altogether.
This has left Mike shouldering an immense burden - financially, physically and emotionally - that he managed to keep up with for several months, but ... it is becoming less and less likely that they will be able to make ends meet much longer. Phyllis has been experiencing pretty much every side effect possible from the chemo, which has resulted in her oncologist reducing the strength of the chemo, while also extending the number of treatments from the expected 8, to 16 or more. This also has resulted in Mike having to devote more and more of his time to caring for – and comforting – Phyllis, and less time being able to satisfy the needs of their clients. Mike has considered abandoning their business altogether and seeking full time, outside employment; however, he is Phyllis’ sole caregiver, and full time employment away from their home is impossible any time soon.
During 2018, they depleted whatever modest savings they had accumulated and, starting January 1, 2019, they will be faced with increased monthly healthcare premiums as well as having to meet their annual deductible ... which, with chemo and the litany of prescription medications necessary to alleviate/manage the side effects (as well as bolster her immune system… a single shot of Neulasta costs $8,000 - and she requires 2 shots per month). She is also required to take enzyme replacement capsules before eating ANYTHING, to the tune of $3,000 per month!!! This will result in massive out of pocket costs for the first few months of the year ... which will spell unrecoverable financial ruin for them. All told, Phyllis’ prescriptions amount to over $20,000 per month (exclusive of her chemotherapy itself).
Aside from the obvious insurance/treatment/prescription costs, they are currently 7 months in arrear with rent, and struggle to keep their utilities from being disconnected. At the very beginning of their ordeal, Mike explained to their landlord what was happening with Phyllis. He stopped him mid-explanation and said "let's just revisit this in October ... you have enough on your plate". However, their inability to make any substantial progress towards bringing their obligation current has brought them to the brink of what their landlord describes as “unrecoverable”. The incredible grace that he has extended them throughout this will likely come to an end soon… quite possibly resulting in eviction proceedings and the unimaginable nightmare of facing homelessness while Phyllis is battling cancer.
To make matters worse, they are also in danger of having their primary transportation repossessed (a 2010 Volvo with close to 140,000 miles on it, which needs well over $1000 in repairs to make it reliable and safe for their 1-3 times a week treks to UF Shands Davis Cancer Pavilion in Gainesville (about a 100 mile round trip). Some measure of safety was offered by having a second car… but, that has now been charged off by the lender and will be repossessed any day, unless the entire balance is satisfied.
Update:
Merry Christmas Everyone! This is Julie Moore, creator of the GOFUNDME campaign for Phyllis and Mike Gowen. I am a high school counselor, dear friend of the Gowen's and fellow show person! I am so pleased to report that our campaign has raised over $6,000 for the Gowen's. I want to relate a HEARTFELT thank you to all of you generous supporters. They will be able to use these funds for medical support costs they've incurred and living expenses. This has helped make their holiday season a little brighter and close to getting them out of some of their looming debt (especially rent & car loan payments). Thank you all again from the bottom of our hearts!
Towards the end of 2017, Phyllis started experiencing severe abdominal pain. Initially diagnosed as a combination of anxiety and IBS, she was treated with various over the counter remedies, dietary changes, etc. In March of 2018, her symptoms got increasingly worse, and she was forced to spend more and more time either in bed or in the hospital as her primary care team, local gastroenterologist, and local ER and attending physicians involved with her multiple hospital stays struggled to figure out what was going on.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with "chronic calcific pancreatitis" by the head of the GI department at UF Shands Hospital in Gainesville after a series of increasingly invasive endoscopic procedures. All pathology up to then had been inconclusive as to the cause, and no pathology whatsoever (blood tests, cytology, needle biopsies, CT scans, etc.) indicated cancer.
In August 2018, out of desperation, her surgeon recommended that she undergo a Whipple procedure. This highly complex procedure involves removing a large portion of the pancreas, a large portion of the stomach, and all of the duodenum… and is usually reserved for advanced cancer patients in an attempt to prolong and provide a better quality of remaining life. She underwent this surgery on September 10th… two weeks later, Mike and Phyllis received the call that nobody wants to receive. The pathology report from the portion of her pancreas that was removed revealed “node negative, margin positive for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma”. Miraculously, there was no cancerous involvement of the 23 lymph nodes excised during the procedure, and only a very small presence of cancerous cells in the margins. She was staged at 1B – another miracle, as most pancreatic cancers are only discovered at stages 3-4, indicating surrounding organ involvement or the cancer having spread into the lymphatic system. Within 24 hours of receiving the diagnosis, Phyllis and Mike were back at Shands and, along with her care team, began making plans to start an aggressive course of chemotherapy to hopefully stop the cancer in its tracks, with the potential for eliminating it entirely.
Due to the extreme amount of pain she was experiencing throughout the entire ordeal - and the opioids prescribed to counter same - Phyllis has been unable to consistently work as a freelance graphic designer since the beginning of the year (both she and Mike are freelance graphic designers, with a wide array of clientele that they have developed over their 13+ year relationship). When Phyllis is in pain, she is unable to even sit at her desk for the prolonged periods required to satisfy client demands ... and when she is NOT in pain, due to the influence of opioids and now the combination of opioids and the cognitive-robbing impact of "chemo-brain", she is unable to produce the quality of work that their clients expect from them, causing her to withdraw from any active participation in the business altogether.
This has left Mike shouldering an immense burden - financially, physically and emotionally - that he managed to keep up with for several months, but ... it is becoming less and less likely that they will be able to make ends meet much longer. Phyllis has been experiencing pretty much every side effect possible from the chemo, which has resulted in her oncologist reducing the strength of the chemo, while also extending the number of treatments from the expected 8, to 16 or more. This also has resulted in Mike having to devote more and more of his time to caring for – and comforting – Phyllis, and less time being able to satisfy the needs of their clients. Mike has considered abandoning their business altogether and seeking full time, outside employment; however, he is Phyllis’ sole caregiver, and full time employment away from their home is impossible any time soon.
During 2018, they depleted whatever modest savings they had accumulated and, starting January 1, 2019, they will be faced with increased monthly healthcare premiums as well as having to meet their annual deductible ... which, with chemo and the litany of prescription medications necessary to alleviate/manage the side effects (as well as bolster her immune system… a single shot of Neulasta costs $8,000 - and she requires 2 shots per month). She is also required to take enzyme replacement capsules before eating ANYTHING, to the tune of $3,000 per month!!! This will result in massive out of pocket costs for the first few months of the year ... which will spell unrecoverable financial ruin for them. All told, Phyllis’ prescriptions amount to over $20,000 per month (exclusive of her chemotherapy itself).
Aside from the obvious insurance/treatment/prescription costs, they are currently 7 months in arrear with rent, and struggle to keep their utilities from being disconnected. At the very beginning of their ordeal, Mike explained to their landlord what was happening with Phyllis. He stopped him mid-explanation and said "let's just revisit this in October ... you have enough on your plate". However, their inability to make any substantial progress towards bringing their obligation current has brought them to the brink of what their landlord describes as “unrecoverable”. The incredible grace that he has extended them throughout this will likely come to an end soon… quite possibly resulting in eviction proceedings and the unimaginable nightmare of facing homelessness while Phyllis is battling cancer.
To make matters worse, they are also in danger of having their primary transportation repossessed (a 2010 Volvo with close to 140,000 miles on it, which needs well over $1000 in repairs to make it reliable and safe for their 1-3 times a week treks to UF Shands Davis Cancer Pavilion in Gainesville (about a 100 mile round trip). Some measure of safety was offered by having a second car… but, that has now been charged off by the lender and will be repossessed any day, unless the entire balance is satisfied.
Update:
Merry Christmas Everyone! This is Julie Moore, creator of the GOFUNDME campaign for Phyllis and Mike Gowen. I am a high school counselor, dear friend of the Gowen's and fellow show person! I am so pleased to report that our campaign has raised over $6,000 for the Gowen's. I want to relate a HEARTFELT thank you to all of you generous supporters. They will be able to use these funds for medical support costs they've incurred and living expenses. This has helped make their holiday season a little brighter and close to getting them out of some of their looming debt (especially rent & car loan payments). Thank you all again from the bottom of our hearts!
Fundraising team: Team Moore/Gowen (3)
Julie Moore
Organizer
Raised $2,535 from 24 donations
Zephyrhills, FL
Mike Gowen
Team member
Raised $1,720 from 19 donations
Phyllis Gowen
Team member
Raised $450 from 4 donations
This team raised $8,323 from 86 other donations.
