Litsa Has Cancer Again

Hello, all. I hope you and yours are as well as possible. Sending good wishes. Here’s the scoop: In June, I was diagnosed w/ my second bout of cancer. The radiation from my first bout of cancer, Stage 3 Papillary Carcinoma, failed and the cancer has spread to my lymph nodes. The attached photo is from the surgery I had last year to remove my cancerous thyroid gland and 10 inflamed lymph nodes. In October, I start my next round of tests to determine when I’ll have my next surgery. In 2019, as a result of the Stage 3 Papillary Carcinoma, I had 74 physician appointments and four emergency room visits. I’m disabled (we’ll get to that) and unable to drive, so I got clobbered w/ car fare in addition to a monumental number of large co-payments. Because I’ve disabled for the past 29 years w/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, which is profoundly debilitating and suppresses the immune system, I already walked with a walker and spent most of each day lying flat. If you’ve read my work, please know I’ve written and published each word while lying down. But now I’m so ill that I’m only able to leave the house roughly 45 minutes a day. And I’m physically annihilated thereafter. As a result of the above, I have to move from Seattle. The profit I made from moving *last year*—I sold my condo and moved to a tiny studio—has been eaten up by three sequential medical disasters in one year: Dad was hospitalized for 13 days and died, 16 days later I went to the E.R. w/ what turned out to be the first bout of cancer, and Mom had to have emergency surgery and was hospitalized for 10 days. All of this occurred in 51 weeks. My money is gone and all of it went to medical expenses. While I’m resilient and have prevailed over much in the past, I’ve started this GoFundMe for two essential reasons: 1) To help pay off the huge copayments from my first bout of cancer and to help offset the upcoming expenses from my second bout of cancer and 2) To allow me to remain in my tiny studio until after I complete treatment for my second bout of cancer. Because while I am resilient, even I can’t move with advanced Myalgic Encephalomyelitis while undergoing treatment for my second bout of cancer. No one can. Very much hope you and your loved ones are safe and as healthy as possible. With deep gratitude and profound humility, Litsa