Nora's Fight Against Breast Cancer

In January, 2013, my wife Nora, was diagnosed with triple negative, stage four breast cancer. She just finished her second chemotherapy treatment with four more to go. Recent CT and PE scans showed the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes under her left arm and neck. At this time neither organs nor bones are involved.

We have health insurance (health saving plan) and we have covered the $10,000 deductable. We've also kept treatment and members of her medical team within the insurance program's network. But breast cancer isn't like having your appendix removed. The co-pays are piling up and we're just getting into this.

Nora "retired" from the health care field (for a decade she worked in a continuing care retirement community as an aid) so she is no longer employed. I'm a free-lance writer (and Medicare baby) and make money with the various projects I'm involved in. I am also Nora's primary care giver (i.e., husband!).

I am doing everything I can to cover our medical costs but it looks like I'd need a best seller to match Nora's medical care. I'm trying to raise funds to cover those costs.

I discovered "crowdfunding" via a story on NPR a few months ago, prior to Nora's diagnosis, and planned to write a magazine article about it. I'm still going to do the article but from a much different perspective. This seems so very personal, neighborly, a lost quality that Nora and I have rediscovered in our recent move to the "real" Lowcountry of South Carolina.

And now this.

Visit Nora site, www.noradevere.org, for updates.

Paul