Cancer Treatment

Hi, I'm Katy. In November last year, we moved an hour away from my family; my in-laws moved in with us 2 weeks later, and 3 weeks after that I was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer, metastisized to my liver and lymph nodes. I had chemo for six months, then 28 rounds of radiation, during which time I couldn't work. My surgery was November 16 this year and I spent five days in the hospital. As far as we can tell all the cancer was removed! I'm grateful every day to still be here with my loving husband, friends, and family.

Now that the life-threatening part is over, we're struggling with bills. I was on disability through work so I only got 60% of my regular pay for about 9 months. I'll have one more surgery next year to reverse the temporary ileostomy, so I'll be briefly out of work yet again. In the meantime, bills from the medical procedures have piled up, as well as the credit card debt we incurred to make up for my lost income. I'm looking forward to getting back to work on the 19th, but it's going to take us probably a few years to get unburied and get the collection calls to stop if we don't get some help. I've never done anything like this - it's hard to accept help! - but our little family has been through so much because of me this year that I just want to try and fix it. Bless you for reading, and no matter what, take care of yourself. And get a colonoscopy!