Help Our Friends In Need....

As many of you may know, Sarah was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer in November 2015, after already beating cancer in 2010. This has been a long road for their family, knowing that there is no cure, no remission in Sarah’s future, and average life span is 6-8 years for Metastatic cancer. The chemo medication she is on has many side effects – she is often times too tired to cook dinner, the fatigue puts her in bed very early in the day. She is only able to work a reduced schedule (30 hours/week) due to her lack of energy. She suffers from nausea, headaches, pain in her back from previous tumors & surgery, and easily falls into depression. She has now been referred to palliative care to help with the side effects for better quality of life. All of this is a huge stress for their family. Each year, they have faced mounting medical bills. Out of pocket maximum limits increase each year, and with all the tests, scans, biopsies, surgeries, doctor visits, etc., Sarah meets this every year, so medical debt piles up quickly. This year alone, the out of pocket costs for their family is $8,000. And, the monthly amount that they spend on her medications is a big financial burden as well. Things quickly add up, and with two teenage daughters, the daily costs of living can be overwhelming when they have this medical debts. They have applied for many grants but are denied as most of the foundations do not consider that Sarah is in “active treatment” because her chemo medication is not traditional. Many foundations don’t recognize that Stage 4 cancer patients are in treatment for the rest of their lives until the methods no longer work. Her husband Michael has been a wonderful caregiver, it is a never ending job. Their oldest daughter Grace, is 19 and in her 2nd year of college at Clemson University, and their youngest daughter Emma, is 15 and is a sophomore in high school. They are also awesome caregivers, but also have a huge emotional burden – not knowing if their mom will be alive to see them graduate, to see them get married, to see grandchildren. The whole family not only has financial stress, but emotional stress as well. If we can alleviate some of the burden, a deep breath might be coming soon for them all!