Help Denise Potter Fight Brain Cancer

In January of 2020 my mom, Denise was recovering from knee surgery when she unexpectedly lost her father. A week later, mom had a short seizure that left her unable to move or speak for several minutes. Once she regained control of herself she was able to make an appointment with her primary care doctor who ultimately decided that her seizure was brought on by stress and an electrolyte imbalance. In February, mom experienced a second focal seizure. Immediately, she was taken to the hospital.  We spent all night waiting to hear the results, hospital staff told us she needed to be admitted because her CT scan showed an abnormality and they needed to get an MRI. The MRI results showed a brain tumor in the left frontal lobe. Mom had brain surgery scheduled for April 1st at KU Med, but due to Covid-19 her surgery was canceled. At this point, my mom was having multiple seizures a day which resulted in her being hospitalized for nearly a week. She was exhausted every day and never felt well anymore, she had constant headaches and was dizzy and racked with nausea. But she is still the strongest woman I know. She was never sad or angry during this process, instead, she made jokes and focused on her healing. All that she wanted to feel well enough that she could make her grandkids Mac and Cheese again. Eventually, we contacted the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and immediately booked a surgery to remove the brain tumor and get a biopsy. 

My mom has been a wonderful nurse for at least 20 years, dedicating her life and career to helping others. It has been difficult for mom to ask for help, and she pushes herself every day to be better and to fight. Family is the most important thing to my mother and more than anything she wants for us, her family, to be okay. She checked on us constantly. It got to the point that she couldn't read or text without having a seizure, but she would FaceTime every day to check in on us and her grandbabies.

On May 1st, just days before her birthday she arrived at the Mayo Clinic so that she could have a craniotomy and biopsy done. We had to stay in a hotel and waited for updates by phone as we weren't allowed in the hospital. Because of Covid-19, she went through the entire surgery and recovery alone. The surgeon was only able to safely remove 30% of her tumor. This is a battle that needs a community and family to fight against.

The biopsy results revealed what was already suspected, mom's tumor is classified as a Grade 2 Oligodendroglioma, brain cancer. Mom has a gene mutation called an IDH mutation, which has a high likelihood of chemotherapy benefitting her. June 3rd, mom started her chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy will last a year and then she started radiation treatments.

I know 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, but it has been particularly devastating for my family. My mom is out of work until she is cleared by her doctor, grossly diminishing their income. With the cost of her brain surgery being $25,000 (after insurance) and the impending cost of monthly chemo treatments, the medical costs are becoming a burden they can't keep up with.  And with everything else that's going on with her, the last thing I want is for her to worry about medical bills or how she's going to afford her chemo treatments. So again, while I know this year has been the actual worst for everyone, if you are able to give anything at all it would be a great relief for my mom.