Crystal Whitney skin cancer battle

Hi, my name is April, and Crystal Whitney is my older sister. Crystal is a single mother of two beautiful children who supports herself by working for 'Women up North', an organisation that supports women escaping domestic violence and works 2 days a week as a naturopath.

Crystal had her first BCC (basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer) removed from her face when she was 23yrs old. Since then, she has had several BCC's surgically removed from her face every year and is only 37yrs old. More recently, she has had a very large invasive BCC surgically removed from her forehead, requiring an 8 cm x 6cm skin graft. She has had this surgically removed several times over the last few years, each time entirely excised on pathology but eventually recurring in the same area. The out-of-pocket cost for this surgery was around $5000. The treating multidisciplinary team is still deciding if this area will also require radiation treatment.

Today, on 13/10/22, my sister is undergoing further surgery to remove another BCC from the inner corner of her eye, requiring another skin graft. During this surgery, further BCCs in her hairline will also be removed, and a biopsy of the rim of her eyelid will be conducted as another new BCC is suspected. The cost for this graft surgery will be similar to the forehead graft. Crystal has recently seen a geneticist who has ordered tests for Gorlin's syndrome, a rare genetic condition in which people continue to develop basal cell carcinomas; if this is the case, BCCs will continue to occur.

Due to the BCCs being on the face, each removal, specifically grafts, must be completed by specialist plastic surgeons at the Gold Coast; hence the cost of the procedures.

I hope that by setting up this fundraiser, I can help alleviate some of the financial pressure Crystal faces and will undoubtedly continue to face in the future. Any contribution would be very much appreciated.

Update 11/03/2024:

Hi and a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed to Crystals fund raiser thus far. Crystal continues to have further BCC's identified and removed from her face and scalp; some requiring multiple excisions due to unclear margins. She continues to wait for a comprehensive genetic screening (that has been conducted at no cost as it is part of a clinical trial) to determine what, if any alternative treatments may be appropriate for her skin condition.

Today some of the more confronting images of Crystals face have been removed from this GoFundMe at Crystals request; she does not wish to be defined by her scars.

Once again, thank you for all of your support, it means more than you know xx April