Defend Karen's Victory Against Brain Cancer

In May of this year, after several specialist visits and missed diagnoses, our ever-smiling, supportive and beautiful Karen Fournier was diagnosed with a rare and poorly understood malignant brain tumor called Glioblastoma. Karen's tumor is inoperable so radiation + chemotherapy were the recommended treatments. But a month or so into the chemo, Karen was taken off of the treatment due to her body's inability to withstand the strain.  Fortunately, Karen was approved for a new form of brain tumor treatment called Optune . Optune works by sending low-intensity electric fields through patches on the scalp that stop the growth of tumor cells. (I know - sounds like an ad but it's really the stuff of scifi!) This is the best treatment for Karen's particular situation and one of the good things is that she doesn't have to stay in the hospital for the treatment as it's a "wearable" device and it's portable! (Check out this beautiful video  of Darrin getting Karen ready for her Optune placement.) The completely wretched part about Optune is the cost. Optune costs $21,000 per month! 

In addition to this pricey treatment, Karen's general health has taken some hits as a side-effect of the radiation. She has frequent trips to the ER with bacterial and viral infections and she currently cannot walk due to blood clots in her lower legs. 

What this all means is that Karen and Darrin could really use our help with the medical bills. Please consider contributing in whatever way you can. And whether you can or you can't, it would help tremendously if you'd simply share this story on your own social media platform of choice.

And keep coming back to this page as we'll post updates with stories about Karen and Darrin with pics and videos!

Thank you so much from Karen and Darrin!!