Help Brittany Nicole Lee Fight Oral Cancer

At 28 years old, Brittany Nicole Lee was diagnosed on April 30, 2024, with invasive squamous cell carcinoma, a type of oral cancer of the tongue and mouth. This news was devastating to Brittany and her family. The treatment for this aggressive cancer was presented as two options. The first option is surgery to remove the tumor from the tongue and a large amount surrounding the tongue and mouth with reconstructive surgery. Option two would also be followed with six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. This treatment presents a possibility of permanent speech impediment and voice change.

 

On May 30, 2024, Brittany was told that right now there is still some hope. Right now, the cancer is still treatable but as quickly and aggressively as the cancer and the tumor is growing, it will more than likely spread to her lymph nodes and other organs in a short amount of time. At that point there will not be any hope for treatment and Brittany has been told that she will maybe have one year to live.

On June 24th and 25th Brittany went to Moffit cancer center and the the Doctors that she saw explained the 2 options above with her and told her that now after her updated scan that the chemotherapy and radiation option is not valid and that if she was to do that option she would die within the next three years because with this treatment it would make the cancer spread uncontrollably and they would not be able to control it so the safest option is surgery so she opted in for the surgery to live and have the rest of her life.

With surgery that would intel cutting half of the oral part of her tongue out and could be more by the time the surgery is and also they would be cutting her neck from side to side to clean the floor of her mouth out and taking the lymph nodes out then cutting her left arm from her wrist to the bend of her arm taking her blood vessels,muscles and skin for the reconstruction for tongue and also cutting the back of her legs for skin grafting her arm and possibly her tongue also depends on how much more skin they need for her tongue surgery will last at least 9 hrs and be in hospital at least seven days could be longer depends on how she does after surgery and then come home for 7 to 8 weeks and after that she will have to undergo radiation to sweep the floor of her mouth to kill the rest of cancer.

UPDATE

On August the 6th she had her surgery it ended up lasting 12 Hrs the Doctors ended up having to take 60 percent of her tongue out and the whole right floor of her mouth out like mentioned above they took skin,muscle,nerves,blood vessels and rebuilt her tongue arms floor of mouth and rerouted all the nerves and muscles in her mouth so the blood flow would continue and not fail the reconstruction the healing process for the tongue and mouth is up to 8 weeks could be longer Doctors said everybody is different.

The Doctors also took a graft from her leg and put on her arm so her would heal which could take up to 3 months and then they put another graft on her leg also which Doctors said that would heal in two weeks and it did.

On August 26th the pathology report came from surgery and her radiation Doctor called her and told her that they are staging the cancer in her mouth at stage 3 so therefore she will have to have chemo and radiation.

So on August 28th her oncologist Doctor called her and told her that with head and neck cancers they stage cancers differently than any other cancers so with that the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes and the Doctor said that she was very blessed because out of all the lymph nodes they took the one that didn’t have cancer is the main one that spreads to organs so therefore she is very blessed and with that the staging is stage 4a.

So her staging is stage 3 and stage 4a so she will have to do chemotherapy and radiation for 6 weeks Monday thru Friday.

All of the Doctors told her that with the treatments they give her 80 to 90 percent chance that the cancer will never return but if she didn’t do the chemotherapy and just done radiation they give her a 15 percent chance with the cancer coming back worse within a year so she will be doing both chemotherapy and radiation.

Brittany first has to get her arm healed being the graft has got infected and come to find out the infection came from one of the stitches.

Then her main surgeon has to clear her then her radiation Doctor will be setting up what he needs to in September and then her oncologist will setup what he needs then Brittany will start treatment middle of October.

 

Brittany Nicole Lee desperately needs help, and we are asking for everyone to come together and assist her so she will have a fighting chance for her life.

 She has been told now that with her insurance her insurance has done approved and paid all but the copay but she has to come up with 100,000 for her copay for her chemotherapy and radiation treatments her insurance has already paid all but her copay.

 

She will need more than that for follow-up treatments if the first round of treatments don’t kill what is left of the cancer in her neck but we all are believing and trusting God that she won’t need but the first round of treatments.

She has desperately tried to get government assistance for insurance and with help of family contacting senators and governor office and only to be turned away. 

Now she has insurance but has to worry about trying to reach the copay so she can get treatments If she is not helped in some way, she will face the remainder of her time suffering with this aggressive cancer and possible death at her young age since the cancer went from stage 1 to stage 3 and stage 4a in a 4 month period.

The cancer facility is wanting Brittany to stay on campus so she will be close by within walking distance to the treatment facility and the cost of that stay is 20,000 but they are looking for cheaper prices and somewhere but we all know God will make a way.

 

She will need more than the amount of money listed above so any financial assistance for expenses and back-and-forth travel and bills will be greatly appreciated by Brittany Lee and her family.  She humbly thanks everyone for reading her story and for taking the time to donate to her desperate cause. The cause is her fight for life now for time is running out for treatment and possible hope for survival.

 

Brittany has now lost more than 50 pounds since her diagnosis in April.

 

Please help Brittany have a fighting chance for life as any amount of monetary help will be greatly appreciated. The family is begging for your help and generosity. Brittany really needs everyone to come together and support her medical needs and to remember her in prayer.

One thing Brittany has going for her and she constantly says God has her and she’s not worried about it all cause God will make a way and she is a winner either way regardless of whatever happens.

 

Thank you all for your support, donations, and prayers.