Help Danielle fight Stage 4 Metastatic Cancer!!!!

Danielle Dougherty and I have been best friends for 27 years. We recently moved together to Tampa FL to start a fresh life in our favorite place.

Five weeks from the date that we moved, Danielle was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer and metastatic peritoneal cancer. At age 54, this was a complete and utter shock. Unfortunately, this is not Danielle's first encounter with cancer. In May of 2021, at the age of 53, she was diagnosed and treated for stage one colon cancer with complete success! Her follow-up testing in December of 2021 indicated that she was still in the clear! Her current team of over 12 physicians were all shocked by her prior diagnosis and especially shocked by this newest diagnosis. Both of these cancers are not common in someone so young. Ovarian cancer is mostly diagnosed in women in their 70's so it is a mystery and very unexpected.

While she was in the hospital, they performed many more tests to get a confirmed diagnosis and develop an exact plan of action. Once they had a plan in place her team decided to go ahead and schedule her port placement for her chemo treatments. But it would have to wait a few days since it was the weekend. Her doctor decided there was no point in sitting here all weekend and not getting anything accomplished so they started her on an aggressive chemo treatment plan on Saturday. That Monday she was released home with a plan of two more rounds of chemo, three weeks apart. At that point, they wanted do some more testing to see if she is a candidate for a radical hysterectomy including her lymph nodes etc. While her treatments are going well, the surgery is now being held off. Her doctors want her to do three more rounds of chemo then do additional testing with a plan then for surgery. Her long-term health care plan will more than likely include chemo pills for the rest of her life.

After her first round of chemo, she lost all her hair. And those that know her the closest know how important her hair is to her. She battles days of exhaustion, foggy thoughts, and has many sleepless nights. However, she has maintained an amazing attitude and an unwavering spirit with the determination to survive this diagnosis and then continue with this wonderful new journey that has started in our new home.

Danielle had just started a new job that she was so excited about. Unfortunately, she was there for only three days when she got the diagnosis. So, this meant no more job and zero income. Her health insurance from her former job had ended just the Sunday before her diagnosis. Terrible timing to say the least. She is waiting to get approved for Medicaid and is not sure what will be covered, and bills are coming in daily. She applied for social security disability but there is at least a 5-month waiting period so in the meantime she has no income at all. And to complicate matters she is still trying to pay off her bills from her first cancer treatment.

The purpose of this go fund me is to help Danielle pay her bills from anything from medical to everyday living expenses. On the good days, we try to take trips to the beach to help her rejuvenate and reset her mind. Our new beach umbrella has been one of our best investments we made when we first moved here. She's able to be in the sun for about 10 minutes then hangs out under the umbrella, with a smile.

Please consider donating to Danielle. She's been an amazing friend to me, and I need her to focus on recovery and not worry about not being able to pay her bills. Danielle is also an outstanding mother to her son and an incredibly devoted daughter to her parents and loved by so many friends.

I spoke to Danielle about starting a Go Fund Me for her. She is stubborn and does not like to ask for help (if you know her, you know she can be a tough cookie) so she finally approved it as long as a put this note in:

"LADIES,

Regardless of where you are in the crazy process of menopause (Pre, peri, post) PLEASE get your yearly PAP, talk to your doctor if anything seems "off" with your body. This could save your life!

With the big move to Tampa I "was too busy" to get to my appointment I had scheduled this past spring. Had I gone, I could be in a VERY different situation right now.

So please, please, please take care of yourselves and pay attention to your body and its good and bad changes. Sending love and hugs to everyone. Thank you"