Help Katie as she battles stage 4 cancer

On behalf of all of our families, we are starting a GoFundMe for my daughter, Katie Hilbert who is facing the unimaginable.

On January 5th, 2024, Katie was diagnosed with triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma, one of the most aggressive and deadliest forms of breast cancer. Last week we got confirmation that it is stage 4 with metastasis to her lungs, pectoral muscle, and several lymph nodes throughout her body (axillary, mediastinal, internal mammary, pulmonary hilar, esophageal, and upper abdominal). Katie has developed an incredibly positive attitude about the diagnosis stating “Well, it will just be that much more impressive when I beat stage 4 cancer.”

Katie is a 38 year old wife and mother to four children. She is a full time critical care nurse who has a passion for life, nature, the outdoors, music, and art. She is a very loving and caring person who has been celebrated by multiple patients and families throughout her nursing career for the highly compassionate care that she gives. She is a fierce mother and protector of her children and helped her oldest daughter beat cancer as a teenager, spending countless hours researching the disease and finding the best doctors to treat her condition.

Katie has joined with two wonderful oncology teams at two different hospitals, as well as a functional medicine doctor. We are attacking this head on as a family and have tirelessly been working and researching. She has been put on an extreme diet and extensive supplement list, and along with her functional medicine doctor, has come up with an alternative treatment plan to compliment the conventional treatment plan the oncology teams have decided on. We are trying to throw everything possible at this disease from every direction. She has already started radiation therapy, and will begin chemotherapy on February 12th.

Katie is continuing to work as much as she is able to between all of her appointments and treatments, and will continue to work as much as her body will allow her. With her recent schedule since her diagnosis, all of her appointments have caused her to miss a great deal of work already. The doctors have warned us that while she is currently feeling relatively well, the continued radiation and chemotherapy will likely make it physically difficult for her to carry out her duties as a critical care nurse. In addition, many of her tests and none of her alternative treatments are covered by insurance.

Katie and her husband Brian need help with all of the medical bills, treatments, travel fees, and out of pocket expenses. Katie and Brian’s families are doing their best to handle as much on their own as they can, but they need help.

If you are unable to make a donation, please consider sharing their story. Katie is one of the strongest people I know, but even she knows she cannot do this alone. As a Christian, she is asking for as many prayers as she is able to get.