Help Kim get home care and a crucial medical test

My name is Robyn and I started this fundraiser for my friend Kim Self when I learned that her medical insurance was refusing her a life-altering test.

Kim is a fun-loving, adventurous, kind and generous person with a beautiful family—two young boys and a husband of 17 years. She’s been an amazing friend and support to hundreds of others in her cancer journey, after being a community yoga teacher and massage therapist.

For the last four years she has been dealing with metastatic breast cancer, and she's been a total badass. She is full of passion and energy, loves life and wants to live. She has plumbed the depths of every available angle on how to best approach this cancer journey. She has gone to unimaginable lengths in her quest to uncover every advantage—and share that information with others.

Not only has she completely transformed her life, diet, and myriad protocols while enduring chemo and radiation, but she’s researched relentlessly and taken the time to share valuable info with anyone she encounters. The effort she puts in every day to manage her care—despite a tumor-induced paralyzed arm—and deal with doctors, bills, and insurance while tending to her family is like holding three full-time jobs!

Her efforts were paying off. Doctors marveled at the how her brain lesions shrunk, and how she seemed to be stabilizing. In fact, just a couple of months ago she was hiking and attending yoga retreats, and even rescued a sweet little dog.

However, recently she found it increasingly difficult to swallow and discovered she had a new tumor in her esophagus, which has been biopsied.

With this new development, we realize there’s missing information that could really put her in front of this.

There's a highly detailed test called the DATAR that could be performed on the biopsy to take the guesswork out of the best course of chemo. This test allows doctors to dial in chemotherapy choices and other protocols in an extremely precise manner to ensure that it's the most effective for her type of cancer, most beneficial for her genetic profile, and least toxic to get the job done.

(Kim had general genomic testing early on that revealed that the particular chemotherapy initially recommended at first diagnosis could have proved fatal. )

The DATAR test, recommended by her medical team, is not covered by her insurance.

As she recently posted on Facebook: “Your cancer care is not coming from your doctor. Your plan is dictated by who the administration of your cancer care hospital is contracted with (who are not doctors) and your insurance team (who are not doctors).”

Kim has been inspiringly irrepressible and resilient during this four-year crucible, but felt particularly exhausted and disheartened with this recent roadblock. The effect of emotions on our immune systems is irrefutable. I’m sure we can all relate. It set her back and put her in the ER twice recently from dehydration and severe gastrointestinal disturbance. However, true to form, Kim is still determined to beat this.

Kim and her husband are pursuing every possibility to pay for this test out of pocket. As you can imagine, Kim’s care over the past four years has drained their family resources considerably. Let’s help her get this test NOW and be able to move forward in her care.

I have set the goal of this fundraiser simply for the total cost of this rather expensive test, to put it in reach for Kim.

(Should we happen to exceed the goal, I assure you every cent will go toward Kim's care.)

This is what communities are for. I have been so touched seeing communities come together and do for fellow humans what institutions will not do. Let’s do this for Kim! I’d want the same for myself. We all would. Thank you so much! Give what you can; every bit helps.

UPDATE: Kim also needs home health care for the next few weeks to nourish herself back to health for the next steps, whatever they are. This is NOT hospice! She is still incredibly determined and pursuing all her options. However, she has a tumor in her esophagus and for now can only eat blended foods, which are hard for her to prepare with a paralyzed arm, and she is weak from recent hospitalizations. Her husband is working (sole breadwinner) and kids are in school. She is determined to get strong again. She just needs some help. This will cost about $1000 over the next couple weeks. I have adjusted the goal accordingly. Thank you for your kindness!