Help Kimberly Gettings Battle Rare Breast Cancer

My name is Mindy, I am raising funds for my sister Kimberly Gettings (Vadnais) for her medical finances, treatments, and other unexpected financial needs following her rare cancer diagnosis. Very little is known about her cancer other than it is very aggressive. Here is her story:

Kimberly is a young wife and mother with a devastating diagnosis at the young age of 36 years old.

On August 6, 2024, Kim was sent in for a STAT ultrasound and mammogram, followed by a biopsy after finding a large lump in her breast. That day, Kim was told that it was 95% that she had a malignant cancer. She not only had a single mass in her breast, she also had smaller masses in her other breast as well. But the main focus is this large and rapidly growing mass in her left breast. She was referred to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, but was turned down because of the quality of her health insurance and the lack of funding to pay out of pocket. Kim was then referred to a general surgeon for care.

After the torture of waiting a week, Kim received the positive result of a malignant cancer, with a possibility of a malignant phyllodes tumor due to the rarity of the biopsy results. Pathologists reviewed the biopsy because malignant phyllodes tumors are extremely rare. Not everyone was convinced of the diagnosis and Kim was then told, in order to know what kind of cancer Kim had for sure she had to undergo a lumpectomy and a biopsy of the full mass to know exactly what kind of cancer they are looking at. The surgeon rushed Kim in because the mass was rapidly growing in size. The surgeon was hopeful they removed the whole cancerous mass and sent the whole mass for biopsy. Kim suffered complications from the lumpectomy sending her for an emergency surgery because of a growing hematoma in the breast tissue. They corrected what they could find during surgery but could not find the active bleed and Kim was sent home with a drain tube to collect the excess fluid as she heals. Once again, we all waited for the biopsy results. Although Kim's surgeon was hopeful the tumor was removed as a whole, they were also wrong, and the tumor was present along the margins of the biopsy. They are now wanting her to go in for a mastectomy to remove the entire breast. Ideally it would be best to have a double mastectomy, however her insurance hinders that. Because the smaller masses in her right breast were not biopsied and confirmed with a cancerous diagnosis, her insurance will now allow for a double mastectomy. She will also need to undergo a biopsy in her right side as well before any treatment options will become available.

Unfortunately the results were far more unexpected and she in fact did not have a malignant phyllodes tumor. The pathology report came back as Periductal Stromal Sarcoma of the breast. This type of breast cancer is one of the rarest of the rare. There is very little to be known about this cancer. The number of cases reported of this type of cancer in medical literature and treatments and prognosis are unclear because of how rare this cancer is.

Our goal is to raise money for Kim to go to a Cancer institute and to be treated by Specialists and receive high Oncology care due to the rarity and aggressiveness of this cancer.

Along with needing money for treatments, surgeries, and care in general, Kim lives in a remote area a couple of hours away from her current surgeon and any treatment options available to her. Expenses such as gas, food, and any other unexpected expenses are going to be costly. Kim recently lost her employment, and her husband is doing his best to provide what he can, but in this economy, things are difficult, and they can use all the help they can get especially considering the rarity of her cancer diagnosis. All funds go directly to Kimberly for her medical and financial needs.

Please help Kim fight!

Help Kim beat this!