Help Laura Fight Stage 4 Colon Cancer

Dear Friends, Family, and Kind Supporters,

My name is Megan and I am fundraising for my good friend, Laura. Laura and I met in 2013 after our husbands randomly ran into each other on a trail, hunting in the mountains of Colorado. We immediately connected, as were were both critical care nurses. We even worked together for a brief period of time. Over the years, we have kept in touch and have maintained our friendship, even with miles between us. Here is Laura's story, I hope it will touch and inspire you, as it has inspired me...

In the spring of 2021, my friend Laura was diagnosed with both breast cancer and colon cancer. After two surgeries, the last one leaving her with a permanent colostomy, her cancer returned in May 2023 as stage 4 with a metastasis to her uterus and ovaries. Now, her doctors have unanimously told her she must stop caring for others and care for herself. The time is fast approaching that Laura can no longer work as the provider for her family. Even with insurance, cancer treatment is expensive and Laura’s current treatment is not covered by insurance. Without Laura’s income, the $3,500/mo out of pocket expense for her treatment will be unbearable.

Her husband, Michael, left his career in 2018 to dedicate his time homeschooling their 4 children. With Laura's diagnosis and recommendations for her to stop working to heal, Michael has recently obtained his real estate license and is working to start his new career, but the process will not be overnight to replace the loss of income Laura has been providing.

100% of the money raised will go towards medical treatment, supplies, supplements, food, and expenses related to her cancer treatments. Donations can also be accepted through:

PayPal: mike . weems at gmail (no spaces) - this is GoFundMe's way of avoiding phishing

Venmo: @Laura-Weems-3 (last 4 of phone number is 7681)

If you would like to know more about Laura’s story, please feel free to continue reading below:

As a critical care nurse whose life has been dedicated to helping and serving others the last 25 years, Laura has struggled to share her story with others until now. She is a loving, Christian wife and mother of 4 beautiful, young children. For over two and a half agonizing years she has endured the pain and suffering of three surgeries and the debilitating effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatment while continuing to work and provide financially for her family. All while barely breathing a word to anyone about her circumstances and what she was going through.

Having spent the majority of her life in the service of others, Laura is now fighting for her life and needs your help. Her case has been reviewed by three nationally recognized cancer institutes all across the country, including UCLA Medical Center which is ranked as one of the top 5 cancer treatment centers in the nation. After over a month of tumor board reviews, imaging and further tests the only option given to her was to undergo another life-threatening surgery and a repeat of therapies that have yet to show lasting results. With such a poor prognosis, and the fear of not surviving another major surgery combined with the almost certainty of post surgical complications unrelated to the cancer itself, it was no surprise that Laura chose to investigate an alternative approach that would at least provide her with a better quality of life and an opportunity to spend the remaining time she has with her family while not being tied to a hospital bed.

Late last year the family used their remaining financial resources to try an old, little known, yet proven, cancer treatment program offered by the Gerson Institute in Mexico. Laura spent two weeks there and in that time, Laura saw an impressive turn around in her blood chemistry. Her body began responding like it never had before in the last three years. This was due in part to the daily infusions of vitamins and minerals that began restoring and supporting her immune system. After four months of intense, all natural, vitamin supplementation and an organic whole food diet with daily vegetable juices, Laura’s blood chemistry continues to show very positive signs of recovery. It is a slow but steady recovery process that is being closely monitored by her physicians. Thankfully she has been able to achieve the bulk of the therapy at home with the support of her husband and kids. However, due to financial reasons, she has not been able to return to the clinic for additional infusions which are recommended for her continued success on the protocol. Given her cancer’s advanced and aggressive nature, ideally Laura would spend as much time as possible in person at the clinic receiving the daily vitamin infusions but the economic burden is too much to bear.

Sadly, this incredible therapy is not offered in the U.S. nor is it covered by any health insurance. The cost of just one week at the Gerson Institute for Laura is over $8,000. Additionally, because she has opted to not have another surgery at this time, her US doctors are growing increasingly unwilling to order any bloodwork or any type of imaging by which she can monitor her cancer; leaving those as an additional cost burdens to her that can range from $5k-$10k per scan. With the added costs of consuming only 100% organic foods and the huge array of supplements her body needs, the financial burden of Laura’s care has become a strain.

Faced with these out-of-pocket expenses, in addition to having to stop working, Laura needs our help. Every day that she can spend getting the care and support her body needs will be multiplied in the care and service of others once she is healed. Please join with me as we support her in her cancer battle and be part of God’s plan in her life.

For a more detailed and exhaustive account of all that Laura has been through see below.

Laura’s Cancer Timeline

In April 2021, Laura was diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer. A small surgery was recommended and quickly done-success! Routine follow up was recommended.

In June 2021, Laura was diagnosed with rectal cancer. This came as a complete shock. Trusting in her medical background and network of physicians, she had the cancer surgically removed. Thankfully, her case did not warrant the use of radiation nor chemotherapy and her post surgical scans and bloodwork showed no signs of remaining cancer. The surgery was considered a success; Laura and her family were so happy!

However, less than a year from her first diagnosis, in May 2022, a recurrence of the rectal cancer was found. This was a devastating blow to Laura and her family. Given her clear report after the first surgery, the doctors were at a loss as to how or why this had happened. This time the recommended treatment was much more intense and it was decided that a full round of radiation and chemotherapy were necessary followed by another surgery. After enduring the agony of chemo and radiation for 6 months, in December 2022 Laura had another massive, radical, and extremely painful surgery that left her with a permanent colostomy. Thankfully, once again, clear margins were achieved and the surgery was hailed as a success. No one anticipated the recovery from this surgery lasting more than three to four months. However, over a year has passed and Laura’s recovery process remains ongoing.

Having survived two major surgeries in 18 months and thinking she had come out on the other side of breast cancer and twice beaten rectal cancer, Laura was shocked and heartbroken when her doctors discovered elevated cancer markers in May 2023. After months of scans and other diagnostic tests to rule out faulty labs, etc, a biopsy showed Laura had yet another recurrence of rectal cancer; this time with metastasis to her uterus and ovaries.

After consulting three of the largest cancer centers in the U.S. and having her case reviewed by multiple tumor board specialists, all recommended the same course of action-a repeat of what had been done before even in the face of those treatments failing. And they all conceded that with a third surgery, Laura faced increased risks of mortality and very poor odds of the surgery and any chemotherapy doing much more than deteriorating her body further. The chemotherapy Laura had in 2022 was done with the first line drug for her type of cancer; any other chemo to be tried was considered not as good, further minimizing odds of success if she chose this route.

Having been through all of this twice before, without lasting success, Laura continued praying and began evaluating her options. An answer to those prayers arrived through a chance encounter her husband, Michael, had while sharing Laura’s cancer story with a mutual friend. This stranger told a story of successful treatment of her son’s cancer through a program called the Gerson Therapy. After an exhaustive search of medical studies and scientific journals, Laura began to have a different perspective towards her cancer.

In June 2023, at the recommendation of a friend, Laura began seeing a functional medicine doctor (also not covered by insurance). Upon reviewing her case, this doctor was able to draw a very clear roadmap as to not only why she had cancer, but how she could possibly be cured. What was laid out for her to see was a quantitative decline in her immune system that allowed cancer to take hold and thrive. This had presumably happened after years of night shift work, lack of sleep, rest and exercise, and sub optimal diet. The good news was that, given the chance, the body can begin to heal itself. It just needs the tools to let it begin doing the hard work of restoration.

After 3 months of exhaustive work and saving every penny available, Laura was able to secure a visit to the Gerson Institute in Mexico where she stayed for 2 weeks while being treated and taught how to detoxify her body and support it in a way that it could not just survive, but thrive. The program is expensive and incredibly difficult to implement and follow in the fast paced world of today. It consists of up to 12 fresh pressed vegetable juices a day (1/hr). Coffee enemas are used to detoxify the liver. Every meal must be cooked fresh using only organic whole foods, with very limited use of spices, zero sugar, and zero processed foods. At the clinic this is all done for you along with administration of intravenous vitamins and supplements all aimed at kick starting the immune system. At home it requires the cooperation of everyone, including her 4 children, to source and prepare 20 pounds of produce per day. It is a Herculean task for anyone, let alone a mother of 4 children who continues to work as a full time nurse.

After 2 weeks, the doctors could see measurable increases in her bloodwork indicating the program was working. Blood levels that had been pathologically out of range were now back in the range of low-normal. Her hair that was lost during chemo began to grow. Her neuropathy caused by the chemo began to improve and continues to improve. Her skin, her fingernails, her whole body began to wake up and restore itself. Her sleep has improved, her energy levels have increased. The transformation after just 2 weeks was astonishing to say the least.

Fast forward four months: Laura has somehow managed to maintain the protocol (with LOTS of help from her family!) and continues to work full time as a nurse. However, the demands of the therapy and the need for her body to rest has reached a critical point that Laura must stop working soon and provide her body the opportunity to reach the next level of healing, lest her progress stall. After 2 1/2 years of dealing with the expenses that cancer incurs, plus the out of pocket cost of starting and continuing Gerson therapy (which requires traveling to Mexico several times for the intravenous infusions of supplements including vitamin B-17 that aren’t available in the US), the family’s financial resources have been depleted.

Laura’s new treatment plan is not covered by any insurance and is currently costing approximately $3,500 per month. In addition to these monthly costs are the added costs of repeat visits to the clinic where she can receive the life saving treatments that are only offered there. In total her annual costs are in the neighborhood of $50,000.

The good news is, based on her response to the treatment so far, her doctors fully believe that within two to three years she will be truly cancer free once and for all and able to resume a normal life. Please join me in helping Laura and her family see this treatment plan through to the end by offering your support to her, allowing her the resources she needs to win this battle. 100% of the money raised will go to support Laura’s treatment costs as she continues the Gerson protocol and says goodbye to her career. Your continued prayers in addition to any amount of financial support are greatly appreciated.