Help Restore Aria’s Radiant Smile

I love talking and laughing, I love meeting new people and learning about their lives, and I love expressing my passion for life with my smile! But all of that was almost taken away from me in 2007.

What I’m asking for right now is your help restoring my smile, to make the gratitude I feel inside something that I can radiate outward.

At a statistically way-younger-than-average age, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. That means what had started as a little white patch on the inside of my left cheek developed into a tumor in the soft tissue, and the cancerous cell development there spread to my nearest lymph nodes.

I received 16 sessions sessions of chemotherapy and 42 sessions of radiotherapy (during which, I absorbed 72 grays of radiation). Seven weeks later, I had a lateral neck dissection to remove those lymph nodes. I had never been in such constant discomfort—or in such intense pain—before and I’ve never experienced anything like it since. I was debilitated for months and months, yet I developed a resilience that exceeded even my own optimistic expectations.

I survived.

In complete defiance of statistics, I have never experienced a recurrence of this disease. But there are long-term aftereffects of radiation exposure in the head and neck area: decreased salivary function, erosion of tooth enamel, exposure of root surfaces (which accelerates tooth decay), recession of gum tissue, and slower-than-normal healing. I’ve been struggling with this physical discomfort and emotional distress since 2008.

I had to learn to use my mouth to speak again, and to chew and swallow food again. And every time I experience a new dental problem, I remember the reason why it began in the first place. Fifteen years after the end of my cancer treatment, looking at my own smile in the mirror reminds me of it every day.

My dental restoration will have an immediate aesthetic effect that will improve my self-image and my mental health in general, but it’s also a time-sensitive medical issue because the longer my root surfaces are exposed, the more my natural teeth will continue to decay. Your financial contribution is absolutely critical to my care.

I consulted three dentists and two periodontists at clinics in Chicago, all of whom offered me extremely limited support because my insurance at the time only offered coverage for the bare minimum of care. Finally, in Louisville, I found an awesome periodontist, whose hygienist referred me to a private practice where I can receive the care I need. It takes a team of experienced and compassionate professionals to meet my unique needs, and now that I’ve found them, all I need is the money to make it happen. My team has already been phenomenal in developing my treatment plan and breaking down the costs for me.

Here’s what I need:

1 CT scan

6 root canals

2 zirconia prosthetics

20 zirconia crowns

3 tissue grafts

The total for all these improvements will be $25,000. I’m currently putting myself through an degree program at University of Louisville, and I work part-time at a Louisville Free Public Library. My job does not offer health insurance to part-time staff, but I’m blessed to be covered by my partner’s policy. Even with that coverage, the only way I’ll be able to afford these necessary procedures is with your support.

I’m grateful every day to have survived my experience with cancer. And I’m already grateful to you for being a part of my healing journey. Thank you for your generosity!