Help Tammy win her fight against cancer.

Hello. My name is Michele Stivers and I am writing on behalf of a fellow teacher and co-worker named Tammy Sheard.

Tammy is a dedicated elementary teacher and mother of two children who found out on Thanksgiving Day 2021 that she has stage 4 cancer. She fought all year to get to where she needed to be to have surgery. Tammy only missed 10 days of school for appointments and taught with chemo on her hip and while undergoing daily radiation treatments. She fought hard and strong. On July 29, 2022 she finally had surgery. They removed the tumor. She also had a full hysterectomy as a precaution and was given an ileostomy. In the process they discovered that the cancer has spread to her liver and that was burned off 2 weeks later. This is when we set up the original Go Fund Me where $6,645 was raised, but now we need your help again!

In February 2023, Tammy found out that it spread to her peritoneum (abdominal wall) and transferred medical care to MD Anderson. In May 2023 there were early signs that it had spread to the liver again. Tammy has two rare gene mutations that are chemo resistant and very aggressive.

In October 2023, Tammy began a clinical trial. After two months on the trial, the results show that it was unsuccessful and her liver is now severely infected. She had 4 liters of ascites fluid drained from her abdomen in December, which is a result of her liver not functioning properly. Soon she will have a catheter put in to be able to drain it as needed. The scans have also showed there is a possible spread to the bladder wall/vaginal cuff. She will be resuming IV Chemo but her doctors have told her that she is running out of options and they are not optimistic.

Tammy has another hard fight on her hands and she needs our support and prayers to help her and ease some of the financial worry. Tammy’s insurance started over at the beginning of the school year so, this means she must now meet the new deductibles and out of pocket expenses which are astronomical for a teacher.

Tammy proves every day how she is tough and dedicated while still teaching her students. Everyone knows teachers do not get paid enough and their health insurance helps some, but not a lot. Tammy has run out of her paid leave due to commuting to MD Anderson several times a month and her pay will be decreased with each day she is out. In order for Tammy to concentrate on her fight while she continues teaching, she needs some support.

We are asking for donations to help lessen the massive financial blow of this incredibly devastating news. These funds will be directly withdrawn to Tammy and will be used to help pay her medical bills and loss of income resulting from her cancer treatment. Anything counts and is deeply appreciated.