Help Jennifer Gude Kick Cancer!

Hello Family and Friends,

As many of you know, our dear friend Jennifer Gude has been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma – stomach cancer, but thank goodness it’s in the early stages and we’re looking forward to a full recovery. But the fight will be long and not without high costs, physically, spiritually, and of course, financially. Jennifer is already a two-time cancer survivor, having beaten Melanoma in 2003 and Gastric Lymphoma in 2009. She is as tough as the come, and we who know her have no doubt she will beat back cancer again.

Jennifer is about to enter an extremely challenging segment of her treatment plan. This week she begins chemotherapy treatment, which will be followed by up to seven weeks of near total quarantine in a sterilized environment. Adding to that tremendous burden, and the chief reason for this call for your help, is that most of her treatment will require her to stay within an hour of the University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Here is a picture of what the coming months will bring both for Jennifer, and for her daughter, Violet, who will be entering her sophomore year as she supports her mother in this fight.

• Week of July 25th: Travel to the University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles to begin chemotherapy treatment.

• Through August: An additional 1-2 rounds of chemotherapy in Las Vegas.

• Early September: Travel to USC for a procedure called an Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant. There are no medical facilities in Las Vegas that provide this lifesaving, albeit painful, bone marrow procedure. Depending on her response to treatment after the procedure, Jennifer will be in recovery for up to seven weeks, during which she will need to remain in a sterilized environment. An Airbnb needs to be rented for the purpose, and her mom will be traveling out from Indiana to stay with her during her recovery. Additionally, more rounds of chemotherapy may be required during this time.

• October and beyond: We’ll cross this bridge when we get there!

Thankfully, Jennifer has health insurance but still has a 20% co-pay for hospital stays, doctor visits, MRIs, CT scans, etc. All travel and accommodations are 100% out-of-pocket.

All these expenses will cost a minimum of $30,000. This includes, but is not limited to co-pays, travel, and accommodations.

Lodging: 7 weeks x $200.00 per night on average = $9800.00

Transportation: 2-3 trips to California x $75 each way = $450.00

Medical: Estimated at $15,000 for co-pays for treatments, hospital stays, scans, etc.

Eventually, Jennifer will exhaust her paid leave at her job and will need help with daily expenses including mortgage, bills, and health insurance premiums.

Jennifer is a single mom, and her number one concern is her 15-year-old daughter, Violet. Violet has a wicked sense of humor, is an honor student, a creative thinker, actress, and beautiful on the inside and outside. Sadly, Violet will have to experience lengthy periods of time away from her mom and we hope to support Violet with trips to LA as well.

Jennifer has dedicated her life to serving children and adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She spends her days supporting others and now we have an opportunity to help support her!

Please consider donating to this GoFundMe and if you can’t, please share on your social media. No one who successfully fights cancer fights it alone. Jennifer and Violet will be doing their part. Let’s do our best to help them be able to focus on recovery, and to look forward to their future lives once the battle is won.