Cancer treatment for Julie Hamby

My mother, Julie Hamby, has a long history of reflux and in October 2019 she noticed some difficulty swallowing.  In November 2019, the day before Thanksgiving, Julie had an endoscopy and was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In an instant her life was changed forever
   Julie is a fighter with a positive outlook on life. She is a 20 year breast cancer survivor. she began to research the options for treatment and found a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago.  Right before Christmas, she underwent major surgery in which the surgeon removed two thirds of her esophagus, half of her stomach, 40 lymph nodes,  and cancerous tissue around her pancreas, aorta, and spine.  This intensive procedure could not have been accomplished with traditional open surgery.  In fact the surgeon said if she went into traditional surgery with someone else most likely they would have not done anything and closed her back up.
   The robotic surgery alone was billed at $137,000! This does not include the cost for a 10 day hospital stay in the ICU, the numerous different doctors she has seen,all the x Ray's, ct scans, biopsies, medications, etc. Also no looking at "final" expenses.  Julie started chemotherapy on January 28th and has a long hard road ahead of her with more tests and radiation treatments.  And many more expenses.   Her husband Mark Hamby, has been by her side every step of the way.  We have all done anything possible to help with anything to try and make this a little easier for her. That being said we can only do so much (it feels very minimal) and this is her fight. Julie is strong and independent,  yet loving,caring, and compassionate.  She tries to find humor in every life situation.  Julie is the first person to help someone else and the last person to ask for help in times of need. 
   While witnessing all that Julie and Mark have been through and anticipating the difficult road ahead of them, we decided to ask for your support so that Julie can focus on recovering and not be hindered by the financial burden of all this medical treatment.  Our goal is to raise money for Julie's cancer treatment expenses.   Finances are the last thing we want her worried about right now (I think it's fair to say most of us have been worried about finances at some point or another and know how much it can weigh on you).  She has so much more that she needs to focus on and fight through.  
   Thank you for reading Julie's story.  We appreciate your prayers and any help or contribution, no matter how big or small! If possible, please share our campaign on social media and with your friends and family.  We will keep you posted on her progress going forward. 
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