Help Cindy Fight Cancer

Stage 4 cancer.  Those are scary words to hear.  Especially when it’s your first diagnosis and you are shocked to even find you have cancer, much less stage 4.  Our friend, Cindy Bland, heard those words this past March of 2018.  On April 12th she underwent a complicated 9 ½ hour surgery to remove the cancer along with 1/3 of her tongue and 30 lymph nodes from her neck.  No, she was never a smoker, never even took a puff, but somehow she was stricken with this horrible disfiguring cancer.  She came out of surgery with multiple sites used for skin grafts, a feeding tube and a tracheotomy.  She was unable to even speak for several weeks, forget about eating.  She underwent chemotherapy and radiation at Vanderbilt and finished treatment on July 3rd.  More rehabilitation and she was looking forward to her 3 month “clean” scan on October 1st.  She was preparing to return to work on October 8th.  The scan was nowhere near clean.  It showed a 5 cm tumor on the opposite side of her neck that had been growing while they were treating the left side.  It was attached to her jugular vein and both were surgically removed on October 10th.  That’s when she decided if she wanted a chance at more life with her husband Randy and their 3 boys, Nick, Matt and Sam, she should seek treatment at the #1 cancer hospital in the US, MD Anderson.  Thankfully she was accepted and has temporarily moved to Houston to begin a second round of treatment.  Throughout this entire process she has been concerned about how her cancer is affecting others including her son, Matt, who began his freshman year at UT Knoxville in August and has been separated from the family; and her husband Randy who has tirelessly cared for her while working and running their household.  She has said that she hates the sadness that her cancer brings to those around her.  As her friend, I know she is stressed about the financial impact this is having on her family.  I was shocked to learn that just one unapproved PET scan is $10,000.  Insurance doesn’t always cover everything.  So many friends keep asking what they can do to help and the answer is simple and difficult at the same time.  It’s never easy to ask for money and I know Cindy and Randy are not comfortable doing that.  But the reality is that they will quickly deplete their life’s work.  If you are one of us that wants to help, please make a donation today.  Any amount will help and would be much appreciated.  In this season of giving I’m hopeful we can really make a difference in someone’s life. Thank you for your consideration.