Medical bills for Carla Goertzen

“A friend is God’s way of proving He doesn’t want us to walk alone.”

Friends, family, community members, classmates, social media scrollers, & anyone who has any kind of link to Carla - we are asking for your help.

Carla is a wife, mother, sister, aunt, 4th grade teacher, avid runner, compassionate soul, & loyal friend. She is also a cancer patient. During the fall months Carla started experiencing knee pain & went in for some scans. The images showed a large tumor on her femur, near her knee. Carla recently had a biopsy surgery & has met with KU Cancer Centers but still does not have an official diagnosis. They can tell that the tumor is a large & aggressive type of sarcoma and have now sent the biopsy to Mayo for further analysis. They believe that this type of sarcoma is very rare, called UPS of bone (undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma) and that it's randomly growing in her femur instead of the usual soft tissues. The doctors have taken her case to a Tumor Board for consultation about treatment plans, and feel confident using the characteristics that they can identify to plan treatment steps.

A few days ago, Carla fractured her femur at the tumor site, breaking apart the tumor that was previously contained.  This changed the game plan & limb preservation is no longer an option.  Yesterday, Carla was flown to KU Med & is scheduled for an amputation surgery on Tuesday, January 3.  When she is able (approximately 2 weeks post surgery), she will start aggressive intense chemotherapy. She will have 6 rounds of chemo (21 days per round). Chemo will consist of 2 or 3 days of 8-10 hours of treatment , and then 18-19 days of recovery before the next round.

While Carla does have health insurance, she is already running into diagnostic pieces & “extra” image scans that are not covered under the policy. Being at the beginning of the journey, trying to understand a new diagnosis, planning for the students in her classroom while she is away, & accepting a new way of life is overwhelming. As members of her “teacher tribe,” we are asking you to help alleviate some of the burden that medical expenses are sure to impact, and most importantly, to lift our sweet friend & her family up in your prayers.