Help Teresa Beat Cancer

“It always seems impossible, until it’s done.” -Nelson Mandela.

Family, friends and community it is time to make the impossible possible for Teresa and Claine Skeen.

Just under a year ago, Teresa started her battle with cancer. In April 2023, Teresa received her diagnosis of vulvar cancer (squamous cell carcinoma). By the time of the PET scan, it was confirmed to have spread to her lymph nodes. Teresa had a vulvectomy and inguinal lymph node removal performed at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle in June 2023. The follow up PET scan revealed the cancer was still present in the abdominal and inguinal lymph nodes. This meant that chemotherapy and radiation would be the next step of this fight. Teresa returned to Coeur d’Alene, ID (CDA) after 10 weeks in Seattle to start her chemotherapy and radiation at Beacon Cancer Care. Teresa finished her radiation and chemo at the end of October. However, due to her compromised immune system, she would end up in and out of the hospital with infections. Also, a follow-up MRI was performed, and a lesion had reappeared. A biopsy was taken, and it confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. In early December, Teresa drove to Seattle to see her surgeon who stated Teresa’s best option was a more invasive surgery to remove the cancer. After returning home, Teresa was hospitalized yet again with a severe blood infection. Teresa started experiencing severe pain in her hip, which led to another pre-surgery biopsy at the end of February 2024. This biopsy revealed more cancer and changed her treatment plan. Teresa’s surgery was cancelled, and a more aggressive chemo regiment was started in March 2024. At her last appointment, her oncologist has recommended/referred her to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

To add to the complexity of the situation, At the beginning of November 2023, Claine was abruptly terminated from his Superintendent position of 16 years at the Solid Waste Department in Boundary County. On December 1st, Claine lost his medical insurance, which left them with only Teresa’s insurance. Back in April 2010, Claine had an emergency surgery to clip a partially ruptured brain aneurysm. Claine had several seizures the first-year post-op, but with medication, had been seizure free for 12 years. In 2023, Claine suffered three seizures, each landing him in the hospital. One after Teresa’s diagnosis, one after her surgery, and the last after losing his job in November. His anti-seizure medication has been adjusted and seems to be helping.

As Teresa has been busy in the fight of her life, she has been unable to work consistently. The loss of Claine’s income has created an ever-growing financial burden. The weight of this situation is not something they can get through alone. A community of support is needed to help through this extremely difficult journey. I know these are challenging times for so many people but if you can spare anything please contribute to Claine and Teresa’s GoFundMe. These funds will help with medical bills and expenses they have accrued through this journey and those bills yet to come as their fight is still ongoing.

Our family thanks you for taking the time to read this. Any support, whether financial or prayer, we thank you again.