Support Jenni's fight against Pancreatic Cancer

My name is Mary Hicks and I am raising funds to help my daughter. Jenni was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November, 2023. She and her husband, Ken, decided her best chance of survival was to seek treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. They moved to a small apartment 5 minutes from the hospital. Ken's employer in Fort Wayne has a depot in Tampa and his boss worked to get him transferred there. This was indeed a blessing. They have been in Tampa since the beginning of January.

About three months ago, Ken was hurt at work and has three tears in his rotator cuff. He is off work and getting PT to try to heal it instead of doing surgery. Of course his pay is not what it was.

About four weeks ago, they were in a car accident- a boat and trailer came loose from the hitch, went across the median and two more lanes of traffic then landed on top of their car. Thanking God no one was hurt. The front of the car is trashed and the owner of the boat does not have insurance. They have to pay almost $2,000 deductible before they can get it fixed through their insurance.

Also, her medical bills are mounting quickly. She does have fairly good insurance but the co-pays are high. She has had several small surgeries, 14 rounds of chemo, 2 hospitalizations due to chemo after effects. She has at least 2 more chemo sessions. We found out at the beginning of July that she is not considered a candidate for surgery. Surgery is the only medical “cure” for pancreatic cancer. Medically, she has been transferred from curative to terminal. 

So, now what? 

We have found an alternative procedure that is still fairly new (2009) that we feel is extremely promising! The procedure is called Nanoknife surgery. In most trials, they are only using this with prostate cancer. However, there is a doctor who we’ve been seeing over and over again who has been doing the nanoknife for over a decade and specializes in doing it for pancreatic tumors like Jenni’s that are encased around the main artery, vein and nerve and no longer a surgical candidate. It is outpatient surgery and minimally invasive. Many of this doctor’s patients have not only gained years to their life expectancy, but many are coming back with no evidence of cancer found.

The issue:

Nanoknife is FDA approved, but insurance companies do not yet cover it. We can schedule the surgery fairly quickly, but need approximately $15,000 to schedule. We do not like asking for money, and it has been something Jenni has resisted along the way, but her life literally could be dependent on this procedure. I am asking for help from family, friends, or anyone who has been touched by cancer or Jenni’s story. I know a lot of people don’t like these fundraising campaigns. I don’t know what else to do. We have alternative ways of accepting donations if you don’t want to give through a fundraising site. Every dollar adds up. Even if you can donate nothing, or little, you can share to your social media. Please help Jenni keep fighting. 

If you would like to help in any way, please donate to this fund. The first $15,000 will go to secure the nanoknife procedure and anything beyond that will go to medical expenses and lodging for the surgery Our family appreciates all your prayers, concern and support. Please continue to pray.

Love and prayers to all who take the time to read this.

As a side note, we also have PayPal which charges nothing. Or, you can write a check to me. At checkout on Facebook they add a "tip" which supports the platform. You can delete the tip if you want to.

Mary Hicks- Jenni's mother, for those who don't know me.