Tracy's Cancer/Abuse/Trauma Fund

My name is Tracy Cave...I was diagnosed with a very rare & devastating genetic disorder called, Basal Cell Carcinoma Nevus Syndrome aka "Gorlin Syndrome" At birth, my family was told if I survived infancy due to my severe medical issues I would never progress mentally passed the age of 5 & be severely mentally challenged & need 24/7 care, if I survived at all...I was misdiagnosed w/Hydrocephalus of the brain at the time & severe hearing problems along w/a deformed left ear & severe problems w/my organs. Unknown to anyone at the time, this would be the beginning to my story of becoming an Icon of perseverence & resilience. Prooving medical science, & at times, life wrong.  Not only have I survived "passed the age 5" I also graduated high school in the top 10% of my class while taking advanced honors courses & went to college on a full Art Scholarship :D
Rockin the SEXY medical Gown, getting tests run & punctured with hundreds of needles :(
          To become the person I am today, my story is one of adventures, travel, love of animals, art & making memories, & overcoming the impossible. My concience & faith, tested by both physical & sexual assault, trauma & abuse at the hands of evil.  Yet, I am not a victim. I survived...In all aspects of life, I will always be a survivor. :D Friends & family have always said "You've lived such an interesting life Tracy! You've been thru & overcome so much!! You should write a book." Instead, I've had my "story" published in a medical newsletter for both patients & professionals about the rare genetic disorder.  I've told hundreds of my trials & tribulations.  I try to show strength & give hope to others in similar situations, who have been tested by life to the breaking point & rise from the ashes, stronger, wiser, & better than before. You may read my article here at http://www.gorlinsyndrome.org/PDF/BCCNSnewsWinter2012.pdf     My childhood & teen years were spent having hundreds of tests, back to back surgeries, doctor appointments & months of recovery.  I spent more time in hospitals & home recovering than I did in school.  I was tortured & bullied to an extreme by kids in school because of my deformities & shyness to the point, that I had to transfer schools 3 different times.  I had to teach myself to be strong, escape thru art & nature, to be brave and hold on, in order to survive & continue to thrive.  
       In my late teens & early 20's i was diagnosed with keratocysts of the jaw bones; A very common problem seen in Gorlin Sydrome, the first of 4 jaw surgeries and STILL COUNTING to constantly remove the deforming cysts from my jawbones, losing most of my back teeth & portions of jaw bone to the cysts. (I've had over 50+ procedures/surgeries on my head, face, (100's of BCC's cut out of my face, scalp, neck, upper body, jaw, ears, ribs, torso, elbow, arm, & hand. 100's of biopsies, 1,000's of tests, & more pictures than a super model when it comes to X-Rays, MRI's, CAT SCANS, MEDICAL JOURNAL PHOTOS, etc.) I was then diagnosed w/a rare, very advanced form of the skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma.  Unlike "normal cancer" my cancer issues were caused by a mutated gene, that patients w/Gorlin's notices seems to kick into OVERDRIVE beginning in my 20's that make cancers more aggressive, massive & spread faster than normal. By my late 20's my "BCC's"  cancer numbered in the 100's all over my face & body & getting more advanced & spreading to organs & bone, many spots, some developing into Squamous Cell Carcinoma, with every month that passes.
      Gorlin's has slowly began to calcify the folds of my brain, the cancer attacked my reproductive system in my early 30's & I had to have emergency hysterectomy  to remove a 5 pound calcified uterian tumor & calcified ovaries.  My bones thru out my body began forming tumors all over & caused me to be diagnosed w/Brittle bones & Osteoporosis by the young age of 32.  My bones break very easily (Broken 17 bones in the past 5 years)  I need surgery every few months to have them removed. I am now legally deaf in my left ear & only have 25% hearing & losing that, in my right ear, due to Gorlin Syndrome & losing my eye sight due to the disorder & cancer attacking my optical nerve. I've not been able to work due to battling cancer & all my medical problems & surgeries & trips to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houson, TX & Coastal Bend Cancer Center in Corpus Christi, TX, my health insurance & disability only covers so much.  It's a weekly battle by telephone & email to argue my medical case & advocate for my own health & life to indifferent insurance agent representatives. 
        Pencil Drawing: "A Mother's Joy" By Tracy Cave
        There are several medical tests & procedures my insurance refuse to pay for & I am desperate to get them done to stay "one step ahead of the disease" & continue my battle. Along w/travel & motel expenses during treatment, living expenses & food, the stress is becoming costly.  I've exhauseted all my efforts to keep "my head above water" both medically & financially. I've come to one hell of a  "pot hole" in life with my ongoing battle with Cancer & Gorlin Syndrome. My treatment & surgeries put on "pause/hold" due to my financial distitution.  I am embarrassed to ask but, friends & family told me about this site & how it can help people.  Any thing you are able to help & donate is greatly needed & appreciated.  This amount will help me get the 2 medical tests, 3 procedures & expenses needed to help towards my continuing treatment & up coming surgeries, in my battle w/cancer & rare medical complications from Gorlin Syndrome. Thank You for your time, your understanding, your consideration & for your help. God Bless XOXO