Medical and Recovery Expenses for Shana Yeatts

Shana Yeatts is a mom, wife, and teacher in Tyler, TX. While Shana has taught in TISD for over 20 years, she has spent most of her free time recently (in addition to teaching) as the Executive Director for Tyler Street Team, a homeless ministry in East Texas. This is an unpaid position that has allowed Shana to dedicate countless hours of her time to providing assistance and rehabilitation to those experiencing homelessness. Shana has consistently chosen to place the needs of others over her own. Her children, her husband and her community have all been beneficiaries of her care and generosity, and now we are asking this same community for help as Shana faces one of her toughest obstacles, a fight with bladder cancer. Please join the Yeatts family and friends in prayer as we ask for healing and safety during this journey. In addition, if you feel led to help financially, please know that you are giving money to help a person who has spent her life caring for others.

FULL STORY:

Shana's journey began when she went in for a CT scan on May 24th. The scan revealed a suspected malignancy in her bladder measuring 3x4cm, which was not initially thought to be muscle invasive. The following day, on May 25th, she underwent a cystoscopy to see the shape and type of the tumor. Thankfully, they were able to swiftly schedule her for surgery on May 31st and successfully removed the tumor.

However, lab tests on the tumor resulted in unexpected and challenging results. Shana was diagnosed with invasive, high-grade bladder cancer. Due to the high likelihood of bladder cancer recurrence or rapid spread, the next course of action involves bladder removal.

The process of bladder removal and the accompanying diversion procedure are complicated. The Yeatts family considers themselves fortunate to have secured a specialized Uro-Oncologist surgeon, Dr. Seth Lerner from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, renowned nationally for expertise in bladder cancer and diversions in women.

FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN:

While the Yeatts are so thankful for continued blessings, there are still many expenses that insurance will not be able to help with which include, but are not limited to, accommodations for recovery (the doctors are asking that Shana remain in Houston for 3 weeks post-surgery in the case of any emergencies), as well additional medical and recovery expenses.