Erica's Cancer Fund

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read this.

My name is Erica. I'm 34, I have a loving husband, a crazy dog, and a beautiful life in Lake Tahoe. I'm in school to be a chemical engineer and I was recently diagnosed with Stage 3, metastatic appendiceal cancer. My life now has this giant elephant in the room.

Appendiceal cancer is surprisingly rare. I always thought the worst thing an appendix could do was get suddenly sick and need to be removed in a rather easy, laparoscopic surgery. I had that surgery the day my spring break from school started. We were going to Vegas to visit family. I got out of the hospital quickly and left town thinking the hard part was behind me.

While I was out of town, I began getting phone calls from the hospital and my surgeon. I figured they wanted their money, so I sent everything to voicemail. When I got back home, I finally called the surgeon and she just wanted a post op appointment. I went in and spent about 20 minutes talking to the nurse about my family medical history, which included a fair amount of cancer. The surgeon then told me that they had found a large-ish tumor in my appendix and that she wanted further surgery to remove about 1/4 of my colon and the adjacent lymph nodes. I immediately tried to schedule the surgery around exams. I didn't see the severity until just recently when we got the pathology report back from the colectomy.

It's in my lymph nodes. My easy tumor that caused a second surgery "for precaution" has now become a relationship with an oncologist. Now I'm scared. It takes a lot to say that because I'm the rock. I'm the crutch. I fix everything. EVERYTHING!

How do I fix this?

I'm 34 and I am now facing the same cancer that Stuart Scott lost his battle with after a short 7 years. I watched his ESPY speech and I felt for him because I've seen the struggle with cancer. I watch the movies. I read the stories. I've lived it vicariously and tangentially... never within my own body.

For my specific type of tumor, it looks like chemotherapy is not an option. This type of cancer is primarily treated surgically and it likes to come back repeatedly. So the rest of my life will be spent waiting to see which part of me they have to remove next. I have read many accounts of individuals living for many years with this disease. Some are not so lucky. Me? I'm just a fighter. I have far too many things I want to do with my life before I leave this planet.

Really, I'm not scared for myself. I have done far too much research to fear this. I liken it to turning on the closet light. It turns out there is a monster in there, but we've made our peace. We've become friends. I am, however, scared of the financial burden this will ultimately place on my family, now and later. I will die eventually and I don't want to leave a legacy of medical bills. I want to leave a legacy of knowledge, understanding and love.

So here I am, humbly asking for help from every place I can. I ask for help from the oncologists, help from the surgeons, and now help from you. Every surgery I have to have has me out of work for weeks to recover. Insurance deductibles are $8000 per year and I will be using that up every single year. For the rest of my life.

If nothing else, I hope this will raise awareness for rare cancers. There is not always a cure. Sometimes it's just management. And there is not always understanding. Most only know cancer as life or death. And most only know the common cancers. Some of us fall in between.

Thank you again for reading. This life isn't getting rid of me so easily!