This Go Fund Me account was set up in order to help the woman who has been my everything for 26 years: my mom, Elizabeth Vulgamore (top right in photo, along with my sister and memaw). In fall 2011 my family’s world was forever changed when my mom was first diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer. After going through a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation, my mom was declared cancer free in the spring of 2012. We were elated and so thankful that the worst was behind us. Unfortunately the cancer we thought she had beaten returned in the fall of 2013, perhaps missed by the scans of one of the most prestigious cancer centers in Florida. Our world was yet again rocked with the devastating news that the cancer was now considered Stage 4 as it had spread to her liver. They told us the two tumors they had found were too big to operate on and that they needed to shrink before the next steps could be taken. Over the course of about a year, my mom underwent another 25 chemotherapy treatments to shrink the tumors. The chemo worked and the tumors thankfully shrank to a size that would be appropriate to receive what is considered an experimental treatment for breast cancer metastasized to the liver, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA). It was also apparent at this time that the specific chemo she had been receiving to shrink the tumors in her liver had run its course; the chemo was no longer keeping the tumors at bay or shrinking them. The current treatment facility that she was at wanted to continue chemo with no plan of action. She made the difficult decision to leave the hospital she had been receiving treatment at and move to a doctor who believed in this RFA procedure. In the two weeks between stopping chemo treatments and consulting with her new doctor and new surgeon, the two tumors had almost grown back to the size prior to chemo and a third tumor had appeared on the edge of her liver near her diaphragm. My mom underwent RFA in June of 2015. The surgeon was able to kill the initial two tumors and get most of the third. Only a few cancer cells of the third tumor, on the edge of her liver near the diaphragm, remained. It was decided she would spend the next couple months recovering from this procedure while on chemo pills (to keep the few active cancer cells of the third tumor at bay) until the next procedure could be done. August came and scans were done; the tumor showed no signs of growth which was excellent news. As the first week of October approached, her insurance company denied the already completed procedure (June 2015) and was further denying the upcoming follow-up procedure to eradicate the few remaining cells of the third and final tumor. Insurance claimed that while RFA was an acceptable and covered treatment for liver cancer, it was only considered an experimental treatment for breast cancer metastacized to the liver and therefore not covered. Insurance stated they would not pay for the upcoming RFA procedure scheduled for October 2nd (costing approx $45,000 with anesthesia, hospital stay, etc) and would also not be paying for the previous procedure that had been successfully completed in June of 2015 either. Thankfully, my mom has been absolutely blessed with an amazing team of doctors and their staff. Because they all believed in the necessity of a follow-up RFA procedure to allow my mom become cancer free, an appeal to insurance was started (as the initial RFA procedure had proven to be extremely successful in ridding my mom of two entire tumors and a majority of the third). After 6 weeks of back and forth waiting on her insurance company go through their "stat" appeal process, insurance yet again denied the RFA procedure. However after the media got involved, the hospital granted approval to have the follow-up RFA procedure performed without insurance. On November 13th our lives were forever changed. The surgeon approached us in the waiting room only to deliver the most devastating news. The chemo pills somewhere along the way from August to November had stopped working. The tumor had grown aggressively and rapidly from the size of a thumbnail to the size of a baseball. The surgeon explained he could have gotten the entire tumor if the procedure had been completed when originally planned, but presently the tumor had grown too big for RFA. Then he explained our best options were to surgically remove the entire tumor, or if she was a candidate, another experimental procedure (SIRT Selective Internal Radiation Therapy) that would be at least $100,000 and not covered by insurance. After meeting with her doctor on Tuesday, November 17th it was decided my mom would try a different type of chemotherapy in hopes of shrinking the tumor back to a size that would be appropriate for RFA or surgery. My mom would never want us to ask anyone else for help much less money, but we do not know what else to do. She is always thinking of others, never herself. Throughout the last 4 years I have never heard her complain about pain, the treatments, or the hand she was dealt. She has only ever wanted the best for her children, never worrying about herself. She has remained positive and optimistic every day. She has changed her lifestyle to try and fight this horrific disease. She has a garden, only eats organic, and makes green smoothies every morning. She has three children that love her so incredibly much. Each of us would not be the people we are today without her love, support, and many sacrifices. My mom has now made it her mission to become an advocate and raise awareness about dealing with insurance companies and their policies relating to cancer. Ultimately she wants to be able to change the policy insurance companies have for dealing with experimental treatments and procedures in relation to primary cancer metastacized to other areas. There are so many people out there going through the same fight; policy must be changed. Lives are at stake. We understand that the only way our mom can help initiate a change is to continue to fight and have these treatments in order to get healthy and be able to pursue this passion. Now I ask anyone reading this to help us continue to share our lives with our mom, the most special and precious person who has made everything possible for us. My brother is graduating college this December, he and his wife are planning to relocate to begin his new career. My sister and her husband are about to have the family's first grandchild in February. I’m marrying the love of my life next October and I can’t even imagine a world where my mom is not there to see everything the future holds for her and our family. I understand it’s around Christmas and money is usually tight for everyone but every little bit will help. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
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