Neda Gallagher’s Recovery Fund

Greetings from the Gallagher kids! We’re starting this campaign to help support our mom in the wake of her diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer.

Diagnosis

This all began last year when mom started having abnormal abdominal symptoms, and she got a lot of medical care to find out why. All her medical tests and scans came out just fine, including an abdominal CT in mid-December 2017. So, you know our mom; she forged on with her life, grateful for her new teaching job at Ponderosa High School and looking forward to moving toward a permanent position next year. But her symptoms worsened until she was forced to go to the emergency room several times for treatment. On April 6 in the emergency department, a CT scan revealed stage 4 ovarian cancer.

Surgery

Three years ago, mom had a hysterectomy that usually eliminates the risk of ovarian cancer. Despite the surgery, however, there was tissue left over that allowed the cancer to spread. So, on April 19th, 2018, she endured a long surgery to remove cancer from many of her abdominal organs. Her excellent surgeon removed over 98% of the cancer, which greatly improves the efficacy of post-surgical treatments to get rid of the rest. Unfortunately, the surgeon had to remove parts of her organs and abdominal tissue as well, lengthening her recovery time.

Recovery

Due to the extent of the surgery, she now has a colostomy and foley catheter to manage in addition to all the other physical post-surgical recovery process. In a few weeks she will start chemotherapy and possibly radiation treatment and continue to fight like hell to beat this thing. She will not be able to return to work next school year, and despite the generous financial support and care of family members, it will be a difficult year without an income. Therefore, we are asking for your financial assistance to help her through her recovery. Thank you for donating, we truly appreciate every dollar.