Missy needs your help.

My 39-year-old daughter, Michelle (Erbesfield) Billingsley, was diagnosed in April, 2009 with Stage four Colon Cancer, which had already spread to her lungs by the time it was discovered. This diagnosis is rare for someone Missy’s age.

Since then, Missy (the nickname given at birth by her grandmother) has endured countless doctor visits, biopsies, lab tests, PET scans, CT scans, 20 chemo treatments so far (every two weeks since starting them in May, 2009), and a trip to MD Anderson (the country’s premier cancer institute). She has had multiple expensive prescriptions filled for nausea, pain, tingling and numbness in her extremities and more, all side effects caused by the chemo she receives to combat the cancer. Some of these drugs are not in her insurance company’s formulary (formulary drugs often fail to work) so they can be quite expensive.

Only 60 percent of colon cancer patients respond to the chemo treatments Missy is receiving.

The good news is that Missy IS responding and the cancer has not spread to other vital organs. The chemo treatments have reduced the size of the primary tumor in her colon to a point where it is no longer visible by a scope, and the multiple cancer lesions in both of her lungs, though still there, have shrunk by approximately 50 percent due to the very aggressive clinical trial treatment she is receiving. The doctors have done a great job and say her cancer has “stabilized.” But it won’t remain that way indefinitely. To survive, Missy soon will face a difficult, very rare series of surgeries to remove the cancers from her lungs that only M.D. Anderson surgeons can perform (previous to her trip to M.D. Anderson, the cancer in her lungs was thought to be inoperable).

Missy has been married to her hard-working, loving and devoted husband Danny for 15 years. They have two beautiful children, a boy, Connor, 11 and a girl, Olivia, 8. Missy and her family have tried to continue living as normal a life as possible in their Woodstock, Georgia, home. She not only is a loving wife and mother, she also is making every effort to work when she can in her job of the last 10 plus years. Her employers have been wonderful, welcoming her when she has the strength to be there, supporting her with calls and caring when she doesn’t. However, chemo exhaustion, pain and low blood counts have limited Missy's ability to work to no more than a day or two a week at most. This also limits her ability to pay basic living expenses and household bills, as she and Danny always have been a two-income family.

Through it all Missy's attitude has been absolutely awesome. She is strong and strong willed. She is holding it together through this extremely difficult period in her life like you wouldn’t believe. She’s a real fighter, but, of course, there have been times when all anyone can do is offer hugs and love when frustration and fear overtake her.

With the medical advances of the past few years and the current research and clinical trials that are underway to stop colon cancer combined with her determination and will, Missy actually does have a chance. She CAN beat this. However, even if everything goes just right, Missy still has a long and difficult road to travel before she is out of the woods. We pray she'll see her kids grow up, get married and someday – God willing – maybe even hold her own grandchildren.

Missy soon faces THREE separate surgeries to remove the cancerous tumors, which includes two surgeries three weeks apart to remove the multiple tumors from each of her lungs. The third surgery will remove the affected area in her colon. Due to the systemic nature of her cancer, she also must continue chemo and other treatments for quite some time, perhaps for the rest of her life to one degree or another.

Even with insurance, Missy’s medical and other debts continue to grow due to this terrible illness. The out-of-pocket expenses so far have been overwhelming and certainly will become even more unmanageable as she continues to received the cutting-edge treatments required to overcome her cancer. Missy and Danny have always lived responsibly. They have insurance (with limits) and are deeply loved by family and close friends who are all providing as much financial help as possible. However, those resources alone are simply not sufficient to cover the incredibly expensive and ever-increasing costs of the necessary uninsured expenses. These include high deductibles, the co-pays, uncovered lab fees, prescriptions and other quickly mounting medical bills, as well as travel expenses to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. These bills will continue to mount - and they do not include the time and income she loses each week from not being able to work – work that had helped cover basic household expenses.

The only way I know to help Missy any more than I and those closest to her already have helped is to be open and to let everyone know she needs financial assistance. It truly will take a village to pay the costs associated with this disease. Help is needed to pay the medical expenses not covered by insurance so that her doctors can continue providing her with the life-saving clinical research treatment she currently is receiving, to help pay for the travel expenses related to going back and forth multiple times every other week or more from Woodstock to her doctor's office near downtown Atlanta for her examinations and chemo treatments and for her trips to M.D. Anderson in Houston, Texas, and for lodging there. As important, your help is needed to replace the lost income needed to keep a roof over her family’s heads, keep the lights on and put food on their table.

I ask that you please consider making a contribution – whatever you can afford - to the fund I have set up on Missy’s behalf at SunTrust Bank in Atlanta, Ga. I will be managing the account to ensure all monies donated are spent wisely, appropriately and only for the purposes stated.

Donations can be made in three ways; on-line here on this website, through PayPal or credit card, by check through USPS mail or, stop by any SunTrust Bank location and make a direct deposit to the fund at:

Help Missy Fund, C/O Jerry Erbesfield, Account # 1000100118545.

This is an opportunity for you personally to help make a real difference in a very special young woman's life by providing first-hand assistance where it is really needed. Your gift will help Missy continue to receive the medical care that will provide her with the chance to stay alive and for her and her family to survive this ordeal financially.

Please click the following link. It will take you back to the home page of the website where you may conveniently and easily make a donation in any amount you wish.

  Please Click Here to Donate 

As important, please help publicize this website to all those you know.

On the behalf of my daughter and her family, I sincerely thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

Jerry

Jerry A. Erbesfield

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