Chicago, Illinois. Nora Gutierrez was 32-years-old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer; specifically a stage 2 aggressive tumor.
As part of her treatment plan, Nora underwent 2 surgeries, 6 rounds of highly aggressive chemo, and physical therapy.
Nora remained positive throughout this trying time and was able to beat her cancer. She spent the past 5 years free of it, but sadly, she recently was told that it was back.
“Fast forward to this spring, my husband Everett and I finally decided to try and have children after being cancer-free for 5 years,” Nora explained on a GoFundMe page.
“We were later overjoyed at the news that we would be expecting our first child in February 2022. I’m currently five months pregnant and thankfully, Baby G has been healthy and strong. We cannot wait to meet Baby G and already love him so much!”
GoFundMe; pictured above is Nora with her husband Everett
“But the unexpected happened six years after my initial diagnosis, it was discovered that the breast cancer had returned.”
“Thankfully, my husband and I caught it in time before it spread. While it is stage 1, it is again, an aggressive tumor.”
Nora and Everett are in the middle of planning for their baby and the joy and excitement they were experiencing has been put on hold as they navigate the scary reality of Nora’s cancer returning.
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Nora’s medical team has determined the first thing that needs to be done is that she needs to have surgery to take out the tumor.
They also are currently figuring out if Nora should undergo chemotherapy, which can pose risks to her unborn baby.
Not willing to put her baby in harm’s way, Nora is exploring non-toxic and proven treatments that will be safer for her baby.
The downside to these treatments is that they are exceptionally costly, and her insurance company will not cover them at all.
“Between the costs of these services (estimated at $65,000 – $78,000), potential unpaid time off for my both my husband and I, a new baby, and travel, we are needing to come up with $100,000,” Nora said.
In light of the fact that these life-saving treatments are so expensive, Nora has created a GoFundMe to help cover her medical bills.
If you would like to donate to Nora’s GoFundMe, you can do that here.