I’ve seen many fundraiser accounts and never thought I’d be setting one up,
but here I am. I am reaching out to all of you to help my sister-in-law, Kelly Smith, with astronomical medical expenses incurred while fighting a rare and aggressive cancer. Kelly was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in November of 2024 and has since been going through unimaginable medical treatments, treatments that are expensive and required her to quit her job and travel back and forth to Texas.
Last fall, Kelly fell ill, battling fevers and sickness. After being misdiagnosed for several months, Kelly finally found a doctor that knew something was terribly wrong with her. She was admitted to the hospital, undergoing numerous tests and scans. That is when Kelly was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called Retroperitoneal Liposarcoma- a biologically heterogeneous tumor that presents considerable challenges and requires aggressive treatment due to its size and deep location near her kidney. Kelly had months of chemotherapy at KU and it was after these treatments that her family decided to reach out to MD Anderson due to the rare diagnosis and the fact that they had a team of doctors that specialized in this type of cancer. MD Anderson is not an easy cancer center to get into with so many patients waiting to be seen, but thankfully, Kelly was able to get in. Not only did they accept her, but they wanted her there immediately (within days).
Kelly is now back home after spending 40 days at MD Anderson, where she received extensive radiation treatments, along with scans, blood transfusions, and a battery of tests. Not only did Jack and Kelly incur medical expenses while in Houston, they also had to incur personal expenses as they had to stay there throughout the 40 days of treatments. They had to pay for hotels and travel out of their own pocket.
Kelly is now home trying to gain some strength back as she prepares for her surgery. Kelly and Jack will head back to Houston on June 14th for her surgery on June 17th. After her surgery, she will be required to stay another 2-3 weeks, which means more hotel and travel expenses. While Jack and Kelly do have medical insurance, they are still responsible for 20% of all costs incurred, which as you can imagine with these extensive treatments, is an astronomical amount that threatens to make things extremely hard for them.
Of course, we are all devastated. We’ve cried many tears, and we’ve said many
prayers for Kelly. If you feel it in your heart to help Kelly and Jack during this exceptionally hard
time, it would be appreciated more than you could ever know. We also ask for and would appreciate prayers for Kelly…if you belong to a church that has a prayer list, please include Kelly.
All funds will go directly to Jack and Kelly.
Thank you and God bless,
Barbara Smith
