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Community Corner

Tamara Rossi's Breast Cancer Fund

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/vc94/tamara-rossi-s-breastcancer-fund
Tamara Rossi's family and friends are uniting to raise money to help with her battle against breast cancer. Please show your support!

Can you imagine being told cancer has spread throughout your body and you only have a limited amount of time left with your loved ones? Now imagine, looking into the face of your only child, then 6 years old and knowing that you will not be here for so many important milestones in her life and having to tell her "it will be ok". This was the news Tamara Rossi, Great Falls resident, received nearly 6 years ago when diagnosed with terminal stage 4 metastic breast cancer. The last six years have been a constant struggle for Tamara, experimenting with different chemotherapy cocktails and pain management medications. , some not yet approved for wide spread distribution as they are still in the testing phases. All of these medications and her battle with cancer leave her at times extremely fatigued, nauseated and in pain. The worst part is that these drugs are not being given to cure her. there is no hope of that miracle happening. The cancer has now spread into every part of her body including bones, liver and lungs. These drugs are simply to try to prolong what few months or years she may have left to be with her husband and young daughter.

The Rossi family has incurred debt of nearly $30,000 in medical expenses for the ongoing regimen of daily drugs that insurance will not cover and an emergency 5 day hospitalization last year. The Rossi family cannot afford these bills and for the remaining short amount of time Tamara may have to spend with her family, the debt continues to grow approximately $500. per month. Tamara recently contemplated foregoing the medications to spare her family the additional expenses. The only outlet for their now 12 year old daughter, Angelina is horseback riding which has become too expensive for the family. This is unfortunate because when her mother's health situation takes yet another turn for the worse, Angelina, finds comfort and respite, riding and caring for the horses.

As always, our community does a wonderful job of assisting those in their time of need and this truly is a family in need of help. It took a while to convince the Rossi family to share their story and acknowledge they need assistance. We would like to help erase the families current medical debt, defray some of the future medication payments to help prolong Tamara's life, cover some of the costs associated with Angelina's one and only safe haven and possibly arrange for a simple family vacation - something that hasn't been done in years - to allow this family to have that one special vacation memory to treasure for a lifetime. 

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