GROVES, Texas — Grandkids. They have a way about them. Something grandparents truly understand. For Shelly Bangs, her three grandkids are her inspiration to keep battling in a fight for her life, and they help get her through the bad days.
"My first thought at the time was 'no God.' Please not my kids, not my grandkids. I can't do this to them. Then I realized this was the hand I was dealt and I had to learn to be strong and keep moving and do what I have to do," Bangs said.
Shelly was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2018.
In just 6 months, the cancer had quickly spread.
Now it's stage five. The oral chemotherapy she needs to help shrink a large tumor she can have surgery is very expensive.
"Just for the prescription $3,916 30," Bangs said. That's for each month.
"I have a cleaning service. I still go pretty much everyday and I still clean to the best of my ability," Bangs said.
It's not enough. The medical bills keep mounting. Shelly says in five months since her cancer diagnosis her medical expenses total about $89,000.
"I'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life," Bangs said.
She turned to Facebook for help. Her goal is $15,000. This will be for three rounds of chemo and the cancer surgery.
So far with community support, more than $2,500 raised on Facebook.
Even though there is still ground to cover, Shelly is very thankful for the support she has gotten so far.
"I'm so blessed that the community, people I don't even know, have reached out their hand and help me. I have high school friends I have not seen in years that have reached out to help me," Bangs said.
In a 2016 NerdWallet report according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the cost of cancer drugs can range from as little as $100 a month to as much as $65,000.
Due to the extremely high costs, many people have resorted to crowd funding to pay for the high cost of cancer.
Bangs is not alone. Many others have turned to crowdfunding to pay for cancer care.
"It's not just me there are many others out there that can't get help, that can't get their medicine"
According to curetoday.com, GoFundMe is one of the most well-known crowdfunding companies.
Just after one search of cancer help for Beaumont showed at least a dozen active GoFundMe accounts of people needing help paying for their cancer treatments and prescriptions.
This does not include what you might find in the entire Golden Triangle region for those seeking help on GoFundMe.
For Shelly, it's Facebook users that have shown tremendous support during this war against cancer.
But it's her faith that keeps her at peace.
"I realize the strength that I have. I realize the compassion I have. I realize so much more. But at the same time he has shown me a community love I thought no longer existed," Bangs said.
Her grandkids are her hope and her inspiration to live for the good days.
"It's driven me to be family connected and to care more about my children and their lives and so I stay positive. I don't let the negative come down
Bangs said. "I've got my kids. I got my grandkids to live for and watch grow up."