Ballinger primary caretaker asks for help amid cancer diagnosis
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A 62-year-old Ballinger woman who is the primary caretaker of her disabled husband is asking for the Concho Valley’s help in making ends meet after being diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.
Before her diagnosis, Tammy Rodriguez followed her standard daily routine of getting the family ready for the day before departing for work and running additional errands as needed. She fills many roles — mother of six children, grandmother of 20 grandchildren and, soon, great-grandmother of one — but she also serves as the primary caretaker of Cecil Rodriguez, her husband who began using a wheelchair during the last two years.
While her family made do with what they had, hardship would find the family when Tammy Rodriguez was diagnosed with stage 3 endometrial cancer in January. The cancer has already spread to other lymph nodes near the area where it was first discovered, jeopardizing her health and ability to properly take care of her family.
“Before January when I got told, I worked,” Tammy Rodriguez said. “I did all the grocery shopping, all the everything. And then, I got sick. My quality of life has changed dramatically.”
Her treatment is expected to be costly, lengthy and intensive. She is currently uninsured and lives off of Social Security money given to her husband, making the treatment process exceptionally difficult for her family to afford.
“We live on my husband’s Social Security, which is only $1,019 a month,” Tammy Rodriguez said. “The expense of driving from where we live in Ballinger to San Angelo, the gas expense is a lot. Some of the medications that they’re prescribing me to take are expensive.”
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The Rodriguez family is looking at a $93,000 medical bill as of April 30, which does not include any further costs invoked by chemotherapy.
“The immune therapy medication is $80,000 a dose, and I’ll be getting it every three weeks for a year,” Tammy Rodriguez said.
While her family supports her in this difficult time, they are unable to provide enough money to match the expenses of her cancer treatment. The Rodriguez family has also asked for assistance through pharmaceutical companies, to no avail. With few other options left, Tammy Rodriguez is making her plea to one group of people she hopes can help her — the residents of the Concho Valley.
“It’s a very giving community and area,” Tammy Rodriguez said.
The family set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money for the cancer treatment, which is still accessible online as of the time of publication. While the fundraiser asks for help paying for “rent, lights, water bill and having gas in their car to go to town for the doctor,” Tammy Rodriguez is primarily concerned with getting enough money to pay for gasoline.
“We pay the rent and our living expenses, and we are a dollar in the hole every month,” Tammy Rodriguez said. “I’m just hoping that this pays the expenses for me to get back and forth to treatments.”
With costs mounting and a years-long road of treatment ahead, she encourages the people of the Concho Valley to be kind to everyone.
“Never stop being kind to your fellow man,” Tammy Rodriguez said. “Kindness is the key to everything.”
To help support Tammy Rodriguez during her treatment, visit her GoFundMe webpage.
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