Ashburnham Teacher With Rare Cancer Seeks Treatment In Germany
ASHBURNHAM (CBS) -- A Central Massachusetts community is rallying around an elementary school teacher with a rare form of cancer.
Theresa Gusek, who lives in Rutland and teaches in Ashburnham, is battling a neuroendocrine cancer called Carcinoid. It's the same kind of disease that the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs had.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by a friend, Gusek has exhausted all of her treatment options in the United States. Her last hope is a special kind of treatment available in Europe called Receptor Radionuclide Therapy.
Gusek is seeking $100,000 to pay for multiple trips for Germany to receive the treatment. So far, over 700 people have donated more than $71,000 toward that goal.
A grateful Gusek writes that she'll be taking all the prayers and words of encouragement with her to Germany.
"I am so overwhelmed by all the love and support I have received from so many people!," she said. "I think that the happiness I am feeling from this incredible experience is already helping to make me feel better."
Friends say donations to Gusek's fund will give her the chance to continue her passion for teaching and see her 11-year-old daughter Kaeli grow up.