A woman from North Texas is facing an unimaginable battle.
Tiffany Wilburn was 31 weeks pregnant when she found a lump on her breast. Three weeks later, she learned that lump was aggressive stage-3 breast cancer, a heartbreaking diagnosis for her family.
“You know, with knowledge of having little ones 8 and under at home and a little one on the way, it's not something any, any mom wants to hear,” Wilburn said wiping tears. "I want to be there for them."
After having 5 daughters, Wilburn and her husband Andrew are now expecting their first son.
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Wilburn was able to get a first round of chemotherapy to tide her over before she is induced in two weeks.
In the meantime, the bills are piling up, and the family does not have insurance. Wilburn's appointments require all the money upfront.
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"Yeah, I mean things like that cost money and unfortunately we don't have it to foot the bill," husband Andrew Wilburn said. "Which is why we reached out for help."
The Wilburns, who are devout Catholics, said they are having to rely on Christian organizations as well as the kindness of others to help ease their burden.
"It's unreal the amount of money, and so we really need to get the word out to try to help this family," friend Rudy Garcia said. Garcia is a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Corsicana, the Wilburns' home congregation.
"It's like a family...and so we're intertwined. We're like roots to each other...and we want to help out whenever we can," Garcia said.
“Normally we're put in a position to help, and now we're in a position of needing help, but that is the beautiful thing about community," Tiffany Wilburn said. "We're there for each other."
“I can't really say enough about the communities at large. Navarro County, San Patricio County, all of our church friends, and friends in that aspect of things have shown up for us,” Andrew Wilburn said.
A day after hesitantly posting a GoFundMe to help, more than $16,000 funneled in.
The family said they are humbled and overwhelmed by everyone who has helped and that they are pulling strength from each other, their faith, and the faith communities that are helping support them.
"Prayer and community mean a lot more than you think," Andrew Wilburn said.
NBC 5's Noelle Walker contributed to this report.
