SLO County woman battling cancer spent a month shuttling between hospitals. Here’s how to help

Kathe Tanner
·2 min read
1

Kim and Thomas Adams of Cambria have been first in line for decades to help raise money for worthy causes and donate to fundraisers for charities and individuals who needed help.

Now, according to friends, it’s time to give back.

Kim Wells Adams, 60, is undergoing treatment for large cell lymphoma cancer.

Adams, a descendant of the Shaug and Lee pioneer families, is well known by many for her work with Winsor Construction and her commitment to events at the Cambria schools Adams and her daughters, Christin Vieira and Rebecca Adams, attended.

According to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up by Shelley Woeste, president of American Legion Post No. 432 Auxiliary, Adams was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2010 and given a life expectancy of five years.

Adams was diagnosed with cancer in November by doctors at Stanford University, the GoFundMe site said.

Then, on Dec. 26, Adams was taken to the emergency room at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.

After she was admitted to the intensive care unit, she was eventually transferred to Stanford Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed her cancer as large cell lymphoma, according to the site.

Adams is finally back in Cambria after more than a month shuttling between hospitals.

“I’m home with my family where I belong, working on getting stronger,” Adams wrote via Facebook on Tuesday. “It’s a long walk this journey I’m on, but with Jesus by my side, I know it will be OK. ... I come from hearty stock, and have my husband and family right here with me.”

As she starts chemotherapy, she and her family are facing an uncertain future and potentially daunting expenses not covered by insurance.

As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe fundraiser Woeste set up to help the Adams family had raised $8,400 toward a $10,000 goal.

“We are all so touched by the outpouring of love and support from the community,” Adams said via phone in late January, “even from some people who don’t even know us.”

To donate, go to gofundme.com/f/long-time-local-family-needs-your-help.