Connie Hoffman’s youngest child was just 4 years old when Hoffman was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 35. It was 2001, and when she was finally declared cancer free, Hoffman celebrated.
She assumed that would be the end of her cancer battles.
Then in 2012, the Thermopolis woman got another cancer diagnosis after months of battling what she thought was bronchitis and broken ribs.
This time it was multiple myeloma, and her prognosis was not good.
The hardest part for the mother of three was telling her then 15-year-old daughter by that time that the cancer was much more deadly. Hoffman faced the reality that she might not live long enough to see her youngest child attend her high school prom.
“I just prayed for peace,” she said. “Within a day I had this complete acceptance of whatever it was going to be, I would somehow handle it.”
Not only did she survive, but Hoffman, who still has cancer, also helped start a cancer group — T-Town Cancer Crusaders — to help those struggling with cancer are fortunate than she.
They have since raised more than $30,000 for cancer patients in Hot Springs County.
Connie Hoffman of Thermopolis incurred high travel expenses as she sought cancer treatments. She was helped by family and various fundraisers to afford to seek specialists and wanted to make it possible for others to do the same, so she founded T-Town Cancer Crusaders. It provides $500 to $1,000 to recipients who have cancer and need help paying bills and for travel and other expenses not paid for by insurance. Here she's pictured with another tumor on her chest. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
Connie Hoffman of Thermopolis incurred high travel expenses as she sought cancer treatments. She was helped by family and various fundraisers to afford to seek specialists and wanted to make it possible for others to do the same, so she founded T-Town Cancer Crusaders. It provides $500 to $1,000 to recipients who have cancer and need help paying bills and for travel and other expenses not paid for by insurance. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
Connie Hoffman of Thermopolis incurred high travel expenses as she sought cancer treatments. She was helped by family and various fundraisers to afford to seek specialists and wanted to make it possible for others to do the same, so she founded T-Town Cancer Crusaders. It provides $500 to $1,000 to recipients who have cancer and need help paying bills and for travel and other expenses not paid for by insurance. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
Connie Hoffman at a cancer treatment in Billings on Dec. 23, 2025. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman)
Cancer Warrior
When faced with her cancer diagnosis, Hoffman said she wanted to be there for her daughter and sons and pursued specialists beyond her community.
She joined special clinical trials and has been, at times, the first to go through certain treatments, some of which were extremely painful.
During all this, Hoffman said she leaned into her faith. She said that she was brought closer to God through the sickness, pain, and illness, and truly feels like she has God in her corner.
“Father Rodgers said, 'I never promised you a rose garden,' and that really stuck with me,” Hoffman said. “It wasn’t because I didn’t pray hard enough or believe enough that I got sick.”
Hoffman said that instead of asking “why me?” she found herself asking “why not me?”
The cancer hit her out of left field, but she was ready to fight so she could see her daughter graduate high school and now she is eager to see her children’s other milestones as the months turned into years.
Even though Hoffman has good insurance, she soon discovered it did not cover her travel and lodging expenses.
To pay for these mounting bills, Hoffman and her husband Greg sold off their "toys." He stopped funding his retirement. They received help from their families, and there were several fundraisers held that helped cover expenses.
Today, Hoffman continues to battle the cancer, which is terminal, and its effects.
She still wears a beaming smile and said she's grateful for a community that rallied around her.
She wants to give back and hatched a plan based on her own experiences.
Hoffman had realized that when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, they often did not have time to orgainize fundraisers, and there were those who are also private and didn’t want people to know about their cancer.
As a result, T-Town Cancer Crusaders was born to fill in that gap.
It's become a way for her to fight cancer on a broader scale and focus on something other than the insideous disease that doctors have told her will someday take her life.
Since 2012, Connie Hoffman of Thermopolis has battled cancer and incurred high travel costs as she sought out specialists in other states. She wanted to help others receive the care they needed in their own cancer battles so founded the T-Town Cancer Crusaders. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
The T-Town Cancer Crusaders hold fundraisers, raffles and accept private donations so that they can help those with cancer in Hot Springs County pay for bills and their travel for treatment. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
The T-Town Cancer Crusaders hold fundraisers, raffles and accept private donations so that they can help those with cancer in Hot Springs County pay for bills and their travel for treatment. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
The T-Town Cancer Crusaders hold fundraisers, raffles and accept private donations so that they can help those with cancer in Hot Springs County pay for bills and their travel for treatment. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman) 
Connie Hoffman of Thermopolis has fought cancer for years and has turned this battle into helping others. Pictured receiving a T cell transplant in 2023. (Courtesy Connie Hoffman)
Cancer Crusaders
To get the treatments that have kept her alive, Hoffman has had to stay months in Houston and other big cities.
“I felt fortunate that I could go and travel, because I had more resources than some people and help from family,” Hoffman said. “I’m always just trying to figure out what I could handle and what we needed to do because of finances.”
She had people tell her how they could never afford to get the treatments they also needed, and that hurt her heart. Instead of turning the other way, she was determined to help those who needed travel and help with their bills.
Once a cancer patient fills out an application for the crusaders, it is sent to Connie and her team of volunteers who then work on getting a Visa card to the applicant.
This money, ranging from $500 to $1,000, can be used on anything the person needs, from travel to help paying bills. The amount paid out usually depends on how much the nonprofit has in its account at the time.
Fellow volunteer Mike Connor said he knows that most people use the money for expenses for hotels and travel just to get to appointments.
“It’s very heartwarming to know that we can do this for people,” Connor said.
“We try to really let people know that we are here to help that were too proud to have a cookie jar auction or other fundraiser,” Hoffman said. “We are discreet about who we send cards to.”
Hoffman said that the first recipient from the cancer fund was a local woman who literally did not have $20 for a tank of gas to get her from Thermopolis to Lander for her treatments.
“She had no family that could help her at all and was living in assisted housing,” Hoffman said. “The money helped her live a little longer because she was able to go to Lander.”
The Visa card they gave had a huge impact on Hoffman as well because the woman was so grateful and Hoffman had proof that their new cancer fund would be a huge help to those in need.
Every Member Affected
Hoffman said that everyone who has volunteered their time to the T-Town Cancer Crusaders has been in some way affected by cancer themselves.
“They’ve either lost a loved one through cancer or are themselves survivors,” Hoffman said. “They just feel really passionate about helping because they were helped and now want to pay it forward.”
Connor is one such member.
He was only 3 when his family experienced the generosity of others. His mother had kidney failure, and the community of Thermopolis raised $60,000 for her transplant in 1971.
She ended up passing away, but the memory of how the town rallied around his family remains.
Then years later, Connor’s wife, Angel, was diagnosed with brain cancer.
“She had three brain surgeries, one in Chicago and two in Houston,” Connor said. “She was just the most loving, caring person there was.”
Money was raised to help cover the cost of travel and after Angel died, Connor wanted to give back.
God had a different plan for her, Connor said, and while that was hard to accept, he said he wanted to honor her by donating his time and money to the T-Town Crusaders and other fundraisers in Thermopolis.
It's his way of giving back to his community that had rallied around him.
For Hoffman, her own fight with cancer continues but she still finds time to fundraise and help those fighting their own cancer battles.
“I will always have to be on something,” Hoffman said. “The cancer will always be with me but I’m doing fairly well right now, but it’s day to day.”
Hoffman said that the awareness of the financial difficulties people face when they get cancer in rural Wyoming has shown her how to best help people facing cancer.
“When you go through cancer, your family goes through it too,” Hoffman said. “We just want to make sure that no one has to go through this alone.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
