So I have this friend, and no, its not me. Let's call her Jessica. She recently found out that she has cancer, and she needs surgery to remove it. The problem is that the hospital wants half the cost upfront before they'll do the surgery. Jessica's family is not in a position to drop that kind of cash with no notice. What are her options?

Here's what I have tried so far:
1. Contact the hospital about their financial assistance program. Jessica did this, and her husband is just barely over the income limit for that program.
2. Crowdfunding. I have already advised her to do this, to include as many details as possible, and to update her crowdfunding page often. Jessica is working on this.

Please note that I have tried very hard to adhere to all the rules of this subreddit. I only wanted to describe the situation at hand and get ideas as to how she can proceed with the surgery.

The only reason I am doing this instead of Jessica is because she doesn't know about Reddit. I do, I'm already familiar with the "terrain," and I already have an account. Time is of the essence, so I just figured I would do this myself.

Thanks!

Edit: Left out one important detail. Jessica does NOT have health insurance.

Edit 2: a word