WARR ACRES, Okla. (KFOR) – A Warr Acres woman says her home's bed bug infestation is interfering with her cancer treatment. Not only has her family had to deal with constant bug bites, but she says now they're inconveniencing the hospital.

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Janice Morgan. Photo courtesy of Autumn-Rain Morgan

Sixty-eight-year-old Janice Morgan said the extra time healthcare staff have to spend on cleaning, because of her family's bed bug problem, is wasting the hospital's time, energy and resources.

"The bites are horrid, and they are constant," Janice said. "Our health is going to decline drastically and mine fastest because I have cancer."

Her granddaughter, Autumn-Rain Morgan, said the bed bugs are everywhere in their Warr Acre home.

"They're on fabric, surfaces, beds, couches, love seats, blinds, the curtains, virtually every surface," she explained.

She's stressed that their infestation at home is now affecting her grandmother's breast cancer treatment, as extensive time is being spent by hospital staff cleaning their waiting and operating room.

"They were concerned that the O.R. could be compromised for the other patients that followed," Autumn said. "They explained that the treatment to clean the O.R. would take over an hour. They were concerned that there could be some transfer, which is totally understandable. They are notoriously difficult to track, and they hide in everything. So, they wanted to make sure that none of their other patients who might have a more critical surgery weren't affected."

She also fears the bed bug bites could lead to her grandmother getting infections.

"For somebody who's going through chemo, their immune system's already weakened," she continued. "It could go further. It could make it even harder. So, she might have to stop chemo, wait for that to heal and then start back up again. That could take weeks. That could take months. And this is not something that needs to wait. This needs to be something that's dealt with so she can live a full and happy life."

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Bed bugs are causing problems for a Warr Acres woman fighting cancer. Image courtesy of Autumn-Rain Morgan

Their family is hoping someone can step in to help them pay for pest control, which they can't afford at this time.

"If a pest control company would be willing to donate their time and services for a heat treatment, which is the only thing that would help the infestation level that we have," Autumn explained. "Heat treatment, baking the house up to a certain temperature for a long period of time, is the only way to solve the problem in the long term."

She said they're also open to donations and loans for the heat treatment. The quotes they've received for it are $3,000 to $4,000, money they don't currently have.

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