Tiffany's Battle After Cancer
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Since I was a teenager, I remember feeling as if the world was at my fingertips, being optimistic came naturally to me. I had a habit which was more like OCD of planning for the future and I had it planned out precisely! My 20’s were supposed to be perfect, full of creative and exciting memories while experiencing the world as I was to graduate college, meet new people, have an internship at a huge agency in New York, get married, start a family, and blossom into a powerful business woman. Admitting to myself that these things didn’t go exactly as planned was terribly dis-heartening and something I buried very deep.
Looking back, lessons were definitely learned, memories were made, and I did meet the man of my dreams…but why did it have to be so difficult? Why was my health always in limbo?
On September 1, 2006, my health took a turn for the worst when I had an anterior spinal fusion. It’s also the one single event that resulted in my years of pain and suffering. That one surgery turned into me tallying a total of nineteen surgeries, over thirty inpatient hospital admissions, over five hundred days in the hospital, an extremely high number of tests and minor procedures that I have lost count of, and emotional battles that had challenged my family and I repeatedly.
In 2013, things began looking brighter, I had finally started looking at my life as a healthy person for the first time in over eight years. At the end of October 2013, I had my yearly routine gynecology appointment which had resulted in scheduling an examination at a breast cancer screening clinic the following day. I’ll admit, recently turning twenty-seven I wasn't worried at all. I showed up at the clinic prepared for a quick mammogram and then to continue on with my day. To be honest, I was more concerned with the pain that the mammogram machine would cause than the actual results of the test. What I thought would be a quick appointment turned into a mammogram, two ultrasounds, an MRI, and a biopsy. Six hours later, I left the hospital with a diagnosis of Stage 2 Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer.
As I was walking through the lobby of the hospital feeling a state of numbness, confusion, and being both speechless and shocked, before I could even contemplate how I would tell my fiancé my cell phone rang and it was him. With no time to prepare how I was going to deliver this news to the most important person in my life, he asked, "how did it go?" my response was simply “I have breast cancer..."
A lumpectomy would be the first step to see if the tumor could be removed. In the recovery room, I was told that the tumor was found to be more complex than expected, so the next step was to undergo chemotherapy. By far, it was the most challenging battle I had taken on both physically and emotionally, it pushed me to my limits. I completed the whole round of twelve treatments feeling stuck, the tumor had not grown any larger or smaller, but from day one I made the decision to never let this battle get the best of me. I wouldn’t have been able to maintain that strength if it wasn’t for my rock, constant motivator, and inspiration, my fiancé, Jonathan.
On May 22, 2014, I had a double mastectomy that officially made me cancer free once and for all. As fall approached, I had the operation to remove the tissue expanders and place the permanent implants. This was when all of the emotions from the past ten months rushed in like a tidal wave and hit me all at once. I was finally feeling the freedom of no longer having cancer and realizing that my perspective on life was no longer the same. I honestly felt like a completely different person than I had been prior to my diagnosis. I realized that things didn’t need to fit perfectly to the plans that I pictured. I began to see that every day is truly a blessing and that maintaining a positive attitude, lookout, and consistent prayer and belief can really get you through anything.
As I fought my hardest to work throughout my illness, it became a struggle for me to maintain a steady income. I've been recovering mentally, emotionally, and physically the past few months, but I've found it rather difficult to get back on my feet as I'm getting large bills in on a weekly basis from the hospital and cancer center. I question myself frequently why God forced me into so many health battles over the span of the last nine years. I was finding it hard to keep track of the mound of bills I was receiving, so I decided to call the hospital and have them email me a list of all of the outstanding bills since the date of my diagnosis. After reviewing the forty plus pages, I was presented with a total of $162,000, I was blown away. The bills were still coming in every day and I began to throw them away, I couldn’t bare looking at the inconceivable amounts that came pouring in. Though, I have a hard habit of trying to do everything myself and bottling my issues I'm cautiously stepping out of my shell and asking for help to raise enough funds to help pay some of my medical expenses. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my story. I am truly thankful for every donation and share I receive.
Looking back, lessons were definitely learned, memories were made, and I did meet the man of my dreams…but why did it have to be so difficult? Why was my health always in limbo?
On September 1, 2006, my health took a turn for the worst when I had an anterior spinal fusion. It’s also the one single event that resulted in my years of pain and suffering. That one surgery turned into me tallying a total of nineteen surgeries, over thirty inpatient hospital admissions, over five hundred days in the hospital, an extremely high number of tests and minor procedures that I have lost count of, and emotional battles that had challenged my family and I repeatedly.
In 2013, things began looking brighter, I had finally started looking at my life as a healthy person for the first time in over eight years. At the end of October 2013, I had my yearly routine gynecology appointment which had resulted in scheduling an examination at a breast cancer screening clinic the following day. I’ll admit, recently turning twenty-seven I wasn't worried at all. I showed up at the clinic prepared for a quick mammogram and then to continue on with my day. To be honest, I was more concerned with the pain that the mammogram machine would cause than the actual results of the test. What I thought would be a quick appointment turned into a mammogram, two ultrasounds, an MRI, and a biopsy. Six hours later, I left the hospital with a diagnosis of Stage 2 Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer.
As I was walking through the lobby of the hospital feeling a state of numbness, confusion, and being both speechless and shocked, before I could even contemplate how I would tell my fiancé my cell phone rang and it was him. With no time to prepare how I was going to deliver this news to the most important person in my life, he asked, "how did it go?" my response was simply “I have breast cancer..."
A lumpectomy would be the first step to see if the tumor could be removed. In the recovery room, I was told that the tumor was found to be more complex than expected, so the next step was to undergo chemotherapy. By far, it was the most challenging battle I had taken on both physically and emotionally, it pushed me to my limits. I completed the whole round of twelve treatments feeling stuck, the tumor had not grown any larger or smaller, but from day one I made the decision to never let this battle get the best of me. I wouldn’t have been able to maintain that strength if it wasn’t for my rock, constant motivator, and inspiration, my fiancé, Jonathan.
On May 22, 2014, I had a double mastectomy that officially made me cancer free once and for all. As fall approached, I had the operation to remove the tissue expanders and place the permanent implants. This was when all of the emotions from the past ten months rushed in like a tidal wave and hit me all at once. I was finally feeling the freedom of no longer having cancer and realizing that my perspective on life was no longer the same. I honestly felt like a completely different person than I had been prior to my diagnosis. I realized that things didn’t need to fit perfectly to the plans that I pictured. I began to see that every day is truly a blessing and that maintaining a positive attitude, lookout, and consistent prayer and belief can really get you through anything.
As I fought my hardest to work throughout my illness, it became a struggle for me to maintain a steady income. I've been recovering mentally, emotionally, and physically the past few months, but I've found it rather difficult to get back on my feet as I'm getting large bills in on a weekly basis from the hospital and cancer center. I question myself frequently why God forced me into so many health battles over the span of the last nine years. I was finding it hard to keep track of the mound of bills I was receiving, so I decided to call the hospital and have them email me a list of all of the outstanding bills since the date of my diagnosis. After reviewing the forty plus pages, I was presented with a total of $162,000, I was blown away. The bills were still coming in every day and I began to throw them away, I couldn’t bare looking at the inconceivable amounts that came pouring in. Though, I have a hard habit of trying to do everything myself and bottling my issues I'm cautiously stepping out of my shell and asking for help to raise enough funds to help pay some of my medical expenses. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my story. I am truly thankful for every donation and share I receive.
Organizer
Tiffany Gambino
Organizer
Columbia, MO
