Sheila’s Breast Cancer Fight!

If you’re reading this, you probably know our mom, Sheila. Which means you know what a happy, loving, always-puts-others-first type of human she is. She never complains, and always keeps a positive attitude. She deserves the world and we wish we could give it to her.

Most of you know already know Sheila’s story and have been with us through this journey. For those that don’t- she was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 years ago this month. After running the initial tests, the doctor determined the cancer had already metastasized and was in her bones as well. This meant she was considered a stage 4 and it was going to be uncurable. The doctors came up with a treatment plan and her cancer responded well for 3 ½ years. Adding to the difficulty of this, she was diagnosed at the time with leukopenia, a low white blood cell count. WBC’s help your body fight infection and are the core of your immune system. Because hers are so low, and because cancer medicines generally deplete your white blood cells, she was prescribed Granix. This is a shot that she goes into the hospital for 3x a week. The goal of these are to keep her WBC counts at a safe number. These shots do well to keep her at a level the doctor is comfortable with, but her numbers are still always well below a normal range. They also cause body aches and fatigue. 

Fast forward to present. This past May she went in for her routine scans and found out that the medicine she’d been taking was no longer working. Her cancer had spread, this time to several more spots on her bones and her liver. The doctor updated her treatment plan and we waited for the next set of scans to see if it was working. Unfortunately, after meeting with the doctor last month, we learned that the new medicine had not worked, and her cancer has continued to spread. It is now in 3 more spots on her bones and is in multiple new places on her liver. After discussing with the doctors, we were told the next plan of action is chemo therapy. She started last week and will continue on Chemo for 12 weeks.

Chemo is an intense medicine and the affects of it, while good for cancer fighting, are very rough on the body and the symptoms will only worsen as treatments go on. Throughout these 4 years our mom has remained working full time as a hairdresser. She loves her work and her clients are like family. But, her days are getting harder as the effects of the chemo kick in. Her stamina isn’t what it used to be as the fatigue has already gotten stronger. She suffers from a sore throat, joint aches and nerve pain on a daily basis. We wanted to start this fundraiser for her so that as the symptoms progress, and inevitably she has to cut back at work, she can do so without financial stress. We want her to be able to focus on taking care of herself and getting the rest her body will need.

Our mom is a fighter and has never let this cancer define her. She, more than anyone, deserves to be taken care of. Any little bit we can provide her financially will help. If you are unable to donate, we ask that you help spread her story so that others may help. We are so appreciative of all the love and support we continue to receive. We have created a Facebook page to keep everyone updated. We will paste the link below. Our mom is the light of our lives and we know she means the world to so many people. This chapter will be difficult, but we know we can get through it will all of you on our side.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/745170155845907/