Help Elisha defeat breast cancer
My daughter was 34, she has always been healthy and fit,eating all the right foods and everything. A little over 12 months ago she found a lump in her breast that felt not right so of course she went to the doctor. She goes every year for an annual checkup and never had an issue before.
In Elisha's words; "I was sent to have a mammogram and ultra sound which both showed that nothing was there,but we could all feel it. I was told to follow up in 3 months. I followed up after 3 months in January; they decided to just remove the lump. I got the call a few days later and was told over the phone that I had breast cancer,immediate double mastectomy, chemo, and radiation; I was told all this in one call before I could even grasp the fact that she actually said breast cancer while I was at work. I asked the surgeon "˜am I going to die' and she said"˜well we all die someday'."
Elisha was eventually diagnosed at stage 3.
We thought this might help take one worry away for her So I created this page for her.
" I am lucky I have insurance but the deductibles are so high I had to refinance my car just to pay the doctors before my insurance picked anything up last year, and I already have had so many doctor's appointments this year. My reconstruction surgery is also coming up in June and I will be out of work for 6 weeks. They are slow removing my other breast by the Doctors orders it will increase my changes of survival from 50% now to 95% when all is said and done. I like those odds much better!
I am not sure what I will do then but what can you do! This year my work introduced short term disability, which last year they did not have and I got my full pay check through it all. This year they have short term disability and I will get half my check minus a week, for my initial surgery but I will have 4 more surgeries plus time off for recovery which I will get no pay during that time, plus all my many follow ups with no pay on top of the follow ups every three months with my Oncologist for the rest of my life. It makes it hard since I have a mortgage,property taxes (which I did not have last year), a car payment, doctors bills with a super high HSA deductible to meet before my health insurance even kicks in, I also have pets to care for, and I am on a pill(tamoxfin) for the next 5 years which I have to pay for out of pocket. Having to worry about bills adds to the stress of trying to get through this next part of my journey, which to me is almost as scaring as going through the Chemo."
"It has been such an interesting, humbling, and terrifying journey so far I never thought in a million years something like this, at this age could ever happen to me. Cancer does not discriminate. I have realized that there have been so many things I thought I could put off and do tomorrow, like travel, go back to college, etc. but tomorrow may never come and one really needs to just go for it and live life to its fullest today. I just try to hold onto my faith that God has a plan in this too. I have never had to face much of anything in my life and I am slowing discovering how strong of a person I am, where I always thought I would run and hide if trouble came my way, I see now that I just push on through and smile every chance I get, and love the new day. I am blessed to have a very supportive family, boyfriend, and friends that have made this life changing struggle much more hopeful and gives me the added strength I need to face each new day."
