A Cure for Amy: Cancer Sucks
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In May, our family spent an amazing week in Panama City, Florida celebrating my sister's 30th birthday. Thirty. What would thirty hold? After filing bankruptcy last year and finally getting back on their feet with Amy getting a job at XPO Logistics in November, her birthday meant excitement for the future. Amy and John Roark just started saving to buy a house. For the first time in a long time, finances were stable and plans for the family's future were finally starting to look possible.
Meanwhile, Amy was complaining of a nagging muscle pain in her left upper chest. She went to her primary doctor in the spring and was told to take Aleve for a pulled muscle and to stop lifting my 40lb hoss of a nephew until it healed. It wasn't going away. In mid June, Amy felt a lump in her left breast. She didn't think too much of it because again, she is thirty, and we have absolutely no family history of cancer. The pain persisted and she decided to go back to her primary doctor in July. This time she saw a nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner was concerned and sent Amy for an ultrasound and a mammogram. The mammogram lit up like a Christmas Tree. Two days later Amy underwent a biopsy and after 4 long excruciatingly painful days of waiting, she recieved the dreadful phone call on August 3rd, 2016 that no one ever expects to get: You have breast cancer.
Amy was diagnosed with Stage 3B Inflammatory Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It is in her left breast and several lymph nodes under her left armpit. Treatment is intense. Next week chemotherapy starts and she will have eight rounds through November 29th. She will have a month long break in December to regain her strength before undergoing a mastectomy in January. After the mastectomy she will have another month to heal before radiation treatments begin. Best case scenario, she will be cancer free April 2017.
I decided to start a Go Fund Me page for Amy and John to help with this difficult time. Chemotherapy starts on Tuesday and money is very tight. She is being treated at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center at OSU. This facility is 50 minutes from home and she is having frequent appointments there on top of her scheduled chemo. This is causing high expenses in gas and John is taking a lot of time off work to attend her appointments.
Medical bills are also a huge worry right now. Amy has insurance but she is going to have to pay thousands of dollars in deductibles and it will reset January 1st, right before she undergoes a mastectomy.
Normal bills have to be paid as well. Rent is due every month and they have two little mouthes to feed. They have a 7 year old daughter, Raine, who participates in cheerleading and gymnastics and Amy's goal is to keep her children's lives as normal as possible through all of this. Charlie is 3 years old and there are costs involved with enrolling him in preschool and childcare while Amy is getting her treatments.
Needless to say, this family has been hit with a bomb. A financial burden is the last thing I want them to worry about right now. They need to focus on spending time together as a family and healing. We appreciate every dollar and every share.
Together, we will overcome this. We can't tell you enough how much we have appreciated every kind outreach of love and support through this. Staying postive and continuing to laugh is the best medicine right now. Please keep Amy, John, Raine, Charlie and our entire family in your prayers.
All my Love,
Kelly Shrout
Meanwhile, Amy was complaining of a nagging muscle pain in her left upper chest. She went to her primary doctor in the spring and was told to take Aleve for a pulled muscle and to stop lifting my 40lb hoss of a nephew until it healed. It wasn't going away. In mid June, Amy felt a lump in her left breast. She didn't think too much of it because again, she is thirty, and we have absolutely no family history of cancer. The pain persisted and she decided to go back to her primary doctor in July. This time she saw a nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner was concerned and sent Amy for an ultrasound and a mammogram. The mammogram lit up like a Christmas Tree. Two days later Amy underwent a biopsy and after 4 long excruciatingly painful days of waiting, she recieved the dreadful phone call on August 3rd, 2016 that no one ever expects to get: You have breast cancer.
Amy was diagnosed with Stage 3B Inflammatory Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It is in her left breast and several lymph nodes under her left armpit. Treatment is intense. Next week chemotherapy starts and she will have eight rounds through November 29th. She will have a month long break in December to regain her strength before undergoing a mastectomy in January. After the mastectomy she will have another month to heal before radiation treatments begin. Best case scenario, she will be cancer free April 2017.
I decided to start a Go Fund Me page for Amy and John to help with this difficult time. Chemotherapy starts on Tuesday and money is very tight. She is being treated at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center at OSU. This facility is 50 minutes from home and she is having frequent appointments there on top of her scheduled chemo. This is causing high expenses in gas and John is taking a lot of time off work to attend her appointments.
Medical bills are also a huge worry right now. Amy has insurance but she is going to have to pay thousands of dollars in deductibles and it will reset January 1st, right before she undergoes a mastectomy.
Normal bills have to be paid as well. Rent is due every month and they have two little mouthes to feed. They have a 7 year old daughter, Raine, who participates in cheerleading and gymnastics and Amy's goal is to keep her children's lives as normal as possible through all of this. Charlie is 3 years old and there are costs involved with enrolling him in preschool and childcare while Amy is getting her treatments.
Needless to say, this family has been hit with a bomb. A financial burden is the last thing I want them to worry about right now. They need to focus on spending time together as a family and healing. We appreciate every dollar and every share.
Together, we will overcome this. We can't tell you enough how much we have appreciated every kind outreach of love and support through this. Staying postive and continuing to laugh is the best medicine right now. Please keep Amy, John, Raine, Charlie and our entire family in your prayers.
All my Love,
Kelly Shrout
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelly Barnett Shrout
Organizer
Ashley, OH
Amy Roark
Beneficiary