Hi my name is Gail Yagci and I am 47. I was first diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2014, just after my son turned three. I went through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and by all accounts we thought I had beaten the cancer. I did everything I could to prevent it from returning, even changing to an organic diet and not eating any more processed food.
My mother came to live with us during this time and slowly life started to get back to normal. Then without warning, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016. We lost her a month later due to complications with a mesh she had placed in her body almost 16 years prior. Losing her was a terrible shock, but I am grateful that we spent those last few months together while we were taking care of each other.

My mum and I celebrating my birthday 2015

While still dealing with my mother’s death and additional family issues, I went into my attic to retrieve some of her things and missed my footing, falling through the ceiling and breaking my back. I was in a brace for six months. While recovering, I again I tried to focus on my health and did everything I could to improve my well being.
But in the first week in January of 2017, only a few months after I was in my brace, we got more bad news about the health of a family member. This time it was my father-in-law: he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Due to the poor prognosis, we flew over to Turkey to take care of him. We bought medicines, medical supplies, and expensive supplements to see if we could improve his health. While we wanted to help him any way we could, it drained the small inheritance and savings we had.
Upon our return, we continued to send Trans factor supplements, which cost over $500. My husband continued to work while I went to physical therapy and start strengthening my back. Then in December 2017, we received the bad news that my father-in-law’s doctor had given him a few months to live. My husband flew back to Turkey for a month to spend time with him. He was given family leave from work, but course there was no money was coming in, and on top of that we had to pay our insurance. Again, any money we had worked to save was gone.
When my husband returned, we discussed me working for his company that he started but never had officially opened. I took classes and started to get back to the swing of things and work towards generating more income. Life was starting to get back to a new kind of normal.

My husband, Ali and I at my son's birthday party

Then two weeks before my son’s 7th birthday this year, I went to my regular six-month checkup with my oncologist. Like so many times before, no call from him ever has good news. On October 16th, at six o’clock, I got the call that I would need to get a bone scan and CT scan of my body. Scared and shocked, I did not want to tell my husband because he was still dealing with my father-in-law’s constant hospitalizations. So my dear friend took me to my appointment.
The next day it was confirmed that my cancer had spread to my bones and I was now stage 4 with breast cancer. Telling my husband was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. He just hugged me and said, “We will get through this and you will not die.”
I have gone through bone infusions (which make you feel like you have the flu and shot in the stomach) to stop the estrogen from making more cancer, and a series of MRIs to see if my brain and back have been attacked by this vicious disease.
This is just the beginning beginning of the journey and my fight against this cancer. I will need a hysterectomy, expensive medicines, and more testing and monitoring to see if my treatment is working. I have started an alkaline diet, which requires expensive supplements, a water machine, and a cold-press juicer that total in the thousands of dollars.
So as if the emotional toll of cancer in our family hasn’t been enough, it is also killing us financially. We just finished paying off our last bill for my broken back. I have already maxed out my health spending for the year, which is close to $4,000, plus some of my testing was not in network and this totals around $1,500. On top of that, we still have student loans that total $70,000 from both studying for our masters’ degrees.
Currently my left hip and the middle of my back are in pain due to the cancer. I also have it in my pelvis and ribs. I am not able to sit for a very long time and I need frequent naps.

My son Kaya and me September this year on our wedding anniversary

My son only knows that my bones hurt. He could not cope with the news that I have cancer again. With proper treatment and dietary changes, we hope that he will never have to know that I have it.
Any donations would be used for medical treatments, dietary needs and loans that we have. Please pass this on to anyone who can help. Every penny counts. If you can repost in social media such as Facebook it would be much appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Women, please take this advice: get a mammogram and know your body. It may save you from this journey.
Best regards,
Gail Yagci