The Breast is Yet to Come!!

Hi, my name is Crystal and on August 22, 2023, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma. After the initial shock of receiving my cancer diagnosis, I was overcome with many emotions...denial, fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, confusion, depression, and helplessness, to name a few.

After consulting with a team of doctors, and my family/friends, I made the decision to move forward with surgery to remove the cancer. My bilateral mastectomy was successfully performed on September 21st. Unfortunately, 3 days after surgery, I found myself in the ER and was diagnosed with pneumonia. To date, I have not been able to have reconstructive surgery as the pneumonia evolved into other respiratory issues which I'm still being treated for.

So many of my family and friends have asked how they can help with my journey. Honestly, donations towards my medical expenses would help me tremendously. I recently started a new job in March 2023, so when all of this happened, I did not have enough accrued leave, or finances to cover 6 weeks of recovery from the mastectomy, treatment for pneumonia that is ongoing, and the additional 8 weeks to recover from breast reconstruction (tentatively scheduled for December 7th).

As if dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis wasn't enough, my insurance did not cover my surgery in full, so I have a huge balance remaining on my medical bill. In addition, other medical expenses are adding up such as copays, facility fees, prescriptions, parking fees at the hospital at least 2-3 times per week during appointments, a lot of fill ups at the gas station because my appointments are spread across the DMV, and mastectomy garments to help with post-surgical recovery.

Please keep me and my family uplifted with positive thoughts, good vibes, and encouragement.....and ladies PLEASE BE PROACTIVE WITH YOUR MAMMOGRAMS!!!

Your kindness and generosity are sincerely appreciated.