Help My Mom Obliterate Breast Cancer
Donation protected
Okay. Here’s the deal. Mom (AKA Mabel Bond) has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She found a lump in her breast the day before her birthday (Happy Birthday!!) and long story short, it was cancer. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, grade 2, stage 2. She had a lumpectomy on August 28th, 2017. Now she must get several tests done and have a port put in so she can start chemotherapy. 16 sessions of chemotherapy. Her oncologist wants her to do chemotherapy due to the size of her initial tumor. Anything over 1cm she says requires chemotherapy. Mom’s was somewhere around 2.7cm. Her oncologist also says that because of her age she is a prime candidate for chemotherapy. The chemo will greatly improve her chances of not having a recurrence. Once her chemotherapy sessions are completed she will need to have radiation. We won’t know how much radiation treatment she will need until we reach that stage.
Now, the fun stuff. We need financial help. This is a huge lesson in humility for all three of us. We want to be independent. We do not ask for help. However...now we have to do so. Cancer is expensive. Healthcare is expensive. My parents have health insurance and it is covering things a bit better than we expected but we still don’t have enough money to cover the bills.We are a single income household. My dad has a great job. He likes it, he does well at it, it could be a little closer to home but it’s okay. It is a full time job and lately he has been getting some overtime because they are so short staffed at the moment. Him taking on another job is simply not an option. However, Dad’s work does not provide paid time off. If he has to call in or take off for a procedure or appointment for mom, it’s lost wages. We are hoping this won’t have to happen very often but with multiple doctors’ visits and treatments on the horizon, there’s no way to fully guarantee that it won’t.
Mom was the primary caretaker for her mom and step-dad for about eight years. Even once my Gramma was in assisted living and then the nursing facility, there was still plenty of work that needed done. Mom did her laundry, provided her with food (some of which she had to make at home), took care of her bills, sat with her multiple times a week, and always had to be at the ready in case an issue came up. After my Gramma passed (My Grampa passed in 2010) she helped her sister through her struggle with lung cancer, sitting and visiting with her whenever she could. My aunt passed in 2016. Mom has essentially been in a long grieving period of having no one to take care of. It’s what she did for many years. Our lives were kind of a blur through that period, even mine though I was away at college for some of it. She was discussing the idea of her getting a job and then came cancer.
Most of you know I have my own health struggles and have been unable to help contribute to the household in any way. I am currently trying to apply for SSI again. I’ve been denied in the past, but most people are. In my current physical state, I cannot take on a job, especially when I will be primary caretaker for my mom since my dad will have to work.
Honestly, our house itself needs a lot of help too. With my parents focused on taking care of my grandparents, a lot of things were forgotten about. Our concerns are that with mom needing chemo, we are afraid our house will not be healthy enough for her. We don’t have a furnace. This winter season will be our third without one. We have relied on portable space heaters. It hasn’t been too bad but we also haven’t had any extremely bad winters the past few years. The ducts need cleaned out, I’m sure. We have a mold problem, probably stemming from the crawlspace.
Thank you for your ongoing support, your shares, and your donations (if you can, but please don’t feel pressured.) Money’s tight for everyone these days. We will be posting updates when we have them. If you have questions, please feel free to message me (AKA Jen.)
PS: If you made it through reading this whole thing you deserve a gold star or something.
Now, the fun stuff. We need financial help. This is a huge lesson in humility for all three of us. We want to be independent. We do not ask for help. However...now we have to do so. Cancer is expensive. Healthcare is expensive. My parents have health insurance and it is covering things a bit better than we expected but we still don’t have enough money to cover the bills.We are a single income household. My dad has a great job. He likes it, he does well at it, it could be a little closer to home but it’s okay. It is a full time job and lately he has been getting some overtime because they are so short staffed at the moment. Him taking on another job is simply not an option. However, Dad’s work does not provide paid time off. If he has to call in or take off for a procedure or appointment for mom, it’s lost wages. We are hoping this won’t have to happen very often but with multiple doctors’ visits and treatments on the horizon, there’s no way to fully guarantee that it won’t.
Mom was the primary caretaker for her mom and step-dad for about eight years. Even once my Gramma was in assisted living and then the nursing facility, there was still plenty of work that needed done. Mom did her laundry, provided her with food (some of which she had to make at home), took care of her bills, sat with her multiple times a week, and always had to be at the ready in case an issue came up. After my Gramma passed (My Grampa passed in 2010) she helped her sister through her struggle with lung cancer, sitting and visiting with her whenever she could. My aunt passed in 2016. Mom has essentially been in a long grieving period of having no one to take care of. It’s what she did for many years. Our lives were kind of a blur through that period, even mine though I was away at college for some of it. She was discussing the idea of her getting a job and then came cancer.
Most of you know I have my own health struggles and have been unable to help contribute to the household in any way. I am currently trying to apply for SSI again. I’ve been denied in the past, but most people are. In my current physical state, I cannot take on a job, especially when I will be primary caretaker for my mom since my dad will have to work.
Honestly, our house itself needs a lot of help too. With my parents focused on taking care of my grandparents, a lot of things were forgotten about. Our concerns are that with mom needing chemo, we are afraid our house will not be healthy enough for her. We don’t have a furnace. This winter season will be our third without one. We have relied on portable space heaters. It hasn’t been too bad but we also haven’t had any extremely bad winters the past few years. The ducts need cleaned out, I’m sure. We have a mold problem, probably stemming from the crawlspace.
Thank you for your ongoing support, your shares, and your donations (if you can, but please don’t feel pressured.) Money’s tight for everyone these days. We will be posting updates when we have them. If you have questions, please feel free to message me (AKA Jen.)
PS: If you made it through reading this whole thing you deserve a gold star or something.
Organizer
Jen Bond
Organizer
Sellersburg, IN
