My name is Natalie Walker and I am a 29 year old battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. In May of 2014, I was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer. I underwent five months of chemotherapy, followed by a bilateral mastectomy with a left auxiliary node dissection, reconstruction, and two months of radiation. I finished “treatment” in the summer of 2015 and declared in remission. I was placed on the drug Tamoxifen as an indefinite maintenance.In March of 2017 I was re-diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer with lesions in my liver. This is also the same month (March 2017) that I lost my job at The Counter in Palm Beach Gardens, FL due to them closing. I quickly signed up for Cobra coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield of California to begin the process of recovery through the prescribed treatment plan by my team of doctors. I underwent three months of chemotherapy combined with Herceptin and Perjeta infusions every three weeks (indefinitely) to target my tumor markers. By the beginning of August of 2017, when I finished chemotherapy, my liver lesions had reduced by half and all cancer markers had returned to a “normal” range. I continued to receive the Herceptin and Perjeta infusions as indefinite maintenance every three weeks as prescribed by my doctor.In December of 2017, specifically on December 22nd, was the last 2017 Herceptin and Perjeta infusion I received. On January 10th, 2018 I received a phone call from one of my doctors’ offices, two days before my next scheduled infusion, and informed that I had no insurance coverage and that my Cobra policy is showing a status of “terminated”. I immediately called my insurance carrier and questioned the reason as to why my coverage was “terminated”, especially since I was up-to-date with my payments (the payment for my coverage was cashed and paid on December 27th, 2017). I was informed by my Cobra insurance that it shows that The Counter sold on December 1st, 2017 and the policy terminated on December 31st, 2017. Neither the Cobra insurance nor the company The Counter informed me that they were dropping my insurance coverage. When I spoke to the Cobra Insurance on January 10th, 2018 they informed me that they would be issuing me a refund check. I was forced to seek coverage on the Marketplace and was able to acquire an inferior policy for a higher premium rate that was due to begin coverage on February 1st, 2018. Due to a clerical error from the Marketplace insurance carrier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, the coverage never went into effect until February 10th, 2018. This resulted in a 49 day period where I was not able to be seen by my doctor to receive any kind of treatment, scan, or test that is required with my diagnosis and treatment plan. In total I missed two treatments and had to delay a third until the Marketplace insurance coverage kicked in.My cancer markers in November 2017 were 12. In December 2017 the cancer markers were 38. In February 2018, when I was finally able to see my doctors and receive the mandatory Herceptin and Perjeta infusion, my cancer markers were in 218. I had re-scans and bloodwork pulled at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville on February 16th, 2018. The scans showed that the tumors documented had doubled from their initial measurements (March 2017) and that there were additional lesions noted in the Liver with new nodules noted in the Lungs that were not present in previous scans.Currently I am undergoing chemotherapy, for the 3rd time, to try and get my tumors to shrink to a manageable size. I am expected to stay on chemotherapy, up to a year, to ensure the best possible result as long as my body can withstand the neuropathies that come alongside with the treatments. Cancer sucks and no one should have to go through this. I will be 30 this year and I have been battling this for 4 years now. I work full time managing at a local restaurant concept to try and pay my bills coinciding with receiving weekly chemotherapy treatments. I am very embarrassed asking for assistance from my friends and family. Thank you to all who have shown me support through this journey. This is not an easy road to follow, but it is the path that I was given so I will do my best to guide myself and set an example for those who also have been given a tough diagnosis.