Meet our dear friend, and dearly loved daughter and sister, Pam. She's 34 and has been excitedly planning her wedding, which is scheduled for the summer of 2020. Sadly, she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. We, her family and friends, are starting a GoFundMe on her behalf to help cover the heavy medical costs that insurance will not pay.

Pam and her fiancé, Matt, have been looking forward to starting a family after their wedding; however, this devastating diagnosis will most certainly postpone their plans, and may altogether derail them.

Pam has a very good chance of beating breast cancer and has a huge support network of loved ones. Still, the battle she faces will be hard-fought and painful. Her self-built business will be impacted, and her ability to have children will be at risk. 

Costs:

Some of her costs are currently unknown, however, this is an estimate of what they are looking at just for the embryo freezing fees.

·      Procedure: $8163

·      Medication: $4000-7000

·      Anesthesia: $250

None of these are covered by insurance and this is only the beginning of the cost of this journey. If you are interested in seeing her entire treatment plan, see below.
 


Treatment Plan:

·  First here is a little background. Pam’s type of cancer (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma) is difficult to treat because her cancer is not estrogen, progestogen, and HER 2 based.

· Usually, the first course of treatment is surgery followed by radiation and/or chemo. In Pam’s case, it is different in that she will need to start with chemotherapy because her cancer tests came back negative for estrogen, progestogen, and HER2 they have to treat it with chemo.

· So, the first step is doing genetic testing to see any potential obstacles in the treatment plan.

·  Second is a consultation with the fertility specialist.

·  Then, Pam will go for an implant of a “Port”. The “Port” will be placed in Pam’s neck with a leader going through her vein next to her heart. The “Port” is used to administer the chemo.

· The third step is the first course of chemo, here Pam will have eight biweekly appointments of chemo and hopefully, we will begin to see the mass begin to shrink. Then, the doctors will know they are on the correct path. (Please keep in mind, that the chemo will be extremely hard on Pam’s immune system and she will need to wear a face mask and anyone with a common cold could hurt Pam). If we see good results with the first course of chemo, then Pam will have to go through another round of chemo

·  So, the fourth step in the treatment process is twelve treatments of chemo, this time weekly. At this point, Pam’s immune system will be extremely vulnerable, and she will need to stay away from public places.

· The fifth step is surgery and Pam has elected to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction. She never wants to go through this again.

· The sixth step is radiation, to ensure there is no cancer left.

  
The treatment plan outlined above will take a full nine months for Pam to complete and a positive attitude, along with the support and prayers from family and friends. We are asking on her behalf for any contributions that can help to cover the ever-climbing medical bills and ensure that she has the absolute best chance. 

 
Additionally, there may come a time when Pam will need donors for bone marrow, blood, perhaps even a functional kidney. Pam's family have already registered as donors, but if anyone else is also willing to be a potential donor, we will be forever grateful to you.

 
Again, thank you so much for your positive thoughts, prayers, motivation, and efforts to uplift Pam during this time. She is one of the most caring and giving person and now is the time we can do the same for her. 
 

Links to register as a donor:

www.dkms.org

www.giftoflife.org

www.bethematch.org