Cindy's Cancer Journey

On Friday at exactly 4:17 I answered the phone at work to my mom screaming "I have cancer Alexis" these are words I will never get out of my head. About a month ago my mom found a lump in her breast but with no family history of breast cancer, she was hopeful that it was just a fatty lump. When she went to the doctors they immediately told her that they were concerned and she needed to go for further testing. She went and had the lump biopsied on Wednesday, December 9th, they told her it would take about 5-7 business days for any results. Well, they got the horrible test results just 2 days later. She has breast cancer that has spread to her lymph nodes. Today they confirmed my 50-year-old mom has Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. 

She saw her doctor today and they are suggesting very aggressive chemotherapy starting right after Christmas, for at least 8 months before they will even consider doing surgery. My mom owns her own cleaning business and she has since my brother and I were little. During the chemotherapy treatments, the doctors are hopeful she will be able to work some but that is very dependent on how her body reacts. Any money donated will give her the time she needs to heal and rest instead of worrying about supporting herself. 

If you know anything about my mom you know she is the kindest, craziest, and possibly the LOUDEST person on this planet, but right now she is scared, depressed, and feels lost. She has worked her entire life, she visits me in Florida regularly, and dances everywhere she goes. She has three beautiful grandchildren that need her to be okay. My biggest fear is not her losing her life, my biggest fear is her losing her light. She shines, she's compassionate, and she really is an amazing woman. I am hoping that this will take a little bit of the burden off of her during this horrific time.