Anjanette's Cancer Survivor Fund
Donation protected
This campain is for Anjanette, a wonderful, beautiful, cancer survivior . One thing we often forget is that; after a person battles cancer, the battle is not completely over. All of the treatments and surgeries cost a great deal of money and now her husband Jason, and her have been left to find a way to pay for it all. Although they would never ask for or expect any help, I think they could use a much deserved break. I can't think of any two people more deserving. Please read about Anj and her story below and consider donating! :)
About Anj:
Anjanette is a kind, caring and loving person who can rarely be seen without a smile. There have been more reported sightings of Bigfoot than there has of Anj NOT smiling.
She loves all things geeky because she is one herself.
You will not find a bigger heart. She has a deep love of her husband, family, friends and God. Her faith is the most important aspect in her life.
She’s been carrying this weight for three years now and has rarely had a moment to exhale. For someone that shows a blinding kindness to others, she deserves a little in return…and she’s the kind of person that wouldn’t expect or demand even that.
Anj's Breast Cancer Journey:
Anjanette was diagnosed with Stage 2 infiltrating ductal carcinoma (aka breast cancer) on March 20, 2012 at the age of 26. She fit the mold of everything you could possibly do to not get it, but ended up one of those rare cases. Within a week that stage 2 moved to stage 3. It was a pretty aggressive cancer.
She went through 4 rounds of weekly dose-dense chemotherapy. It was the most powerful chemo they could give her and was essentially the syrup without the added water. These treatments wiped out her immune system making it impossible to leave home. Once those were done she moved on to an additional 16 weekly rounds of a less dose-dense chemo regimen.
Shortly after beginning the second round of chemo it was decided she’d have a port-a-cath surgically implanted below her collarbone. She was not only having weekly chemo but had to do weekly blood tests as well. Her veins are really small, and the constant poking built up and made it incredibly difficult for any needles. This port allowed her chemo to be administered through it in place of her arm
During that time she experienced the usual side-effects…loss of her hair, decreased appetite and fatigue. However through it all she continued to smile.
Even though her lump was isolated to her right breast she opted to go with a bi-lateral mastectomy as this gave her the greatest odds of not having the cancer return. It was an 8-hour surgery in October 2012. The first half was the removal of all breast tissue by her surgeon with the second half belonging to her plastic surgeon. She had expanders put in place of actual implants to prepare her for the next step and the next day was declared cancer-free.
3 months of radiation followed. This was Monday through Friday for three straight months. This is where the complications began. Due the amount of tissue and skin that removed from her right side she ended up losing her right nipple completely. Radiation caused her expanders to inflate, and due to her incision not absorbing correctly, she essentially sprang a leak. She’d go in to have the incision re-opened and sewn up again only to have it leak again during her next round of radiation. This went on for weeks. Due to the amount of work that needed to be done on her right side the skin is now thin and stretched to its limit. On top of that the markers that were put in place for her radiation had to be redone since the skin on her torso had shifted. The reset button was pushed MANY times during the radiation process.
After finally getting through that successfully she was able to go in and have the expanders removed and swapped out with implants. The surgery went smoothly, however due to the scar tissue build up her breasts were oddly shaped and in no way matched. At the same time our insurance no longer covered the reconstructive surgeon she had been seeing since day 1.
Through her network of survivors she was able to find a reconstructive surgeon that was highly recommended. Of course he was outside of our network. After months of pleading with our insurance she changed her primary care physician to someone who was able to put in the authorization to see this surgeon. Our insurance approved it, and another surgery was scheduled.
The surgery lasted a little longer than expected because he found a small leak in one of the implants. He was able to successfully replace it and had her looking and feeling the most normal she’s ever felt. There’s still much work to be done with one more surgery planned and fat-grafting to fill in the spaces at the top of her breasts.
It’s still a daily battle. Her body went through a ton of trauma and the side effects continue to build. Her resting heart rate hovers around 100 which makes her feel tired the majority of the day. Ovarian cysts pop up and rupture so there’s a constant fear that the cancer is returning. This causes a constant pain in her abdomen.
This has been a constant three year battle with no permanent end in sight. While the Tamoxifen usage only has a couple of years left the majority of the side-effects are something she’ll probably have to live with for the rest of her life. Through it all, however, she’s continued to smile and accept the hand she’s been dealt with the support of her family, friends and faith. She deserves a break, and if I could take it all away from her I’d be happy to deal with it myself.
(The above was written by her husband Jason.)
Click this link to view and purchase a "Walking Dead (Look At The Flowers)" shirt designed in honor of Anjanette! The proceeds go directly to her medical bills fund! :)
Click this link to check out Anj's blog! :)
About Anj:
Anjanette is a kind, caring and loving person who can rarely be seen without a smile. There have been more reported sightings of Bigfoot than there has of Anj NOT smiling.
She loves all things geeky because she is one herself.
You will not find a bigger heart. She has a deep love of her husband, family, friends and God. Her faith is the most important aspect in her life.
She’s been carrying this weight for three years now and has rarely had a moment to exhale. For someone that shows a blinding kindness to others, she deserves a little in return…and she’s the kind of person that wouldn’t expect or demand even that.
Anj's Breast Cancer Journey:
Anjanette was diagnosed with Stage 2 infiltrating ductal carcinoma (aka breast cancer) on March 20, 2012 at the age of 26. She fit the mold of everything you could possibly do to not get it, but ended up one of those rare cases. Within a week that stage 2 moved to stage 3. It was a pretty aggressive cancer.
She went through 4 rounds of weekly dose-dense chemotherapy. It was the most powerful chemo they could give her and was essentially the syrup without the added water. These treatments wiped out her immune system making it impossible to leave home. Once those were done she moved on to an additional 16 weekly rounds of a less dose-dense chemo regimen.
Shortly after beginning the second round of chemo it was decided she’d have a port-a-cath surgically implanted below her collarbone. She was not only having weekly chemo but had to do weekly blood tests as well. Her veins are really small, and the constant poking built up and made it incredibly difficult for any needles. This port allowed her chemo to be administered through it in place of her arm
During that time she experienced the usual side-effects…loss of her hair, decreased appetite and fatigue. However through it all she continued to smile.
Even though her lump was isolated to her right breast she opted to go with a bi-lateral mastectomy as this gave her the greatest odds of not having the cancer return. It was an 8-hour surgery in October 2012. The first half was the removal of all breast tissue by her surgeon with the second half belonging to her plastic surgeon. She had expanders put in place of actual implants to prepare her for the next step and the next day was declared cancer-free.
3 months of radiation followed. This was Monday through Friday for three straight months. This is where the complications began. Due the amount of tissue and skin that removed from her right side she ended up losing her right nipple completely. Radiation caused her expanders to inflate, and due to her incision not absorbing correctly, she essentially sprang a leak. She’d go in to have the incision re-opened and sewn up again only to have it leak again during her next round of radiation. This went on for weeks. Due to the amount of work that needed to be done on her right side the skin is now thin and stretched to its limit. On top of that the markers that were put in place for her radiation had to be redone since the skin on her torso had shifted. The reset button was pushed MANY times during the radiation process.
After finally getting through that successfully she was able to go in and have the expanders removed and swapped out with implants. The surgery went smoothly, however due to the scar tissue build up her breasts were oddly shaped and in no way matched. At the same time our insurance no longer covered the reconstructive surgeon she had been seeing since day 1.
Through her network of survivors she was able to find a reconstructive surgeon that was highly recommended. Of course he was outside of our network. After months of pleading with our insurance she changed her primary care physician to someone who was able to put in the authorization to see this surgeon. Our insurance approved it, and another surgery was scheduled.
The surgery lasted a little longer than expected because he found a small leak in one of the implants. He was able to successfully replace it and had her looking and feeling the most normal she’s ever felt. There’s still much work to be done with one more surgery planned and fat-grafting to fill in the spaces at the top of her breasts.
It’s still a daily battle. Her body went through a ton of trauma and the side effects continue to build. Her resting heart rate hovers around 100 which makes her feel tired the majority of the day. Ovarian cysts pop up and rupture so there’s a constant fear that the cancer is returning. This causes a constant pain in her abdomen.
This has been a constant three year battle with no permanent end in sight. While the Tamoxifen usage only has a couple of years left the majority of the side-effects are something she’ll probably have to live with for the rest of her life. Through it all, however, she’s continued to smile and accept the hand she’s been dealt with the support of her family, friends and faith. She deserves a break, and if I could take it all away from her I’d be happy to deal with it myself.
(The above was written by her husband Jason.)
Click this link to view and purchase a "Walking Dead (Look At The Flowers)" shirt designed in honor of Anjanette! The proceeds go directly to her medical bills fund! :)
Click this link to check out Anj's blog! :)
Organizer and beneficiary
Anissa Joy Gonzalez
Organizer
Temecula, CA
Jason Donahue
Beneficiary