Cari's Road to Recovery
In 2010 Cari was diagnosed with stage 3c breast cancer. She had a bilateral mastectomy, 6 rounds of chemo and 33 radiation treatments. 9 reconstruction surgeries later she was starting to feel "put back together." She was told this wasn't heredity so all this time she thought it was... "just me." A few years later she started having complications with her heart. Her ejection fraction dropped. After 97 days with an external defibrillator and 3 bad echos, she had a permanent one implanted. This could of been caused by chemo or it could have been a virus. No one really knows. With that being said, her oncologist asked her to have some genetic testing done. It came back 100% positive risk for breast cancer, which she had and 100% at risk for stomach cancer. This is genetic now, her mom had both genes as well. With her being such a high risk, the only way to prevent this is to have a total gastrectomy, removal of her entire stomach. If she chooses to keep her stomach, she can have tests run yearly. Once the oncologist can detect the cancer, her survival rate is about 4%. She has a 10 year old at home to raise, so she has opted to have the surgery August 3rd. She will have to take 8 weeks off of work to recover. She has worked almost every day trying to pay bills and save, but still she comes up short. Cari needs a full 8 weeks to recover from this surgery! I know her all too well, and if she doesn't have the funds, she will return to work too soon. She is a nurse for a long term care facility for children. This is not a Monday -Friday, 8-5 job. This is hard work, but this is where her heart belongs. She loves taking care of her babies. Please help Cari on her road to recovery! Any little bit helps! Her dream is to live a long healthy life with her family and friends.