Melissa's Metastatic Breast Cancer

Our dear friend Melissa Baum was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer this past summer. Melissa has invasive ductal and lobular tumors, and they spread beyond the breast prior to detection. Melissa is 35 years old.  Her daughter, Hannah ("Chana"), is eight. Melissa's greatest desire and strongest motivation to fight is her goal to walk Hannah down the aisle one day.

Melissa has been bravely fighting the cancer, pneumonia, the occasional infection, and the chemo side effects since June. Because Melissa is stage IV, treatment will never end. Though the type of treatment will change as her oncologist recommends, the cancer is chronic, and she must continuously pump her body full of poison to stave it off.

selfie just prior to first chemo infusion

tough to keep a smile...  IV line in and chemo was about to begin.

Chemo is painful and exhausting. Her joints can ache so badly that there are times that she can barely stand. Opportunistic infections, such as mouth sores, can at times render her unable to talk or eat. Working while undergoing the recommended intensive, aggressive treatment is impossible, so Melissa took early retirement to devote herself to fighting the cancer. This means that her income has been drastically reduced. Her insurance does not cover all of her treatments, and the medical bills are piling up.

Although she is facing challenges that most of us cannot even begin to understand, Melissa’s quick, dry wit and her sense of compassion have never left her. In fact, just a few days after she was diagnosed, Melissa was in Joanne Fabrics because she wanted to make pillows to bring comfort to hospitalized breast cancer patients.

Melissa wanted to donate her hair before it all fell out.  So after her first chemotherapy but before it started to fall out, Melissa went to the salon.  Hannah accompanied her, and the plan was for Melissa to donate as much hair as they could get off while allowing for a stylish look until the hair fell out.  Hannah saw what her mom was doing, and asked permission to do the same!  Melissa donated 10" and Hannah donated 8", and the braids were mailed off to help other cancer patients!






Let’s help Melissa down this long road. Right now there is no cure for stage IV, but we can help her make sure that her treatment is fully covered. There’s no doubt in any of our minds that it’s what she would do for us.






Melissa’s Story
I felt a lump... after my gynecologist confirmed that she felt it, I went to for an ultrasound. Then they immediately performed a mammogram, a second  mammogram, then a second ultrasound. The physician assessed my mammogram findings with a BI-RAD of 5, indicating 95% likelihood of malignancy.  At this point I switched over to Johns Hopkins for my treatment.

Biopsies revealed that I had stage IV cancer, and testing revealed that I carry a genetic mutation increasing my likelihood of getting cancer (who knew?).  My oncologist recommended chemotherapy and a clinical trial.  I also went to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for a second opinion.  Their diagnosis and treatment recommendation was the same.

My daughter loves to accompany me to chemo.  She loves to cheer up the other patients receiving treatment, and -surprise, surprise- loves that she can snuggle with me and watch TV! Just watch out for the port!  :)





Thanks for reading my story.  Be kind to yourself and others.