a little help goes a long way
Donation protected
hello humans!
most of u know my story by now, but here’s a link to my fb post explaining my journey if u don’t: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Kx2cb4wv6ExeuCSZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe
long story short; i noticed something weird & a wk later my dr sent me to get an ultrasound for what she said was “prob just a cyst” (because there was no medical evidence to think it wasn’t), & on feb 12th i learned that it was, in fact, not a cyst. a biopsy on vday & my results 2 days later on the 16th confirmed that, & my life was forever changed.. the rest of my test results were all best case scenario & my tumor was just that, a single tumor in 1 spot & nowhere else. the only test result that screwed me was the 1 determining if i had to endure chemo or not & unfortunately I was literally 5 small points over that line, & thus began that journey.
chemo is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever gone thru mentally, & to pretend it wasn’t would be doing a disservice to my experience. I have an absolutely amazing team & support system which made it bearable. I truly believe that because I’m such an active person, I was able to live as much as my normal lifestyle as I could during the process. thankfully, it only gave me minimal side effects besides neuropathy in my hands & feet & a little chemo brain (both which im still dealing with but are getting better).
my only major side effect was the bone pain & that 1 cycle where my teeth itched. (good Lord that was the weirdest & most uncomfortable feeling, I wanted to rip out my jaw ).
there was obviously the hair thing but thanks to the blessing that is scalp cooling, I finished with almost half my hair intact & it’s finally strong enough to put in a wig cap when I feel like rocking a diff look or to wear down under a hat & nobody is none the wiser.
I finished chemo may 29th & 2wks later it gave me 1 final side effect as a going away present. I legit lost all of my strength & stamina to the point where holding my phone was sometimes too heavy
losing my strength 2wks after my final chemo has sucked pretty hard, not even gonna sugar coat that. It’s wild to me that I was more physically capable during active chemo than I am now. I’ve slowly been regaining strength & stamina, but the road continues to be on the longer side…although, I hit a milestone this past wkend of being on my feet for a continuous 2hrs without sitting down & it didn’t tire me out to the point of exhaustion, so we’re trending in the right direction & that’s what im choosing to focus on ✌
I had my surgery july 22nd & im very happy to say that I’m now tumor free! they got it all w/ negative margins & it was still just the 1 tumor in 1 spot & now it’s gone. (in case any of u are wondering, they didn’t let me keep it…I asked♀️)
im still recovering from surgery…the 1st wk was rough since you’re literally not supposed to even lift 5lbs, but now 3wks out, im almost back to where I was strength wise pre surgery. I’ll be starting physical therapy to regain full extension & use of my left arm (totally normal side effect…basically all my muscles are in a giant knot or something like that) & I have some weird nerve thing that makes my skin feel like it’s on fire on my left shoulder blade, but that’s getting better also.
next wk i meet my radiation dr & that will be the final journey during this fucked up adventure. im hoping to push starting radiation till mid september & not sure how that will affect me, but we shall unpack that box when I get to it. again, thank u to everyone that has been a part of this with me so far & beyond
I was really hoping to not have to make one of these but I had no idea how my loss of strength & stamina (& tbh some independence) would be & how im currently incapable of working still because of it. I haven’t worked since leaving florida in june due to my current circumstances & now im asking for a little help until I can get back on my feet & have the stamina to exist again. im very good with money & was able to float myself until now, but now is where I’m kind of screwed. i also bought my car 5 days before I found out about my tumor, so I don’t even have extra savings to fall back on
[total sidenote but if anyone is hiring for fully remote work, hmu!]
anything u can give will be greatly appreciated & much needed. im really grateful for my amazing friends & family & support system during this, & I can’t wait till this is nothing but a memory as I go on to live my best life
✌
most of u know my story by now, but here’s a link to my fb post explaining my journey if u don’t: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Kx2cb4wv6ExeuCSZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe
long story short; i noticed something weird & a wk later my dr sent me to get an ultrasound for what she said was “prob just a cyst” (because there was no medical evidence to think it wasn’t), & on feb 12th i learned that it was, in fact, not a cyst. a biopsy on vday & my results 2 days later on the 16th confirmed that, & my life was forever changed.. the rest of my test results were all best case scenario & my tumor was just that, a single tumor in 1 spot & nowhere else. the only test result that screwed me was the 1 determining if i had to endure chemo or not & unfortunately I was literally 5 small points over that line, & thus began that journey.
chemo is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever gone thru mentally, & to pretend it wasn’t would be doing a disservice to my experience. I have an absolutely amazing team & support system which made it bearable. I truly believe that because I’m such an active person, I was able to live as much as my normal lifestyle as I could during the process. thankfully, it only gave me minimal side effects besides neuropathy in my hands & feet & a little chemo brain (both which im still dealing with but are getting better).
my only major side effect was the bone pain & that 1 cycle where my teeth itched. (good Lord that was the weirdest & most uncomfortable feeling, I wanted to rip out my jaw ).
there was obviously the hair thing but thanks to the blessing that is scalp cooling, I finished with almost half my hair intact & it’s finally strong enough to put in a wig cap when I feel like rocking a diff look or to wear down under a hat & nobody is none the wiser.
I finished chemo may 29th & 2wks later it gave me 1 final side effect as a going away present. I legit lost all of my strength & stamina to the point where holding my phone was sometimes too heavy
losing my strength 2wks after my final chemo has sucked pretty hard, not even gonna sugar coat that. It’s wild to me that I was more physically capable during active chemo than I am now. I’ve slowly been regaining strength & stamina, but the road continues to be on the longer side…although, I hit a milestone this past wkend of being on my feet for a continuous 2hrs without sitting down & it didn’t tire me out to the point of exhaustion, so we’re trending in the right direction & that’s what im choosing to focus on ✌
I had my surgery july 22nd & im very happy to say that I’m now tumor free! they got it all w/ negative margins & it was still just the 1 tumor in 1 spot & now it’s gone. (in case any of u are wondering, they didn’t let me keep it…I asked♀️)
im still recovering from surgery…the 1st wk was rough since you’re literally not supposed to even lift 5lbs, but now 3wks out, im almost back to where I was strength wise pre surgery. I’ll be starting physical therapy to regain full extension & use of my left arm (totally normal side effect…basically all my muscles are in a giant knot or something like that) & I have some weird nerve thing that makes my skin feel like it’s on fire on my left shoulder blade, but that’s getting better also.
next wk i meet my radiation dr & that will be the final journey during this fucked up adventure. im hoping to push starting radiation till mid september & not sure how that will affect me, but we shall unpack that box when I get to it. again, thank u to everyone that has been a part of this with me so far & beyond
I was really hoping to not have to make one of these but I had no idea how my loss of strength & stamina (& tbh some independence) would be & how im currently incapable of working still because of it. I haven’t worked since leaving florida in june due to my current circumstances & now im asking for a little help until I can get back on my feet & have the stamina to exist again. im very good with money & was able to float myself until now, but now is where I’m kind of screwed. i also bought my car 5 days before I found out about my tumor, so I don’t even have extra savings to fall back on
[total sidenote but if anyone is hiring for fully remote work, hmu!]
anything u can give will be greatly appreciated & much needed. im really grateful for my amazing friends & family & support system during this, & I can’t wait till this is nothing but a memory as I go on to live my best life
✌
Organizer
Samantha Mazzocco
Organizer
Plantsville, CT