The three little words that changed their entire world… “you have cancer.” I’m telling their story and organizing this fund for my 33-year-old daughter (in-law), Jessica, my son, Andrew, and their two young children. Jessica was diagnosed with stage three invasive duct carcinoma in the right breast with multiple lymph node involvement in October and is pending biopsy results on the left breast for another suspicious area. What started as casually noticing an abnormal lump in her breast has spiraled into a whirlwind of doctor appointments, blood draws, mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs, PET scans, biopsies, port placement, and her first chemotherapy infusion last week.

Jess is a nurse who works as a clinical specialist for a medical device company. She has had to stop working since the start of chemotherapy because of the increased risk of infection since the chemo weakens the immune system, and because hospitals are the worst place for an immunocompromised person. Andrew is able to continue working for now by swapping shifts and taking PTO to take Jess to all of her appointments, tests and infusions and manage the kids and household. He will have to start FMLA at some point since this is expected to be a long process of healing. Starting FMLA means a hard hit on their household financially.

Jess is scheduled for 16 rounds, 20 weeks, of chemo, a double mastectomy followed by daily radiation for three weeks, and then tissue reconstruction. The diagnosis, pain, sick days, and desperation do not stop life from going on and bills from piling up. If you are blessed to be in a position to help their young family, thank you. If you are not in that place, we completely understand and just ask for prayers and good vibes!