Dear dedicated reader:

Hi! I'm Sam, best friends with Ayla (who this GoFund me is all about). First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read this because time is so precious, and this year I've had a pretty impactful reminder of this. On July 28th, 2022 I got a call from my best friend (Ayla) and all I could hear was sobbing. Anyone that knows Ayla and I's friendship knows we aren't the emotional type. We've hugged each other less than a handful of times, cried in front of each other once or twice. So when I heard her crying I knew something was far from okay. But never in a million years would I have expected to be getting a phone call from my best friend, at just 27 years old telling me that she has breast cancer.

Ayla was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. A type of breast cancer that is in the milk duct.

A few weeks prior to her diagnosis Ayla discovered a small lump and immediately reached out to the Dr. She then went for a mammogram and a biopsy which revealed the results. Luckily, through a self breast exam Ayla's cancer was caught early and treatable.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer, making up 75% of all types of breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, about two-thirds of women diagnosed with IDC are age 55 or older. Ayla is 27...

I'm sure very few 27 year old's can say they have sat through classes on learning how to properly empty their drains following a double mastectomy.

Since the time of her diagnosis Ayla has had a whole lot of doctor's appointments, genetic testing, biopsies, blood work of all sorts, MRIs, CAT scans, and most recently on 10/3/22 a double mastectomy. As I'm sure many of you are aware, any type of medical treatment is expensive, and it adds up...very fast. Ayla has also had to take time off of work for doctor's appointments and to recover from surgery, which doesn't decrease the financial burden any.

Please consider helping out Ayla as her medical bills continue to grow. Any little bit can help and will go a long way. In advance, thank you so much for your generosity!!

As for Ayla's cancer she is still awaiting pathology reports from further biopsies taken from her surgery which will indicate whether she needs to have further treatment or if she kicked this shitty disease to the curb.

Things to take away:

- Do self breast exams: always, forever, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

- Get routine mammograms

- Tell your friends and family you love them...often

- Hug your loved ones a little tighter (even the one's you don't "normally" hug)

Thanks again for taking time to read this!