Help us fight breast cancer

Hello, my name is Danielle; I am a 34-year-old breast cancer fighter.

 

I’m going to start from the beginning to paint the whole picture. My fiancé, Jason, and I have been together for over 11 years; we have been trying to get pregnant for nine years. In 2017, we started our journey with a fertility doctor. But unfortunately, fertility treatments are costly, and we could not actively see him on a routine basis.

 

2021 came, and finally, we were financially stable enough to try to conceive. October 26th was our first attempt at conceiving. During this time, I discovered a lump in my breast. I did not feel like this was anything to be concerned about, as I’ve had this problem three separate times with the same breast, and it had always come back as benign. My breast ultrasound was scheduled for exactly one week after the IUI procedure, November 2.

 

At the ultrasound, I was told they could not rule out cancer. I went into immediate panic mode because I’ve always been told the findings were benign, and now I’m potentially pregnant. I had a breast biopsy and a biopsy of my lymph nodes in my axilla (armpit) two days later.

 

The lymph node was benign…but the lump in my breast was indeed breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma ER/PR+ HER2- Grade 2, and said they ruled out cancer in the lymph nodes, my stage was 1b. How can someone my age possibly get breast cancer…

 

For those unfamiliar with this terminology, my cancer is fueled by Estrogen/Progesterone hormone. With breast cancer, there are three grades; this shows how fast it can spread and how aggressive it can be. The cancer stage is how large the tumor is and how far it has spread.

 

We were so excited to learn the first fertility treatment was a success, and we were finally going to be parents! My grandma had just passed away from brain cancer; Jason’s grandpa died a week later, then his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. We needed this moment of happiness in our life. However, after consulting my doctors about what they advised my care plan should be, I terminated the pregnancy. It was the most brutal, worst decision I’ve ever made. Because my cancer is fueled by hormones, staying pregnant the whole nine months would have likely killed both the baby and me as I was only one week pregnant when I was officially diagnosed. To this day, I still have a hard time mentally and spiritually with the loss of possibly our only child. We worked so hard and for so many years to get pregnant.

 

The next step was surgery. I had to choose if I wanted to do a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. As a preventative measure, I opted for a double mastectomy…I never want to put myself and my family through this journey again, and a mastectomy can help lessen my chances of a reoccurrence. After surgery, they send the tissue from the cancer into a pathology for a test called OncoType DX. This test will determine if I need chemo because it tests to see how likely you are to have a reoccurrence.

 

After surgery, I learned that the mass had grown, and cancer spread to my lymph nodes. I believe the rapid development of my cancer is due to the pregnancy hormone surge that my body had for 2-3 weeks. This changed the stage of my cancer from 1b to 2b.

 

The next step is the OncoType DX results. My score was 34, which means I have a high chance of reoccurrence. My spirit was utterly crushed; I needed chemotherapy. I watched my father go through chemo when I was just a toddler, it was something I never wanted to experience; this was officially my nightmare.

 

Now that we know I need chemo, it was time to see our fertility doctor and have my eggs collected to create embryos. I’m so grateful that the Live Strong Foundation gave me all my hormone injections free; it took a huge financial burden off our shoulders. As a result, we were able to have eight embryos created, and they are in storage for us when that time comes!

 

My chemo regime is Adriamycin+Cytoxan for four cycles, then Taxol for twelve. I’ll be in active chemo for five months. Since my cancer had spread, I will need radiation after chemo. So I’m getting the FULL experience from my cancer, surgery to amputate my breasts, chemo, radiation, then after nine months, breast reconstruction surgery.

 

I am 2 out of 16 chemo treatments in as I write this. 

 

That’s my story, now onto this GoFundMe. When I first started working in the medical field, I was exposed to so many people drowning in medical debt. The ones that broke my heart the most were the cancer patients and type 1 diabetics because they needed treatment and medications to survive. Jason has type 1 diabetes, and insulin costs to survive are upwards of $300. No insulin = he dies. There are so many medications and supplies type 1’s need to survive; my heart goes out to all of them because the cost of living is high. Jason and I always found a way to keep him going, though.

 

I used to tell him that here in the US, cancer can bankrupt a person, and it does bankrupt people all the time. Who should seriously worry about bills when they are fighting for their life. So when I got diagnosed, I knew in full swing what was going to happen. After getting my first bill after chemo, added with all the unpaid medical bills I've accrued so far, I knew I needed to swallow my pride and start this up. Jason’s been getting monthly eye injections that will cost just under $3k to try and save his eyesight, and it’s just become too much for us at this point.

 

I’ve applied for every financial assistance/grant I could and was turned down by all but four. Though it’s been a real struggle, I’ve been able to maintain working my 40 hours a week. I’m praying I can keep this up throughout chemotherapy and radiation treatments. From my research, most people cannot do this despite trying, but I am determined to do it!

 

I believe in full transparency in what you will be donating to. So here is a list of medical expenses your money will help contribute to:

 

- Medical bills including, chemo treatments, radiation, double mastectomy with breast reconstruction (a two-stage surgery), office visits, port placement/removal surgeries, imaging, the hospital & anesthesia bills from each surgery, etc.

- Fertility costs for procedure for the egg retrieval/embryo procedure and the annual storage fee

- Unpaid time off for Jason as he takes time off to drive me to appointments
-Wigs and hair replacement/headcovers. Products to maintain the integrity of the wigs (wig stands/storage/cleaners/special wig brushes)

- Chemo necessities (nausea candies, cold gloves/socks to help prevent neuropathy, OTC meds to help with side effects, etc.)

- Integrative Oncologist who is not covered by insurance (vitamin infusions, acupuncture after each chemo to help prevent neuropathy, monthly fills of vitamins/supplements)

- Fertility treatments post-cancer (embryo transfer)

- Transportation (treatment is over an hour away from home)

- Potential unpaid time off from work in the future

 

Anything will help, but please do not feel obligated; we know people work hard for each penny they earn. We appreciate the time you took to read our long story. Thank you in advance for donating and/or sharing our fundraiser!

 

God bless.