Breast cancer treatment help&awareness for Abby

Hello, loved ones! Thank you so much for all the positivity, love, and encouragement you’ve already sent! And hello and thank you to anyone who got this link from one of my friends or family, thank you just for reading. If I don’t raise any money but raise awareness, maybe help one other person catch cancer early, that would be enough. That said, let me tell you a little about me, my situation, and my goal.

For the complete stranger reading this, here's how my story goes. I am 36 years old and have no family history of breast cancer; I have been diagnosed with an aggressive form that began growing and moving rapidly. Originally it did not have any very concerning findings as it was only the size of a black olive and just felt different than the breast tissue normally felt. It moved from the breast into the lymph nodes in only a few weeks, between the beginning of December and mid-January the triple negative intraductal breast cancer progressed to IIIC . Fortunately, it was found early by my husband through breast awareness, allowing it to be caught before it was stage IV and effectively uncurable. Even having caught it early, I am looking at a minimum of 6 months of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, with potentially more chemotherapy and radiation after surgery. I am told I will likely have a modified radical mastectomy, or potentially a double mastectomy and lymph node dissection (they may have to remove one or both of my breasts and some of my lymph nodes). I'm already losing my hair to the chemotherapy.

For anyone reading this who has a significant other with breast tissue (or just yourself), please be aware of what is normal for your bodies and do not hesitate if you find something. It is not about doing formal breast exams, but rather just being familiar with your body and potential changes. The difference between curable and treatable can be as simple as knowing your own body or knowing your partner's body. And please, if you don't have a doctor, get one. I did not have a primary care provider established - I thought I was young and healthy and I had time to get around to it. By the time you need their help, you don't have time to waste finding someone who is taking new patients and waiting months for an open appointment. My husband was able to help get me into the medical system as fast as possible, but without his help, I am not sure I would have moved as fast as I should have.

I think it goes without saying that all of this has been so incredibly overwhelming. Due to the advanced and aggressive nature of the cancer I was unable to pursue medical care in my home state and will be living out of a suitcase for upwards of the next year. My husband has been incredibly organized, focused, and really indispensable as my rock through every step. He has been sacrificing so much to make this as easy for

 me as possible, and I can’t overstate my love for him. Unfortunately, as he is necessary to help coordinate my care and help with my overall function he is unable to maintain our new small farm and participate in farmers' markets, which is a significant portion of our income throughout the year. I can do some remote work for my regular job, which keeps us insured, but my capacity is greatly reduced and I'm missing a lot of work already. I am really lucky to have an amazing boss and incredibly supportive coworkers, and while both the company I work for and FMLA protect me from losing my job, my missing work hours will mean much smaller paychecks.

I tell you all of this for a couple of reasons. Again, if all I raise is awareness and preparedness, if I just help one person catch something early and maybe have a few fewer shocks than I did, it’s worth sharing my story so please share this as wide as you can. Second, I want to be transparent about what kinds of things I might need help with. I may need help with medical expenses, I may need help with living expenses, I may need help covering travel for Andrew, or there may be another surprise around the corner I haven’t predicted. It is so very hard to know where the costs will be originating, but they are definitely present. I am pursuing multiple avenues for help, so I really don’t want anyone to donate to me who is already struggling to make their own ends meet. Please only give if you have more than you need to be comfortable, and want to help me and Andrew find a way to relieve the stress of all of this so we have one less thing to worry about. If all you can spare is sending prayers or positive energy, I genuinely thank you. If you only have $10 to donate, I will be as grateful as if you donated $5000, because I know we all have expenses and troubles, and anything helps. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you for the prayers and positive energy. Thank you for anything you choose to give here. We know our goal may sound lofty, but cancer treatment, between the chemo, surgery, radiation, medications, wigs, etc, it quickly adds up and then there is life on top of it.

My love back at you all,

Abby