Breast cancer treatment, rest, and healing

Since most of you already know Rachael Leffler, I don’t have to tell you that she’s an amazing wife, mother, sister, and friend. Even if I were good at expressing my thoughts and feelings there aren’t enough words to describe the love and happiness that is my sister. She has an amazing support group of family, friends, and friends that are called family that are here and ready to fight with her. Love attracts love.

Rachael was recently diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Grade 3 (T2 N1), and Paraneoplastic syndrome. To the best of my understanding the Paraneoplastic syndrome is because of the Cancer and treating them at the same time will be tricky. The medications that provide her relief from the Paraneoplastic syndrome are contraindicated in the cancer treatment and so on and so forth. It’s a delicate balance that her Oncologist and Rheumatologist are diligently working together to maintain. We’ve received the news that there is no evidence of metastatic cancer which has us more hopeful than ever. Rachael is scheduled to have her port placed Feb 14th and begin chemotherapy a few days later on the 17th. Chemotherapy will be approximately 4-5 months (WHEW!) depending on how her body responds followed by 1 month of rest then on to surgery. Triple negative breast cancer is a real fucker to treat and to say Rachael has a long road ahead of her is an understatement, but we refuse to give up.

It's difficult for our family to ask for help but what we need now is financial support. As much as Rachael insists that she’s going to keep working every day, I know it will be difficult if not completely impossible. In addition to the treatments and surgery for Cancer (as if that weren’t enough), the Paraneoplastic syndrome is painful and makes day to day life a challenge. Thankfully she has already met her insurance deductible, but she still has her $7,000 out of pocket to meet and not being able to work will put a strain on her and her family that she just doesn’t need. We understand that times are tough for everyone, and we love all of you for any type of support you provide whether it be a hug or a $1.

You can follow my sister's journey here: https://www.caringbridge.org/search?q=Rachael+Leffler

**NOTE** The donation option on Caring Bridge goes to Caring Bridge NOT Rachael.