Danielle-Gaudet Hillier Undergoing Cancer Treatment

Hello everyone,

In December 2023, Danielle felt a lump on the side of her breast. After some investigation, Danielle was diagnosed with cancer in the lymph nodes of her right breast on January 29th, 2024. Just a couple of weeks later, Danielle received an official diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), or, simply put, breast cancer. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma is an aggressive, hormone-driven form of cancer. Treatment for this type of cancer varies from person to person, but because Danielle’s cancer was not localized (i.e., in the breast) and had spread to the lymph nodes, a higher level of care for treatment is required. Throughout diagnostic procedures, a 10 cm mass was discovered. Furthermore, Danielle’s IDC had spread to the left breast, and on April 4th, she underwent a double mastectomy. Fourteen of Danielle’s lymph nodes, all cancerous, were also removed.

Danielle is a soldier- a fighter, and a day after her surgery, she was feeling fabulous. However, there was and still is a long road ahead. Because of the aggressiveness of IDC, Danielle requires chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Danielle had her first chemo treatment on June 6th, with an expected timeline of six months. However, this timeline has already been disrupted. Danielle’s next chemo treatment had to be postponed because of an abscess Danielle had in her gums on June 17th. Had she gone ahead with her chemo that week, the results could have been deadly.

On June 26th, Danielle had her chemo-port inserted, a tool commonly used for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Essentially, a chemo-port is a small device that goes underneath the skin, through a tube which connects to a vein. The purpose of this is to draw blood and insert medication; it also eliminates the use of needles.

Daniellie’s next round of chemo was June 28th. On June 29th, Danielle had to be rushed to the hospital due to extreme pain in her back and stomach. At the hospital, the healthcare team had to access her port for blood work. They were unsure of the issue but believed it may be due to her gallbladder and the ducts getting blocked. Her white blood cell count was high, but thankfully there was no sign of infection. Danielle’s right arm is currently swollen; the main vein may have had a blood clot from weeks prior (due to the IV and chemo). This needs to be monitored going forward.

Danielle’s next scheduled treatment date is July 12th. Following the end of chemo, Danielle will have a one-month break, followed by 25 rounds of radiation therapy. The expected date of completion of all treatments will be February 2025, provided there are no further delays.

While I have done my best to create a timeline of the main events, other important appointments have taken place in between all of this, such as the original assessment of diagnosis appointments with Danielle’s family doctor, CT scans, MRI scans, inserting needles for medications, dressing the port, picking up medications, the list goes on.

Winding back to April, just days before her surgery, Danielle had to give up working and move to another house, adding additional stress (and miles). For each appointment Danielle must attend, she is travelling back and forth to St. John’s multiple times a week. With this, there is an increase in buying gas, a lack of finances due to Danielle not working, and all of the regular bills she has to pay, including rent, utilities, groceries, etcetera. Danielle’s career is in the food service industry, and while Danielle is collecting Employment Insurance, Danielle does not have health or sickness benefits with her job.

Danielle has a fabulous support system behind her, including her husband, Mike. However, Danielle cannot drive and relies on Mike to bring her to each of her appointments, contributing to Mike taking more time off from work and reducing their income further. As this post was completed to be posted, today, July 10th, Mike has also been taken off of work by his family doctor.

The last step Danielle wanted to take was creating a fundraiser for herself. Danielle, like myself, has a lot of pride and does not want to ask for help. But Danielle needs help right now.

Cancer affects us all in some way, at some point in our lives. It is difficult. Extremely difficult. For us who experience cancer first-hand, it is hard on the body; Danielle has experienced pain, alopecia (hair loss), fatigue, nausea, swelling, and pure exhaustion. Danielle is a TOUGH cookie, however, but the mental effects are worse; Danielle’s loved ones are bearing the stress, but Danielle is experiencing anxiety, stress, a lack of concentration, forgetfulness, and an overall worry of having cancer… and then, the financial stress. Finances are difficult for most if not all of us right now, but please consider donating- and know that NOTHING is too small. Any and every donation will be appreciated by Danielle, Mike, and everyone behind Danielle as she fights on.

Danielle is a wife, a mother, a friend, and a grandmother of two (and soon to be three in late July). Danielle is beautiful; she is hard-working, she is honest and trustworthy, strong, she is fierce. But again- she needs our help, and she needs it now.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your support.

Danielle cannot do this alone.

Keep fighting Danielle, you’ve got a lot of people behind you, and we love you immensely.

I will do my best to keep this page updated as best as I can throughout this journey.