Eileen Robinson’s Cancer Journey Continues with More Hard Twists and Turns

Our dear friend Eileen learned she had breast cancer in 2018. Unfortunately, this didn’t come as a shock to Eileen because her family has had a sad history with cancer. Eileen lost both her mother, and sister Lois to cancer.

But Eileen is a fighter. She decided that for her the best course to fight this horrible disease would be to have a double mastectomy. This was in July of 2018, the start of Eileen’s journey with cancer.

She chose to have Breast Reconstruction after surgery. It would help her feel whole again, wouldn’t it? In case you’re not familiar with this process, it means that soon after surgery, expanders are placed in the chest wall used to stretch the skin so the implants can be fitted in the chest.

In addition to always feeling she was wearing a bra two sizes too small, Eileen’s body did not take to the expanders placed into her chest. For the next couple of months she found herself in the ER and then a hospital stay due to an infection of her breast tissue caused by the expanders.

Radiation therapy began in October 2018 and the next month, a CT scan was performed. This is when they found a lung cancer tumor in the right lobe. This was a shock to Eileen, a second cancer in her body. Surgery to remove this tumor was done in December 2018. The next few months were spent recovering, and getting stronger for her breast reconstruction surgery which she was finally able to have in July 2019.

Subsequently, post-operative infections caused her doctor to order a second CT. This second scan found another small cell lung cancer; this time in her left lung, a third cancer site. Eileen had to undergo another lung surgery in December 2020.

In early spring 2021, chemotherapy was added to immunotherapy. Eileen’s body was having trouble handling this new treatment and her cancer treatment was placed on hold. Eileen knows that the treatments to fight cancer take a toll on your system. She wanted to make sure that her new symptoms, which now included being diabetic, loss of balance causing her to fall down a few times per day, not being able to leave her house due to loss of bowel control, and her terribly swollen body were being taken seriously. Eileen was starting to doubt her recovery. A friend accompanied her to the next appointment to make sure that she was conveying her concerns to the doctors, and that they were taking all of her new symptoms seriously.

The doctors determined the steroid treatment was causing her liver/gall bladder blockage, nerve damage and diabetes. Eileen needs to check her blood sugars throughout the day and give herself insulin.

All this time, Eileen continued working as a Nurse with Johns Hopkins Hospital. She knew that she was especially needed during the time of COVID. Eileen is the primary breadwinner for her family and has seen her large medical deductible and the cost of prescriptions over these past few years continue to mount. These growing medical bills are causing significant financial pressure and stress.

So many of Eileen’s friends have been asking, “How Can I Help?” Her Sisters In Song, as we call ourselves, want to let you know that you can help Eileen navigate her rollercoaster cancer journey, with financial assistance. Every gift, no matter the size, will go a long way to alleviate her mental stress as she prepares for her next round of cancer treatments.

Through all of Eileen’s setbacks over these past three years, she has said that she was not going to give up without a fight.

Eileen is currently off steroids and those horrible symptoms are slowly starting to resolve. Eileen’s cancer treatments resume this month and are expected to continue for another year or more.

Thank you for considering helping Eileen kick cancer’s butt to the curb, down the drain, and out of her life for good.