
Cancer Awareness aka Get Screened
Donation protected
Hello friends and family,
As some of you may know, I have been going through my own cancer journey since the summer of 2022. This news came to me very unexpectedly (as it does for most people) and it has completely turned my life upside down in many ways, some for the good and obviously some for the bad. I have been blessed to have wonderful people in my life who have been nothing less than an amazing support system to help me get through it.
It has been a very consuming journey and an educational experience to learn more about what insurance does NOT cover, and I especially want to help increase this awareness so others know what to expect. Losing (or changing) physical parts of you surgically in this process can be traumatic enough in itself. If chemotherapy or radiation becomes a next step then you also risk unpredictable impacts to hair loss as well as compromising your fertility and ability to have biological children in the future. There are treatments and procedures to mitigate BOTH of these things, but it turns out that neither of these are typically covered by insurances EVEN THOUGH the need stems from a serious medical condition.
Ultimately, I decided to start this GoFundMe for 4 main reasons:
1. To continue to promote awareness around cancer - Please get your screenings people! Let me tell you first hand that cancer does not discriminate whether you are healthy or not. Be informed that cancers do not show up in your routine bloodwork until they are advanced, so this is an other important reason to get your screenings. I know screenings are a pain in the ass but they are SO important. Breast cancer is common and also very treatable. Nobody likes the awkwardness of getting your boobs squished by a stranger, but I assure you it is less awkward then finding out you have a late stage cancer because you didn't do it. There are many cancers that are almost impossible to detect early, but do yourself a favor and screen for the ones that are easier to find. Things become much more treatable when they are found early. I am lucky to have caught mine early in a screening, and while it has still been stressful it's an ABSOLUTE game changer for the course of my life. And fun fact, if they tell you that you have "dense breasts" please make sure you advocate for yourself and ask for an MRI screening.
2. To help balance and off-set some of my own personal cancer related costs.
3. To help support equity in communities of color that lack access to resources, cancer awareness, and quality healthcare. did you know that black women are 4x more likely to die from breast cancer due to issues related to healthcare access? I have been doing some research and I will choose 4 non-profit cancer focused organizations to donate at least one-third of the proceeds to.
4. To start fundraising for creation of a journaling book that will help anyone who is embarking on the cancer journey. No matter who you are, cancer is a complete roll of the dice and anyone is subject to any type of outcome regardless of being healthy or not. You can get one that is easy to identify and treat, or you can get one that is the opposite. I am extremely fortunate to have a good prognosis and I want to be able to give back to the cancer community. It is so overwhelming to attend appointments almost every day, manage all of the new technical information that you are receiving on a daily basis from 5+ doctors (let alone second opinions), plus having to make major life decisions in a very accelerated time frame, balancing the opinions of your loved ones with your own values, and of course managing the increased levels of anxiety and depression that commonly occur with a major medical diagnosis. There are many tools out there that help you keep track of the logistics, planning, information, and general stress management. However As a mental health professional, a big takeaway to me is the pressure of making many serious complex life altering decisions in a short amount of time. I have not seen any journaling tools that focus on the inner processing of these major medical decisions, and I would like to create one that helps facilitate this. Ultimately I would like this resource to be available in other languages so that it is accessible to all people.
This is my story for now and I hope that my future continues to remain bright. Any level of donation is appreciated and will be put to good use! Even if you read this and are not able to contribute, I am happy if you learned something new and passed it along. I hope this will make a small positive impact to your life or someone you know.
Organizer
MELISSA BARONE
Organizer
Barrington, IL