Fight with Octavia-Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
I am reaching out to you to ask for your support of me while I continue to fight Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). In April 2018, I received devastating news which changed my life forever. I was informed I had the diagnoses of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and words cannot describe my feelings. The doctors told me this was very uncommon in women my age and can be very tricky to treat but must be treated aggressively.
I had completed my mammograms, my appointments, and all the steps I was told to do. Through a routine day while in the bathroom, I felt a lump under my left armpit that the mammogram missed which caused me concern. The cancer had spread to the lymph nodes without getting detected on the mammogram. My anxiety immediately surfaced. I have been on medication fighting anxiety for years and this devastating news escalated my anxiety. After a second mammogram, a CT Scan, a 3-D mammogram, still nothing. I finally had a biopsy and that confirmed the diagnosis and the location of the primary mass. The news was devastating to my family and me because there was no family history of breast cancer. To make matters worse, 9 days after I received my diagnosis of TNBC, my father in law passed away. Now, not only was I fighting for myself I was also attempting to comfort my husband. My husband is my number one cheerleader, my love, my friend, and my everything. While he handled all the business of his father’s passing, he continued to ensure I was comforted.
My doctor immediately recommended an aggressive treatment plan that included surgery to place a port (which was done 4 days after diagnosis), two rounds of chemotherapy, and radiation. I did not have enough vacation time to cover my absences so when I was off work, I was unpaid during my chemotherapy. I started my first round of chemotherapy with the “red devil”. I had chemotherapy every other week for four weeks, then I had the second round of chemotherapy every week for 12 weeks. I lost my hair, my skin was burned, and the doctor told me my chances of having neuropathy in my hands and feet were very high. During my chemotherapy, I had to place my feet and hands in ice to help prevent neuropathy. During my radiation treatments, my skin was burned.
Because TNBC is uncommon in women of my age and race, I agreed to participate in a clinical trial. If I could help another human being from going through what I was going through, I was all in. The moment I took the trial medicine, I knew something was not right. I did not want to get out of bed, I could not eat, my mouth had sores, and I could not walk. All of this happened within 2 days. My husband took me to urgent/emergent care and they immediately stopped the medication. My doctor advised me that I had a severe allergic reaction to the medicine, which they had not seen in the trial at all. So again, I am one of the rare ones, but not sure how to keep going if every time something happens to me it is, “rare” or “uncommon”. The skin from my hands and feet peeled off severely. I was shedding skin.
After chemotherapy, I had surgery to remove the mass and lymph nodes in my left breast and arm. The surgery went well but I had to take off from work. However, since surgery I have had multiple lingering issues and I do not know if this is the cancer coming back or my new way of life. My anxiety forces me to think that something is still wrong because if the mammogram did not pick up the cancer, are the doctors still missing something.
I am experiencing pounding headaches that comes and goes. I have had Cat Scans and MRI's and all they can tell me is there are “spots”. I have backaches that also come and go, and no one can tell me why.
I have shooting pains (with no warning) in my left breast along with lymphedema in the breast.
After sitting in ice for hours, my feet tingle, they are numb, and they are painful every day. My doctors do not know why I still have shooting pains in my feet.
With these daily issues, my anxiety finds a way to get the best of me and I worry a lot.
While my insurance did cover a lot of the care, my portion of the cost, along with time off work without pay, is more than me and my family can afford.
I need assistance with my portion of the medical expenses along with catching up on other expenses that I incurred during my treatment.
TNBC has very high rate of re-occurrence and when it comes back, it does not come back the same way it did the first time. We need to get to the bottom of what is bothering me and in order to help me find out why these things continue, I would like to seek other treatment for me – but that is not cheap.
My prayer is to get these pains to stop or find a provider and treatment plan that can tell me why these symptoms continue to occur with me.
I ask for your prayers and I am inviting you to contribute and support me through any amount put on your heart. I am asking to help raise $20,000 in hopes of beginning the journey of healing as soon as possible. The support of many could help us reach this goal. We are extremely appreciative for ANY AMOUNT that you donate.
Prayerfully,
Octavia McKinney
I am reaching out to you to ask for your support of me while I continue to fight Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). In April 2018, I received devastating news which changed my life forever. I was informed I had the diagnoses of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and words cannot describe my feelings. The doctors told me this was very uncommon in women my age and can be very tricky to treat but must be treated aggressively.
I had completed my mammograms, my appointments, and all the steps I was told to do. Through a routine day while in the bathroom, I felt a lump under my left armpit that the mammogram missed which caused me concern. The cancer had spread to the lymph nodes without getting detected on the mammogram. My anxiety immediately surfaced. I have been on medication fighting anxiety for years and this devastating news escalated my anxiety. After a second mammogram, a CT Scan, a 3-D mammogram, still nothing. I finally had a biopsy and that confirmed the diagnosis and the location of the primary mass. The news was devastating to my family and me because there was no family history of breast cancer. To make matters worse, 9 days after I received my diagnosis of TNBC, my father in law passed away. Now, not only was I fighting for myself I was also attempting to comfort my husband. My husband is my number one cheerleader, my love, my friend, and my everything. While he handled all the business of his father’s passing, he continued to ensure I was comforted.
My doctor immediately recommended an aggressive treatment plan that included surgery to place a port (which was done 4 days after diagnosis), two rounds of chemotherapy, and radiation. I did not have enough vacation time to cover my absences so when I was off work, I was unpaid during my chemotherapy. I started my first round of chemotherapy with the “red devil”. I had chemotherapy every other week for four weeks, then I had the second round of chemotherapy every week for 12 weeks. I lost my hair, my skin was burned, and the doctor told me my chances of having neuropathy in my hands and feet were very high. During my chemotherapy, I had to place my feet and hands in ice to help prevent neuropathy. During my radiation treatments, my skin was burned.
Because TNBC is uncommon in women of my age and race, I agreed to participate in a clinical trial. If I could help another human being from going through what I was going through, I was all in. The moment I took the trial medicine, I knew something was not right. I did not want to get out of bed, I could not eat, my mouth had sores, and I could not walk. All of this happened within 2 days. My husband took me to urgent/emergent care and they immediately stopped the medication. My doctor advised me that I had a severe allergic reaction to the medicine, which they had not seen in the trial at all. So again, I am one of the rare ones, but not sure how to keep going if every time something happens to me it is, “rare” or “uncommon”. The skin from my hands and feet peeled off severely. I was shedding skin.
After chemotherapy, I had surgery to remove the mass and lymph nodes in my left breast and arm. The surgery went well but I had to take off from work. However, since surgery I have had multiple lingering issues and I do not know if this is the cancer coming back or my new way of life. My anxiety forces me to think that something is still wrong because if the mammogram did not pick up the cancer, are the doctors still missing something.
I am experiencing pounding headaches that comes and goes. I have had Cat Scans and MRI's and all they can tell me is there are “spots”. I have backaches that also come and go, and no one can tell me why.
I have shooting pains (with no warning) in my left breast along with lymphedema in the breast.
After sitting in ice for hours, my feet tingle, they are numb, and they are painful every day. My doctors do not know why I still have shooting pains in my feet.
With these daily issues, my anxiety finds a way to get the best of me and I worry a lot.
While my insurance did cover a lot of the care, my portion of the cost, along with time off work without pay, is more than me and my family can afford.
I need assistance with my portion of the medical expenses along with catching up on other expenses that I incurred during my treatment.
TNBC has very high rate of re-occurrence and when it comes back, it does not come back the same way it did the first time. We need to get to the bottom of what is bothering me and in order to help me find out why these things continue, I would like to seek other treatment for me – but that is not cheap.
My prayer is to get these pains to stop or find a provider and treatment plan that can tell me why these symptoms continue to occur with me.
I ask for your prayers and I am inviting you to contribute and support me through any amount put on your heart. I am asking to help raise $20,000 in hopes of beginning the journey of healing as soon as possible. The support of many could help us reach this goal. We are extremely appreciative for ANY AMOUNT that you donate.
Prayerfully,
Octavia McKinney
Organiser
Octavia McKinney
Organiser
Murfreesboro, TN