On June 19, 2025, Amy received the news that no one is prepared for. Her annual mammogram detected something suspicious, and life was turned upside down. Over the following weeks, Amy learned that she had not just one cancer, but two, one of them being TNBC, or triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease. Despite being under close surveillance due to her family history, this aggressive cancer quickly spread to her lymph nodes, making her cancer stage 2. Treatment for this requires six months of chemotherapy followed by surgery and possibly radiation, as well as long-term medication to hopefully keep it in remission. Due to her age and status as a carrier of the BRCA2 mutation, it is all but guaranteed that a new breast cancer will eventually arise if she does not undergo a bilateral mastectomy after completing chemotherapy. Surgery is scheduled for February 4, 2026.

What many people do not realize is that when a woman undergoes a mastectomy, even with reconstruction, all the nerves providing sensation to the chest are severed. She can no longer feel touch, the warmth of a hug, the heat from the sun, the cool of the ocean, or even the fabric of clothes against her skin for the rest of her life. In addition, many women also suffer from long-term nerve pain. There is a procedure, known as Resensation, through which a plastic surgeon trained in microsurgery dissects out the patient's sensory nerves and uses grafts to reconnect them, aiming to prevent post-mastectomy numbness and pain. Peripheral nerve repair has been practiced for decades, yet medical coverage for this part of reconstruction after mastectomy is rarely covered by health insurance, as it is deemed "medically unnecessary." In order to have Resensation done as part of her surgery, Amy will have to pay significant out-of-pocket costs for the nerve grafts, in addition to deductibles, co-pays, travel expenses, and all the other long-term costs that are part of cancer treatment and recovery.

Please consider donating to help Amy with this aspect of her surgery and recovery from this ordeal.