<div><strong>You never expect to hear that your 36-year-old sister has cancer. </strong>
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<div><strong>  When that message came through that afternoon in August, it felt like someone had hit a giant pause button on our lives, like everything we were planning and doing that day came to a slow, stunned halt. The only action that felt sensible was to try to wrap our brains around the news. </strong>
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<div><strong>  For Amber and Josh, this news didn't just turn their world upside down, it completely shattered it. With their five boys (ages almost 2 to 14), they felt like their lives were just starting. The kids were just getting old enough that they were dreaming big dreams together as a family of all the places they'd go and adventures they'd have. Josh and Amber absolutely loved the life they had with their busy household, a beautiful, crazy, cacophony that only comes from a house bursting with love and laughter. Life was good!</strong>
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<div><strong>  When Amber first noticed a slightly unusual bump earlier in the year, she had just stopped breastfeeding their youngest, so she thought little of it. In the meantime, she participated in a health challenge that completed changed her lifestyle and diet. Through this health revamp, she lost over 40 lbs and dropped down to a healthy weight- something she had not been able to achieve for years.</strong>
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<div><strong>  Along with other changes this weight-loss brought, Amber could suddenly feel the lump in her breast much better. She knew something didn't feel right, and she went in for testing.</strong>
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<div><strong>  In the surgeon's office, Josh and Amber were shown the results from the imaging where the doctors had found not one, but three- possibly four- cancerous tumors. The other tumors were located deep within the tissue and were hard to feel. If it hadn't been for Amber's recent weight-loss, she might have gone years without finding the lumps.</strong>
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<div><strong>  About 3 months later, Amber underwent a mastectomy. They found that a lymph node was also involved which automatically places her cancer at a more advanced stage (updates to follow on exact staging, etc. to come- appointments with the oncologist and pathology were scheduled for later this week). She is still scheduled for reconstruction and has just begun her long journey of treatments to fight for her life. </strong>
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<div><strong>  Unfortunately, cancer is not only a devastating diagnosis, but it is also a very costly one to treat. Every step along the way is expensive, and recovering from cancer is a very long road to travel. Much of the cost will be covered through insurance, but there are many costs that won't be covered. Amber's treatments alone will easily cost $50,000, and not one dime of that will be covered by insurance. On top of already dealing with all the emotional and physical ramifications of this disease, the financial burden it also causes can be completely overwhelming. </strong>
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<div><strong>   We as a family are rallying around Amber, Josh, and their boys to help as much as we can, but we know we can't do this alone. We would be so grateful to anyone that can come alongside us and can help, even in the smallest ways! It truly would mean more than you know!</strong>
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