Healing Hands for Jenny
Donation protected
It's an honor to get to share this story, Jenny's story, that gives a whole new meaning to the word "nest egg", is evidence of real life miracles, and hopefully serves as an invitation for you to be one of Jenny's helping hands!
The past few months for her have been a whirlwind sequence of events, and offer a stark contrast between the excitement and hope of starting a new life, and the fear of losing it all together.
September 13th
Ready for a big life change, Jenny listed her beautiful little home in Daybreak. She decided it was time to put the past behind her. As the vibrant, energetic woman she is, she was ready to fully embrace a new life, dedicate more time to her favorite acrobatic sports, and enjoy a new loving relationship. At the age of 38, life was calling her on new adventures!
September 19th
Jenny received a full price offer on her home! She was excited about the closure this brought to that phase of her life, and felt grateful to set aside her equity nest egg for her future.
September 21st
Jenny went in to her family doctor for her routine lady check up. Due to a symptom she was experiencing in her right breast, from a non-threatening benign Papilloma, her doctor ordered a mammogram just to be safe.
September 30th
Jenny signed the lease on her new rental home. She was full of hope and ready to discover what happiness really looked like for her.
October 4th
Jenny went in for her mammogram, and things didn't look quite right.
If you are anything like me, then these mammogram results just look like "space, the final frontier." The white specs are actually Microcalcifications. The doctor said having as many as she did, spread out as it was, really looked like cancer. In the doctor's words, "With your young age and no family history of cancer, I would be shocked if it was, but the way this looks, I also would be surprised if it wasn't." In short, he gave her a 50/50 chance that it was cancer, and ordered a biopsy.
October 5th - 8th
Jenny attended the Divine Play Festival in Portland, Oregon. Despite the 50/50 cancer news that took a permanent parking space in her mind, Jenny continued to express her personal divinity through her love of acrobatics. Knowing her cirque arts, the thing that made her feel so alive, could be short lived, was a dark cloud looming over her. She still found her smiles and joy in the air, and was a light to be around.
October 11th
Biopsy day. Jenny was ordered two different biopsies: an ultrasound biopsy, and a stereo static biopsy. She experienced some complications in the second biopsy, which made the week long wait for her results seem even longer, as she was instructed not to move much. That's worse than taking candy from a baby! Committed to her quick recovery, Jenny stayed grounded from cirque arts, and also in her hope for healing.
October 19th
A nurse called Jenny with results. Her voice was so cheerful, Jenny thought whe was going to hear the news that it was only a benign Papilloma, and nothing more. Over the phone, with a seemingly audilbe smile, the nurse said, "you have cancer."
Three words that change everything.
I always thought these diagnoses were delivered in person, like in the movies. With your favorite person sitting beside you holding your hand. Instead, Jenny received the news while she was at work. She happened to be in front of her white board and numbly jotted down the her results and the following day's appointment. She immediately left her office and texted her boss before she drove away, "Have cancer, be out the rest of the day."
October 24th
While Jenny closed the door on her old life with the close of the sale on her house, it wasn't the celebration she had anticipated. Her life had completely turned on its hinges, almost one month to the date of that first doctor's exam. She had already wracked up overwhelming medical copay bills, and the news just seemed to get more overwhelming.
Soon after closing on her house, Jenny learned that following the surgery and radiation she was scheduled to receive, she would have to begin a daily regimen of Tamoxifen for the next ten years. Tamoxifen is basically a type of oral chemotherapy, for women who's cancer was hormone receptor positive. (ie; it was fed by Estrogen and Progesterone.) The drug will block the hormones in her body completely. Ladies, before you get jealous that she isn't going to have to deal with PMS ever again, the side effect also means she'll experience immediate menopause. It will make it impossible for her to have children.
November 2nd
Lumpectomy Surgery #1
Surgery of any kind is pretty wild, because protocol is the patient simply gets to go to sleep. The conscious mind rests while others work to fix the seemingly unfixable. So Jenny’s experience from her perspective that day can be summarized like this: checking in early, going to sleep, and waking up with half a boob! It wasn't until after the surgery that she was finally able to take a breath of fresh air. Her boyfriend, Daniel, waited in the foyer through her surgery and subsequent tests. He was first to get the miraculous news that the cancer hadn't spread through the rest of her body. He wept for the good news, and looked forward with hope for her fast recovery.
November 10th
Lumpectomy Surgery #2
In her second surgery, the amazing Dr. Kieryn was able to remove every trace of cancer before it had spread anywhere else in her body. Biopsies showed the invasive cancer had begun to grow but measures were taken in the nick of time! It was finally confirmed, Jenny was cancer free!
November 19th
Cancer free, and on the fast track towards menopause. The silver lining for Jenny was, SCIENCE IS AMAZING, and she was a prime candidate to undergo fertility preservation treatment before her radiation began. Jenny only had a 9 day window to heal from her surgery before she had to begin a two week fertility cycle with daily injections and hopefully a healthy egg retrieval at the end!
December 2nd
After a really succesful fertility cycle, Jenny underwent sugery for her egg retrieval. Again, she received anesthesia and went to sleep. But this time, instead of cutting out disease, the doctor retrieved the beginnings of life! In total they were able to retrieve 24 eggs! Jenny sure is grateful they won't all be babies!
December 8th
Jenny and Daniel, received a phone call with AMAZING news this time! Their fertility treatment yielded seven healthy embryos. That same day she went in for her first radiation conslutation to begin her daily radiation treatment for the next 6 weeks. The joys and pains of her experience were truly piled on top of eachother. And in the same way Jenny approaches the trapeze, she trusted the process while simultaneously giving 100% effort and holding on for dear life.
December 12th
Jenny has maintained hope through the entire process. She refused to let cancer define her, or allow the medical bills to keep her spirits down. In fact, in the midst of her debilitating treatment, Jenny still had the special gift of lifting the spirits of everyone around her. She's only weeks away from finishing radiation treatment, beating cancer, being in the air again, and most importantly, preparing for the possibility of her own posterity. I can only imagine with Jenny and Daniel for parents, their future children might be flying before they are walking!
Today!
This Go Fund Me is being set up on behalf of Jenny, because nobody should have to pay for their own cancer! We want to be Jenny's helping hands, and buy her cancer and fertility treatments, like she's a good date and it's our treat! The truth is, she IS a really good life date. The kind you want to last forever!
Fertility preservation treatments, surprisingly, aren't covered at all by insurance. Plus she has a mountain of copays. Even though Jenny had an equity nest egg to cover the immedate cost of retreiving her eggs, we want to help her get her medical bills down to zero! That's why our goal is to raise 15k!
- Copays $3,000
- Fertility Treatment $6,200
- Estimates for Embryo Implantation Into a Surrogate (pick me pick me!) $6,000
You can be one of Jenny's helping hands! No matter how hard we try, we can't give Jenny her complete right breast back, but we can give her something else, something just as healing. Right now, your hands can help simply by clicking to donate! Together we can help her repair the financial crisis cancer can left in it's wake.
If you live in Utah, you can also have FUN while you help her cause by attending the Black & White Cirque Party fundraising event on April 1st. Details and tickets here.
If you know Jenny, you know this sequence of events had no impact on her glowing smile. This gofundme is really all about that, being her helping hands so we can keep her smile around for a long long time, inspite of all the odds. With any luck, we'll get the chance to see a baby with her smile as well, and I promise that will make the world a better place for everyone!
The past few months for her have been a whirlwind sequence of events, and offer a stark contrast between the excitement and hope of starting a new life, and the fear of losing it all together.
September 13th
Ready for a big life change, Jenny listed her beautiful little home in Daybreak. She decided it was time to put the past behind her. As the vibrant, energetic woman she is, she was ready to fully embrace a new life, dedicate more time to her favorite acrobatic sports, and enjoy a new loving relationship. At the age of 38, life was calling her on new adventures!
September 19th
Jenny received a full price offer on her home! She was excited about the closure this brought to that phase of her life, and felt grateful to set aside her equity nest egg for her future.
September 21st
Jenny went in to her family doctor for her routine lady check up. Due to a symptom she was experiencing in her right breast, from a non-threatening benign Papilloma, her doctor ordered a mammogram just to be safe.
September 30th
Jenny signed the lease on her new rental home. She was full of hope and ready to discover what happiness really looked like for her.
October 4th
Jenny went in for her mammogram, and things didn't look quite right.
If you are anything like me, then these mammogram results just look like "space, the final frontier." The white specs are actually Microcalcifications. The doctor said having as many as she did, spread out as it was, really looked like cancer. In the doctor's words, "With your young age and no family history of cancer, I would be shocked if it was, but the way this looks, I also would be surprised if it wasn't." In short, he gave her a 50/50 chance that it was cancer, and ordered a biopsy.
October 5th - 8th
Jenny attended the Divine Play Festival in Portland, Oregon. Despite the 50/50 cancer news that took a permanent parking space in her mind, Jenny continued to express her personal divinity through her love of acrobatics. Knowing her cirque arts, the thing that made her feel so alive, could be short lived, was a dark cloud looming over her. She still found her smiles and joy in the air, and was a light to be around.
October 11th
Biopsy day. Jenny was ordered two different biopsies: an ultrasound biopsy, and a stereo static biopsy. She experienced some complications in the second biopsy, which made the week long wait for her results seem even longer, as she was instructed not to move much. That's worse than taking candy from a baby! Committed to her quick recovery, Jenny stayed grounded from cirque arts, and also in her hope for healing.
October 19th
A nurse called Jenny with results. Her voice was so cheerful, Jenny thought whe was going to hear the news that it was only a benign Papilloma, and nothing more. Over the phone, with a seemingly audilbe smile, the nurse said, "you have cancer."
Three words that change everything.
I always thought these diagnoses were delivered in person, like in the movies. With your favorite person sitting beside you holding your hand. Instead, Jenny received the news while she was at work. She happened to be in front of her white board and numbly jotted down the her results and the following day's appointment. She immediately left her office and texted her boss before she drove away, "Have cancer, be out the rest of the day."
October 24th
While Jenny closed the door on her old life with the close of the sale on her house, it wasn't the celebration she had anticipated. Her life had completely turned on its hinges, almost one month to the date of that first doctor's exam. She had already wracked up overwhelming medical copay bills, and the news just seemed to get more overwhelming.
Soon after closing on her house, Jenny learned that following the surgery and radiation she was scheduled to receive, she would have to begin a daily regimen of Tamoxifen for the next ten years. Tamoxifen is basically a type of oral chemotherapy, for women who's cancer was hormone receptor positive. (ie; it was fed by Estrogen and Progesterone.) The drug will block the hormones in her body completely. Ladies, before you get jealous that she isn't going to have to deal with PMS ever again, the side effect also means she'll experience immediate menopause. It will make it impossible for her to have children.
November 2nd
Lumpectomy Surgery #1
Surgery of any kind is pretty wild, because protocol is the patient simply gets to go to sleep. The conscious mind rests while others work to fix the seemingly unfixable. So Jenny’s experience from her perspective that day can be summarized like this: checking in early, going to sleep, and waking up with half a boob! It wasn't until after the surgery that she was finally able to take a breath of fresh air. Her boyfriend, Daniel, waited in the foyer through her surgery and subsequent tests. He was first to get the miraculous news that the cancer hadn't spread through the rest of her body. He wept for the good news, and looked forward with hope for her fast recovery.
November 10th
Lumpectomy Surgery #2
In her second surgery, the amazing Dr. Kieryn was able to remove every trace of cancer before it had spread anywhere else in her body. Biopsies showed the invasive cancer had begun to grow but measures were taken in the nick of time! It was finally confirmed, Jenny was cancer free!
November 19th
Cancer free, and on the fast track towards menopause. The silver lining for Jenny was, SCIENCE IS AMAZING, and she was a prime candidate to undergo fertility preservation treatment before her radiation began. Jenny only had a 9 day window to heal from her surgery before she had to begin a two week fertility cycle with daily injections and hopefully a healthy egg retrieval at the end!
December 2nd
After a really succesful fertility cycle, Jenny underwent sugery for her egg retrieval. Again, she received anesthesia and went to sleep. But this time, instead of cutting out disease, the doctor retrieved the beginnings of life! In total they were able to retrieve 24 eggs! Jenny sure is grateful they won't all be babies!
December 8th
Jenny and Daniel, received a phone call with AMAZING news this time! Their fertility treatment yielded seven healthy embryos. That same day she went in for her first radiation conslutation to begin her daily radiation treatment for the next 6 weeks. The joys and pains of her experience were truly piled on top of eachother. And in the same way Jenny approaches the trapeze, she trusted the process while simultaneously giving 100% effort and holding on for dear life.
December 12th
Jenny has maintained hope through the entire process. She refused to let cancer define her, or allow the medical bills to keep her spirits down. In fact, in the midst of her debilitating treatment, Jenny still had the special gift of lifting the spirits of everyone around her. She's only weeks away from finishing radiation treatment, beating cancer, being in the air again, and most importantly, preparing for the possibility of her own posterity. I can only imagine with Jenny and Daniel for parents, their future children might be flying before they are walking!
Today!
This Go Fund Me is being set up on behalf of Jenny, because nobody should have to pay for their own cancer! We want to be Jenny's helping hands, and buy her cancer and fertility treatments, like she's a good date and it's our treat! The truth is, she IS a really good life date. The kind you want to last forever!
Fertility preservation treatments, surprisingly, aren't covered at all by insurance. Plus she has a mountain of copays. Even though Jenny had an equity nest egg to cover the immedate cost of retreiving her eggs, we want to help her get her medical bills down to zero! That's why our goal is to raise 15k!
- Copays $3,000
- Fertility Treatment $6,200
- Estimates for Embryo Implantation Into a Surrogate (pick me pick me!) $6,000
You can be one of Jenny's helping hands! No matter how hard we try, we can't give Jenny her complete right breast back, but we can give her something else, something just as healing. Right now, your hands can help simply by clicking to donate! Together we can help her repair the financial crisis cancer can left in it's wake.
If you live in Utah, you can also have FUN while you help her cause by attending the Black & White Cirque Party fundraising event on April 1st. Details and tickets here.
If you know Jenny, you know this sequence of events had no impact on her glowing smile. This gofundme is really all about that, being her helping hands so we can keep her smile around for a long long time, inspite of all the odds. With any luck, we'll get the chance to see a baby with her smile as well, and I promise that will make the world a better place for everyone!
Organizer and beneficiary
Caralee Burton
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT
Jenny Mahler
Beneficiary