Helen Black Breast Cancer Fund

Dear Family and Friends, 

On March 30th,  at age 52, Helen Black was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer that metastasized to the Plural of her lung , which was found after she was misdiagnosed with pneumonia.  After numerous tests and Dr. appointments, including having her lungs drained twice, Helen started chemo on April 13th.  She has currently completed 9 sessions of chemo, and will have 3 more treatments before the scans are repeated on July 26th to check the status of the tumors, at which point, future treatment options will be discussed.

During these treatments, Helen has struggled to maintain the quality of her family’s lives, as well as continuing to work in Social Services.  She is a wife, as well as a mother of 9 children, of which 5 of them are still at home.  The youngest is 10.  She has a son with Down Syndrome, and also a daughter who was diagnosed with Epilepsy two years ago. With the support of her family, Helen tries to continue to balance the needs of her entire family, which also includes attending Medical appointments every couple of months at Seattle Children’s Hospital, for her daughter.

Please consider making a donation to help with Helen’s Co-Pays, and out of pocket expenses.  She missed 6 weeks of work after being diagnosed, and anticipates more uncompensated time loss.  She works for a Non-Profit organization, so has no benefits available to her to fall back on.  What energy she has, is better spent fighting this battle, and spending quality time with her family, than worrying about finances. In her years of Social Work, she has impacted the lives of many, and now it would be nice for others to have some impact on her life and her family’s.

Because of the severity of the diagnosis, it has been highly recommended that Helen  seek a second opinion as well as treatments at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  For those who don’t know, M.D. Anderson is the #1 Cancer Treatment Hospital in our country.  The Physicians at M.D. Anderson are recognized as the best in the nation.  Helen has been in contact with a Dr. who only specializes in Metastatic Breast Cancer, and he has offered to work side by side with her Oncologist here in Spokane,  after further tests are completed in Houston.  As one can imagine, it is natural that Helen, and her family, as well as her Oncologist, recognize the need for her to seek the best and most aggressive treatments available to her due to the severity of the cancer.

Thank you, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email on the Go Fund Me page, and I will answer, or contact Helen and her family. 

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/helenfblack


God Bless You, and thank you in advance,

Kathy