Hi my name is Bianca. I’m 28 years old and was recently diagnosed with uterine cancer and had a significant mass in one of my ovaries. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 25 years old after years of hormonal issues and problems with my cycle. I was on a search for a gynocologist who had experience working with plus sized women with PCOS and after finding one who was both knowledgeable and kind, things started to move really quickly.

Within a couple of weeks this past December, I had a biopsy, I was diagnosed, and I had a major procedure the day before Christmas Eve. I had a hysterectomy (uterus removal), oophorectomy (ovary removal), a salpingectomy (fallopian tube removal), and a trachelectomy (cervix removal). This has affected me both physically and mentally as I always hoped to have kids on my own and deeply looked forward to the journey of pregnancy. Of course, with inconsistent menstrual cycles and PCOS, the odds weren’t in my favor, but I had not expected this outcome at all.

Because some of the cancer spread to my pelvis area, I will need a round of chemo which has the potential to cause all of my hair to fall out. I am hoping to use cold cap treatment as a way to attempt to prevent hair loss/thinning, however, it is $2,000, not covered by state insurance, and only a 50/50 guarantee it will work and allow me to keep my hair. Either way, I think it’s worth a shot.

Since I am a full time doctoral student, I will be taking time off of school and will not be able to work throughout this year and possibly into next year. Usually I am the kind of person who pushes through rough times, but I can’t do that this time. I need to take care of my physical and mental health. So, I’m raising this money to help me financially with medical expenses I will need for treatment that are not covered by my insurance and to hopefully help alleviate the financial pressure of my bills. I know everyone is going through their own things so any donation at all would be so helpful and mean so much to me.

This was something that I could not prepare for and although I feel so many mixed emotions and know this will affect me forever, I am doing the only thing we can do in this life which is to take it day by day.