Help Erica Fight Aggressive Breast Cancer

Hi everyone. My name is Michelle, and I am setting up this GoFundMe for my friend and co-worker, Erica Talamantes.

Friday, September 6, 2024, Erica was diagnosed with Metastatic Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Triple Negative. In basic terms, a very aggressive form of breast cancer. A few weeks ago, she found a lump in her breast and spoke with her doctor, who then scheduled her mammogram. After finding abnormalities on those results, a biopsy was ordered and found cancer in her breast as well as one of her lymph nodes under her arm. Since the diagnosis last Friday, it has been full steam ahead. After meeting with a breast and medical oncologist this week, she is scheduled this Friday for the port to be inserted into her body for treatments that will start next Thursday, September 19th. She will be getting her treatments once a week for at least the next 12 weeks, she will get a small break and then treatment again once every 3 weeks. When that’s through , they will determine if she can have surgery or if she will need more treatment.

Aside from this diagnosis, Erica is a healthy 33-year-old single mom of a 12-year-old son. She works full-time and will have to reduce her work schedule to 2 days a week. Her insurance out-of-pocket is astronomical, and she is required to pay her co-pay for every appointment she has had so far, for her port placement on Friday, as well as a PET scan she will be getting next Tuesday. To top that off, she was just told she has to pay at least half of the cost of her chemo treatment upfront when she goes in next Thursday, which is $10,000.

100% of any donations will go towards her medical expenses and to help supplement the income lost from her reduced work schedule to be able to cover her bills and take care of her kiddo. This is the very last thing she wanted to have to do, but she finally agreed to let me set this up for her to hopefully reduce some of the stress and immediate financial burden this has caused her.

Thank you for reading through Erica's story. If you are unable to donate monetarily, please share this link. Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Michelle