Help Heather With Her Battle Against Cancer

This story is being shared with Heather and the Oman family’s awareness and consent.

 

In 2020, pregnant with her first child, Heather discovered a lump in her breast. At 6 weeks postpartum, Heather raised her concerns to her obstetrician and was given a script to get an ultrasound. Heather got the ultrasound on November 25, 2020, and spent the 5 months after being told by multiple Doctors that she had nothing to worry about. The lump, and associated symptoms, was attributed to things like infection and hormone changes, and Heather was consistently told to wait another 2-3 months and then come back. By the end of this 5-month runaround, Heather was experiencing more broad and worrying symptoms, such as blurry vision and dizzy spells. At this point, Heather saw another new Doctor, who did another ultrasound and, upon seeing the ultrasound, immediately referred Heather to a surgeon. When Heather saw the surgeon the following day she received multiple tests, including a biopsy, mammogram, and 3D mammogram. Three lumps were found in Heather’s breast.

 

On March 29, 2021, just three months before her 30th birthday, Heather got the call that the three tumors in her breast tissue that were biopsied were malignant, with the largest tumor estimated at 8cm. For those who are wondering how big an 8cm tumor is, that is about the size of a peach. Heather was diagnosed with Angiosarcoma , an extremely rare type of cancer that effects about 1 in 1 million people. On April 26, 2021, Heather began chemotherapy. Heather completed six rounds of intense chemotherapy between April and August, receiving the strongest chemotherapy drug available via a port in her chest. Heather was also hospitalized multiple times during the course of her chemotherapy, for things like neutropenia and low counts of hemoglobin and platelets, requiring overnight hospital stays and blood transfusions. The first of these hospital stays took place in the week before Mother’s Day, and almost resulted in Heather spending Mother’s Day in the hospital. Luckily, Heather was discharged from the hospital the night of Mother’s Day, and was able to spend the final hours of her first Mother’s Day with her husband and son.

 

A month after completing chemotherapy, and finding that the tumor had shrunk at the time of completion, Heather had a mastectomy. The pathology from the surgery revealed that the tumor had grown a substantial amount in the one month since ending chemotherapy, going from 1cm post-chemotherapy to 6.5cm at the time of surgery. The surgeons were able to remove all of the cancer, but with only 2mm of clean margins (which is about the width of two strands of hair.)

 

Due to the aggressive nature of this particular cancer, Heather’s oncology team agreed that further treatment is needed to prevent reoccurrence in the near or distant future. Heather started radiation treatment on October 26, 2021, which consists of treatment 5 days a week until 30 sessions are completed. Heather will also receive scans at least once a year, for the rest of her life.

 

Throughout all of this, Heather has had her newly 1-year-old son, Caiden, home with her, as the family could not risk the exposure of Caiden being in daycare and potentially getting Heather sick. Heather’s family, friends, and husband have rallied behind her to help her care for her son so she can continue to heal and fight.

 

The funds raised through this page will go directly to Heather and her family, and will help them pay for everything from medical bills to diapers and groceries. Due to the duration and severity of Heather's illness and treatments, her and her family are experiencing a reduction in earnings and need our support. We ask that you please donate anything that you are able to help Heather and her family through this incredibly challenging time.

 

 

Above, Heather rings the bell as she completes her six rounds of chemotherapy.