Help Laurie Pay Cancer Expenses

My name is Laurie and was a healthy 58 year old woman until now. I have always believed that God does not give you more that you can handle. Well, that belief is being tested as I have gone from healthy to stage 4 cancer in the matter of weeks (or at least discovered why I had not been feeling well for weeks). I am requesting all the prayer warriors out there to please raise you prayers up and I know God will perform a miracle or have good things come of this situation.

I would share in detail with you what has been going on with me since mid August 2021. For the last 2 weeks of August I was feeling out of breath even walking short distances. I thought really nothing of it - thought it might be that I was needing to lose weight or maybe that I needed to get refill on a cholesterol prescription I had only taken for a month and forgot to refill. So I got the refill then headed to FL to get my youngest through some medical procedures and getting her new car (since she just received her payout from the other insurance company for her damaged car). I flew to Ft Lauderdale Aug 29 and while I was down in FL my health started to deteriorate Still short of breath but getting worse - couldn't even walk 1/2 a block, losing my sense of balance (I fell once while I was down there) - couldn't even stand up to cook a meal, then neuropathy developed in both legs while I was down there (currently my left leg has neuropathy over the knee and my right leg has improved with neuropathy only in my foot.) this does not help me with walking and I regularly feel like my knees will give out under me so I am currently using a walker just to be safe.

So on Thursday Sept 23 I flew back into town and went to my PCP that afternoon and told her all the symptoms I was having and she drew my blood to test it...she also decided to begin the diagnostic process with referrals to get X-Ray, Cardiologist, Neurologist, etc.... Luckily the referral to the cardiologist was able to be scheduled the next morning, Sept 24. My mom took me there and waited for me to be done. I got into the cardiologist office and they did a EKG to start out with ...I finally decided to try and connect to their wifi as I had no cell reception and saw numerous calls I missed and called my oldest daughter back and she said that my PCP had by trying to contact me and while I was on the phone with her my Cardiologist was on the phone with my PCP and the both decide it was off to the ER I would go. Went out and my mom to me to Baptist East and I was admitted.

Turns out I should not have been walking around - my hemoglobin (which creates oxygen) was at a 4.4 and the normal range begins at a 13 - all my doctors were surprised I was functioning. My hematocrit (volume of red blood cells in my system) was 14.6 and normal begins at 34 and my platelets (how well your blood clots) was 51 and normal begins at 150. So they ordered a bunch of tests. Chest X-Ray, EKG, Echocardiogram, CT, Bone-Marrow Biopsy, MRI on Brain and on Lumbar Region and ultimately decided to admit me to hospital

Week of September 19th – I ended up during my 9 days in hospital beginning September 24th - they gave me total of 5 units of blood before being discharged Oct 3 (ironic that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). After the first three I was able to walk without breathless as much but my blood levels did not improve as drastically as they would have expected. They asked me if I was bleeding anywhere, or had pain anywhere and it was no to everything - I just had that dadgum neuropathy in my feet that was annoying. They finally got the bone marrow biopsy and that I had breast cancer cells in my bone marrow therefore making it Stage 4 breast cancer, even though my mammogram from June 2021 (just a few months earlier) and January of 2020 showed nothing that they thought was of concern - nothing I needed to be called back into office for follow-up. Even when the on-call oncologist when I was in the hospital checked - she didn't find anything in lymph nodes nor in breast tissue (today's visit confirmed that) so doctor's are baffled as to where those cancer cells came from.

During the MRI they found cancer in my lumbar region bones (that is where the biopsy came from so was to be expected) but they also found a mass in the dura layer of the brain in frontal lobe area - in between my skull and my brain. Today's visit indicated that my oncologist is going to refer with other doctors and see if that mass can be radiated or if surgery might be involved. In the meantime my doctors figured out that the cancer, fortunately is Estrogen & Progastrin receptor positive which means I can be treated with a tiny hormone pill that might be able to reduce the cancer in my bone marrow. They will be also treating me with a medicine that will help with bone strengthening so that I will be less likely to fracture my bones. Then there is another medicine that should piggyback on that hormone pill to get rid of the cancer. My doctor is Dr Jankov with the Baptist Cancer Center and made the 2018 and 2019 top doctors list in Memphis magazine --- I feel confident with him so far but I have only talked to him today (first oncology discussion) and when in the hospital so we will see.

Oct 27 they did a mammogram, 3D mammogram, and ultrasound as well to see if they can find the source of the breast cancer in my bone marrow. They did find a 1/4 inch spot on my right breast and they did a biopsy of that mass and it turns out it was positive for cancer same as is in the bone marrow. This is a lobular carcinoma which is known for being hard to find. 1 in 10 patients in this have potential for there being another (being multifocal). I will definitely need an MRI to see if there is another hidden somewhere. Can get rid of it by lumpectomy but will need to talk to Dr Jankov (oncologist) about plan of attack.

Nov 8 had MRI done of my head and Nov 23 a CAT scan all in preparation to due radiation treatment to the area they found in the dura matter by the left frontal lobe. Thanksgiving week they will do 3 treatments (Mon, Tues & Wed) to hopefully deal with this issue. Follow up will be in 2 months.

I am requesting assistance with out of pocket expenses for this year and next. We will see how things go in the future.

Love in Christ

Laurie