Help make Idalia's BC journey a little easier

For those of you who don't know of my sister Idalia's Breast Cancer diagnosis I have copied her FB post below to explain.

We are so thankful and grateful for the amazing outpouring of love, support, encouragement and prayers that she has received in such a short time.

So many of you have asked how you can help, here is how you can do so....

(Idalia & Shadd would never ask me to do this but I know so many who want to help and wanted to give you an opportunity to do so❤)

Upon Idalia's BC diagnosis, one of the first things she expressed to me after finding out what her surgery, treatment and time away from work would entail, was her concern of the financial burden this was going to cause on her and her family.

Short term disability benefits only allow her to claim 60% of her income and does not allow her to use any PTO to subsidize the remaining 40%. Her treatment is expected to be a year long journey that will include 8-10 weeks out of work for surgery (she works very long & physical 12-13 hour days as a surgery and ER veterinary technician and will likely need to be out the longest amount of time post-op) and an unknown number of days out of work during chemo therapy treatments and travel back and forth to Boston for appointments (with the crazy gas prices, tolls and parking fees, that alone has already cost a few hundred dollars in just a few trips).

 

We want Idalia, Shadd, my niece and nephew to be able to focus all of their time and energy in the coming months on her healing. The physical and emotional load that comes along with a cancer diagnosis is a very heavy one. Please help me relieve some of that weight throughout this time by helping us cover some of the costs of Idalia's medical expenses/bills, loss of wages and travel expenses. No amount is too small.

Most importantly, please continue to lift my sister and our family up in prayer for continued strength, peace and perseverance throughout her journey. We love you Idalia. ❤

 

Thank you all for your never ending love and support. Words can't express how grateful we are for our AMAZING family and friends. It takes a village to get through times like this and we are so blessed to have a village the size of an army. We love you all. ❤

 

" **SUPER LONG POST for my family & friends, but here goes.....

 

"1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime".... Well, I AM ONE OF THOSE WOMEN.

 

SO MANY THOUGHTS ran thru my mind when I received the diagnosis.

 

I felt incredibly overwhelmed, I felt an incredible sadness knowing that my family was so worried about me, I was terrified of what was to come, and TERRIFIED of the possibility that time with my babies, husband, family & friends may be cut short. My babies, husband, parents, siblings, & family are MY WORLD. The thought of not being here to take care of my family, to not be here to witness more of my babies' milestones, to not be here to grow old with Shadd was something absolutely gut wrenching to me.... There were no real words to describe any of it, other than feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me.....

 

This past December I was showering, and while washing up, I felt a small lump on my upper/outer right breast. I had just had a complete physical exam in October, and I knew that I hadn't felt that there at that time, but I just shrugged it off and told myself it was likely a cyst or some type of inflamed gland in my breast that didn't seem serious ‍♀️. I decided to watch it for a month or 2 to see if it would get smaller or go away after a couple menstrual cycles. Well, it did change; it got a little bigger and started to feel a little "different". Even with those changes I STILL didn't think anything of it and was going to continue to ignore it... UNTIL..... I was talking to my coworker about the lump I had found and she told me how her mother had breast cancer a few years ago, and it was in the same area, and about the same size. During our conversation I got a little nervous hearing how similar our breast lumps were, so I called my doctor the following day to ask if she could fit me in ASAP.

 

After seeing my PCP for some tests, I was then referred to Dana Farber & Mass General. After having several mammograms, breast ultrasounds, a breast MRI, and 3 breast biopsies, I was diagnosed with

ER-/PR-/HER2+ Microinvasive Carcinoma with Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ, grade 3. "Grade" and "Stage" are two different things.

 

My case was a little complicated because I was initially diagnosed with a different type of cancer. I still won't know the exact type of cancer I have until they can biopsy ALL of the tissue. As of right now, the doctors feel it's HIGHLY LIKELY that I'm Stage 0 (which is amazing news!!), but they will confirm the amount of actual microinvasive OR invasive cancer present within the tissue to give me a final staging after Sx. From what they can see so far, the cancer is spread throughout a 13cm area of my breast, but the doctors feel that most of the cancer has remained within the ducts (In-situ), which is great! That will make it much easier to remove! We will have more definitive answers after Sx, though.

 

The Drs. have all recommended that I have a complete mastectomy of the right breast. They also informed me that I do have a higher possibility of future cancer in my left breast, so I elected to have a double mastectomy to prevent that from happening.

Also, because I am HER2+, I will have to undergo chemotherapy treatments after Sx. Once the surgery and pathology results are completed, they will then determine which chemotherapy "cocktail" I will receive, and wether or not I will require radiation therapy as well.

 

HER2+ breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. This protein promotes the growth of cancer cells. In about 1 of every 5 breast cancers, the cancer cells have extra copies of the gene that makes the HER2 protein. HER2+ breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer so that's why they usually start with chemo prior to Sx, or follow-up with chemo after Sx. There are different factors that play into what order things are done in.

 

As you can all imagine, this is all a great shock to me and my family. Hearing the words "you have cancer" is one of the scariest things that anyone can ever be told. Having to explain to my two babies that I have cancer, that I'll most likely lose my hair, and that I will need Sx to have my breasts removed was not an easy discussion to have. I think, for me, that was even scarier than the cancer diagnosis.

 

My second fear was telling my mom . After having the fear of almost losing our sister, Yvette, only 7 months ago, it was hard to have to go to my mom to give her this news. As a mother, I can't imagine her having to go thru those emotions again in such a short period of time. It was heart breaking to witness her sadness and fears all over again.

 

My father took the news like a champ and has stayed so positive with me from the beginning. I know he has some fears, but he's so matter fact about everything in life that I knew he would be ok as long as he knew I was going to be ok in the end ❤️.

 

My other extreme heartache was opening up the wounds again for Shadd, my mother in law, and my sister in laws, after losing my father in law 2 years ago to cancer. I know there isn't a day that goes by that they don't re-live those moments...and I felt so guilty being the one to cause any sort of sadness or worry to them again. I know Richard is riding along side me on this journey, guiding me each step of the way, giving me strength and courage to keep moving forward. I love you more than my heart can hold, Richard ❤️❤️.

 

Our family has always been so strong, regardless of what we are faced with. We tackle everything head on, TOGETHER, in full force, and ALWAYS with God as our leader. We know we will conquer anything that is thrown at us ❤️❤️

 

I'm young, strong, healthy, and spend my days caring for and doing for others. The LAST THING I thought I would ever have to worry about was myself. I NEVER THOUGHT I would be in this situation, BUT, then again, cancer doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care whether or not you have a family, what your race is, or what your hopes and dreams are for the future. It's an evil, sneaky, ugly disease that will grab ahold of anyone and anything it can. Cancer is a bitch , but I'm an even bigger bitch

 

I have been told my prognosis is great, and they have no doubts that I will do really well after surgery and chemo. My chances of being cured of this cancer are extremely high and we are so thankful to know that I will be able to rid my body of this monster very soon.

 

Right now, the plan is that I will head to MGH on April 29th for a double mastectomy and then begin chemo at some point in the few weeks after Sx. I am hopeful, and staying positive, that after the cancer is removed I will not require as much chemo as the Drs. originally thought.

 

It will be a year long journey from start to finish, but I AM READY to take this monster head on! WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE to feel sorry for ourselves OR we can PICK OURSELVES BACK UP and KEEP MOVING FORWARD...and my stubborn ass will ALWAYS choose to keep moving forward.

 

I want everyone to know that I am doing well, I'M NOT SCARED, I am feeling EXTREMELY POSITIVE and HOPEFUL of the outcome, and I DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME! If I'M NOT sulking, scared, or feeling negative, then neither should any of my family or friends! I mean, I wanted a new set of boobs for my 40th anyways... But now my health insurance can pay for them instead!! ‍♀️

 

But, on a SERIOUS note to everyone I love and care for, PLEASE take care of yourselves. To ALL WOMEN... IT'S BEYOND IMPORTANT that you do REGULAR SELF BREAST EXAMS!! If you feel something isn't right, please go see your doctor!! DO NOT shrug it off like I did thinking it was nothing!! It can mean the difference between life and death. SERIOUSLY!

 

God is merciful, HE is the ultimate healer, and I have COMPLETE FAITH that he has placed the exact ppl in my path who will make sure this journey is all just a distant memory.

 

I want to thank all of my family, friends, and work family for making this journey so much easier on me. Your love, kindness, support, and prayers have added so much strength to my mind and soul ❤️❤️ I love you all so very much. I'm BEYOND grateful and thankful to God for you all! I am truly blessed! My army is enormous!! ❤️❤️"