Help Amanda with her cancer battle

Amanda (Dewitt Rich) Barrientos was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in November 2018. This news was perhaps even more devastating because her mother was taken just two years prior after a long battle with cancer that metastasized. Amanda underwent a total mastectomy with reconstruction, but less than a year later doctors discovered that she had involvement of the sternum. She underwent radiation and started hormone therapy. Fast forward to December 2020, and Amanda is continuing to battle secondary tumors that have moved into her liver and bones. She has trouble keeping food down, to the point where her vitamin deficiency shows up as scurvy. The battle of Stage 4 breast cancer is slow and strategic. It’s about balancing quality with quantity, all while praying and hoping to be that one legendary warrior people whisper stories about. Sometimes we must fight on multiple fronts, and with nontraditional weapons. Amanda is scheduled for 20 more rounds of radiation on the liver and ribs, but she has also started high-dose vitamin infusions to increase her strength and even out the deficiencies. These vitamin infusions are considered an “alternative treatment,” and they are not covered by her insurance. She must travel several hours from her Oklahoma home to receive these. I’m writing this because Amanda’s dad asked me to, and I can’t just do nothing while she is under siege by this disease. I can’t fix it, but I can tell you about her, and ask for your help. Amanda is my sister of the soul; she and I have been best friends since before kindergarten. She stood up in my wedding over two decades ago, and I stood up in hers less than two years ago. Yes, amidst all that cancer tries to take, there has been joy. She’s making the best choices she can to live fully in the life she’s built with her new husband, her family and friends, and her grandkids. Amanda is an amazing, giving person. She taught Sunday School until her body wouldn’t let her, and I can’t count how many teens and young families found a haven in her home when they needed a place over the years. As a single Mom, she fed them and put a roof over their heads right along with her own family without hesitation or compensation. She freely gives of her time and resources, and she can be a fierce Mama Bear when the situation warrants. She raised chickens, strays, and even a pot-bellied pig for a while .She can draw and paint and raise a bountiful garden. But she also has a stubborn, fiercely independent streak, and she puts herself last and despises asking for help. Case in point: I wanted to launch this page back in 2018 when she was first diagnosed, but she refused, saying she’d manage. Now, with the infusions that aren’t covered and the new year bringing new deductibles, she has finally given those of us who love her permission to put this out there. We are asking for financial support for Amanda as she battles Stage 4 breast cancer. The money will be used for deductibles, uncovered treatments, and comfort associated in her care. We’d like to give her one less thing to worry about, so she can continue to fight this enemy that’s camped out in her body.
        Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
                                                                                          Victoria Opalewski