I was diagnosed with DCIS, an early-stage breast cancer, at the beginning of July 2026. After already going through a lumpectomy in the other breast last fall, I've chosen to pursue a double mastectomy with reconstruction to try and avoid ping-ponging treatments in alternating breasts.

Implants weren't something I felt I could safely pursue. I have myalgia and an autoimmune condition, and introducing more foreign material into my body was a risk I wasn't comfortable taking. That left flap reconstruction as the option that made sense for me. But once I started looking into it, I was told twice by my local reconstructive plastic surgery team that I was not a candidate for the type of reconstruction I wanted due to lack of tissue. When I pressed further, I learned the hospital did not offer other muscle-sparing flap options, and neither did anyone else locally or in-network across the state. This left me with only implants or flat-closure as local options. So I spent weeks getting second opinions and consulting with several out-of-state surgeons experienced with the technique my specific case required.

I finally found an out-of-state surgeon at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans who is in-network with my insurance and can do both the mastectomy and flap reconstruction together, close to my original surgery date.

That means I'm not delaying getting the cancer removed, and I also don't have to go through two separate surgeries and recoveries months apart. I am grateful to have that option, but it also means traveling out of state for surgery, arranging lodging, and preparing for the possibility of additional follow-up trips if there are complications and revisions. Since it is a 5-hour drive each way and a 10-day stay, the logistics are more than what I originally planned for when I thought I was preparing for a simpler surgery locally.

This surgery is also more invasive and comes with a longer recovery than the implant reconstruction I was originally expecting. I am self-employed, so I do not have paid leave, and I expect to be unable to work for six weeks while I recover. My husband, who is also self-employed, is my caretaker for the 10 days we are in New Orleans, and will also be unable to work during that 10 day period.

Everything is happening quickly, and it's a lot to cover at once. I want to be able to focus on preparing for surgery and healing afterward instead of worrying about how all of this will be paid for, and managing costs.

Insurance is expected to cover most of the medical side of my care, but I am raising funds for the costs it will not cover, as well as travel and lodging for the surgery itself and any follow-up visits in the months ahead; post-surgery supplies and recovery essentials; and the lost income from the weeks I can't work.

If you're able to help, any donation or share would mean so much to me. And if a donation isn't something you're able to do right now, a kind word or just keeping me in your thoughts means just as much. Your support (in whatever form it takes) helps ease the financial stress of this and gives me the space to focus on recovery.