Lisa Peet's (ne: Guerin) Breast Cancer Journey

Hi, my name is Bonnie Ward and I am starting this Go Fund me page for my dear friend Lisa Guerin (Guerin-Peet) who is battling Breast Cancer. Lisa is unable to tolerate traditional chemotherapy treatments due to a previous reaction to chemo used on her Rheumatoid Arthritis. Lisa has the opportunity to go to Mexico for treatments specialized around her cancer and medical conditions. The treatments, travel, accommodations and expenses however are not covered by any healthcare, so they need help. The funds from this fundraiser will go directly toward the costs of treatments, travel and accommodation expenses for Lisa to get the treatment she needs.

"Lisa's Journey"

Lisa found a lump early October of 2023 and immediately sought out help to find out what it was. She had a mammogram and an ultrasound in Dec 2023 but was told they did not like the quality of the images so they wanted it redone again. It took 7.5 weeks for second mammogram and and then another 10 days for a biopsy... This was a very long frustrating and stressful wait. The biopsy results took until Feb 29th 2024 to come back and confirm Lisa had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 3, H.E.R 2 cancer in the right breast. They took biopsies of 12 lymph nodes when they did the breast biopsy and 10 came back cancerous. The wait time for all this testing unfortunately gave the tumors enough time to grow from 2cm to 4cm in size and Lisa didn't just have one tumor she had two tumors. Lisa saw the surgeon on March 6th 2024 and a MRI was requested before surgery could take place due to the tumors location and Lisa's birth defect (Poland Syndrome) which i will explain a little further along. Lisa was booked for a partial Mastectomy on April 8th 2024. She told them she felt like they were leaving her too long several times but it fell on deaf ears. Within a month of the surgery to remove the tumors, Lisa got an infection at the surgery site requiring her to take antibiotics for a month. The antibiotics did Lisa's stomach in and she was unable to keep anything down. Lisa would just start to eat again and they would do another test, make her drink something and her whole system would collapse again and again. Lisa has lost almost 40 pounds and is well under 100 pounds total weight now. She was very frustrated with the medical system as she kept telling them quote "you've left me too long, for weeks I have tried to get you to listen to me, I'm telling you I am too weak, I don't feel I would even survive your treatment."! The breast cancer surgery left Lisa with significant nerve, rib cage, armpit, shoulder and arm damage. She has suffered with terrible pain since the surgery and was hoping it would dissipate, but unfortunately it has not.

Lisa's case is more complicated because of her other medical issues. Lisa has had a life full of medical procedures. Doctors discovered Lisa had a very rare birth defect called Poland syndrome at birth, which meant Lisa did not have the upper and the lower Pectoral muscles and tendons that support the the breast on the right side of her body. Lisa was told at 10 years old that she would not grow a breast. Lisa actually proved the doctors wrong because she did in fact grow a breast, she just didn't have the muscle and tendons it sits on to support it. Lisa also has fibromyalgia, endometriosis and 12 years ago she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that is very crippling and painful. Lisa was prescribed methotrexate chemo therapy for the rheumatoid arthritis . This medicine affected Lisa terribly and is possibly the reason Lisa has cancer today. It has now been found that there is a link between patients who have Rheumatoid Arthritis and use Methotrexate, that they can increase the risk of cancer. Lisa went from 109 lbs to 75 lbs in four months because of the side effects of the methotrexate chemotherapy. Lisa had to be carried from her bed to chair. This was no way of life, so Lisa stopped the medication and tries to control the effects of rheumatoid through a very clean diet and healthy life style.

Lisa gives so much of herself to others. She was right there to help look after mom, dad, grandparents and cousin when they went through their cancer journeys.

Now it is Lisa's turn. I prayed for Lisa to never have this type of journey, but it is her time and I am posting this in order to try to get some help for her and her family. Lisa's journey has been difficult and different than most peoples due to her birth defect and disorders. However, there is hope. As mentioned above Lisa has been given the opportunity to travel to Mexico for treatments that are tailored more for her specific and unique circumstances. With Lisa's previous reaction to Methotrexate chemo for her rheumatoid being extremely negative she feels she wouldn't tolerate the regular chemo treatments well. Lisa is even weaker this time therefore, Lisa does not feel she would survive traditional chemo treatments. The Mexico hospital gives Lisa another option of treatment. Is a natural laetrile B-17 treatments. Many people worldwide travel to Mexico every year to have these treatments. Unfortunately, these treatments and expenses are not covered and therefore they need help. Lisa's husband Steve's place of employment is closing permanently come fall of 2024. This means no benefits, no income until new employment is secured. This couldn't happen at a worse time... sometimes I wonder how one person can be tested so much! My hope is this page may help them not completely sink into debt due to the high cost of the treatments and travel expenses to have them. The funds will go directly to them to help cover some of the costs so that they can enjoy a less stressful future once "Our Lisa" is home.

Believe people, Pray for Lisa daily and please donate what you can.