Hi everyone - Thank you for taking the time to pause and click into this GoFundMe to read about who & why we are raising money.

I am Nicole Miller's cousin, Kendra Loch (Atherton). I will be the one heading this GoFundMe and along with Nicoles close friend, Amy Logan. We will be answering any questions you all may have-medical and donation related to take a little bit of stress off of Nicoles hands.

At the beginning of December Nicole found a lump in her breast. It was not at all painful but it was large and raised concern. She scheduled a doctors appointment and they set her up for her first mammogram. After the mammogram they performed an ultrasound on the lump. This led to a referral for a biopsy. Nicole notes that this is when the concern set in and the reality of what diagnosis could be coming. Through these procedures they also found a couple concerning spots in her Lymph nodes in her armpit on the same side as the lump in her breast. They sent these samples in and heartbreaking news came back to her and her close family and friends-Nicole was diagnoses with Stage 1 breast cancer. Her biopsy also confirmed that she is HER2-positive. HER2 stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and is a gene that makes a protein found on the surface of all breast cells. Being HER2-positive means that the cancer could grow faster and be more likely to spread to the lymph nodes. We are thankful for the advancements in medicine so that we can know all of these things and the doctors can put the best plan in place to fight this cancer.

With this news set before her, the doctors laid out this "best for Nicole's cancer" plan (and many, many appointments!).

This week the appointments started in full swing for her with a PET Scan, Echocardiogram, and some MRIs. This is all done to ensure that the cancer has not spread.

On Monday (January 3rd) she will be getting a port placed in her chest-this is an in and out procedure that should take around 4hrs from walking in and out of the building. The following Monday she will be starting a chemo cocktail. Chemo days will be an all day hike as she needs to arrive to the clinic 45min prior to her appointment to take an anti-nausea medication, the chemo itself is set to take 6hrs and 20min, and then she will need to stay for an hour after the chemo is done to ensure all is well.

The plan is that Nicole will be doing 6 sessions of these chemo cocktails and each are 3 weeks apart. Next she will undergo surgery and have a double mastectomy (doing both as a preventative choice- we are really saying BYEEE to this nasty six letter word). During this surgery she will also be getting the lymph nodes in her left armpit removed that are of concern. Following healing from surgery (2-3weeks) she will have 25-30 treatments of radiation targeting her breast and armpit.

The hardest part so far for Nicole is thinking about her two young elementary aged kiddos, Kenzie & Karsen. She is nervous for the changes that they will begin to see and how this will alter their lives and little family. She wants as all mama's do, for her kids to be taken care of completely.

Nicole would appreciate prayers for her, her kiddos-Kenzie & Karsen, family and her medical team as we all battle this together.

As close family and friends, we also know the reality of what is about to be one of the biggest battles of Nicole's life. As much as she likes to be the strong independent woman that she is, we know that there are so many out there that want to do what they can to support her beyond the positive thoughts and prayers, so we have come together to start a GoFundMe for her and her kiddos.

The funds raised from this GoFundMe will help with any medical expenses beyond insurance that come up, everyday bills as she will have to go from full-time to on-call and working when she is able/feeling good enough to do so, rent and making sure her kiddos are taken care of (food, school needs, clothes etc.).

Lastly, please know that you can reach out to Amy or I with any questions you have. If you do reach out to Nicole with questions or just words of love (& laughter-because we know she loves a good laugh) that she may need some time to respond. We will continue to post updates to this fundraiser as we battle through this.

Thank you all for reading this, for the prayers and support, and for your donations if you feel led.

-Kendra