Emily’s Breast Cancer Journey

UPDATE 10/22: 

I don’t think I will ever be able to fully express the amount of gratitude I am feeling around all the support I have received. I try to live my life selflessly, so when it was time to ask for help it took a lot. I felt so ashamed to ask and humbled by the generosity. My journey has not been an easy one. I am not the same woman I was at the beginning of this year, but I think in some ways that’s the point. I have watched my body, my mind, my self change in so many ways. Some difficult some beautiful. My in final day for chemo therapy will be November 9th, and I can’t tell you how excited I am for that day. I know the days following will still be some of the hardest I have had so far, but I’m finally starting to see some light at the end of my tunnel, and your generosity has afforded me to do so with one less thing to worry about. I will continue to keep you all directly updated. Thank you for your kindness! It means the world!

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I really thought long and hard about 

this. When I got my diagnosis. For me it was an emergency backup that my closest friends recommended. I had a staff at the time and a book of over 50 people consistently a month. But eventually clients would stop returning to my team and wanted to wait for me because the experience wasn’t the same. Staff became unreliable and quit. And I returned to work on a limited schedule in between chemotherapy. However I will no longer able to physically work, and have been unable to obtain any assistance with grants or disability. Despite applying for everything. And now I am humbling myself and asking for help if possible. If you don’t know, I have stage 4 triple negative breast cancer. At the end of March I finally made it to the doctor to examine a lump. They found 6. After a month of exams, imaging and biopsies, all my suspicions were confirmed. On May 6th I was finally diagnosed with metastatic, stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in my right duct. At the time my one tumor was 4.3 cm, and had only spread to the right axilla lymph node. By the time of my first chemo therapy on June first, my tumor grew to 9cm and one month later I had new cancer in my left breast and had been upgraded to stage 4. Chemotherapy has been a battle for life in so many ways. Even in almost causing liver failure. It has been a difficult and long journey from the beginning and unfortunately I will be in treatment until 2024. Two years of my life will be spent fighting more than I already have to even get to this point. Watching the woman I use to know become a woman who can barely walk most days. Even losing my very loud voice. It has been a struggle, the hardest of my life and it’s not over yet. Chemotherapy ends November 9th. I am scheduled for surgery on 11/29. Then I will have a full bilateral mastectomy, and my right axilla lymph nodes removed. They will also be removing parts of my stomach and fat for reconstruction on a much later date. Radiation will begin two months post surgery, and will continue with daily treatment of my torso and neck for 6 months. It will be a long road, I like to do for myself. But I will need help getting through the down time of my surgery. Anything is appreciated and will go towards bills so that there is one less thing to be stressed about during this difficult time. If you know me you know I am who I say I am, and I love all those close to me. So from the bottom of my heart thank you and I love you! Your kindness means the world to me and I will continue to pay it forward once I am recovered. Thank you