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My name is Olivia. I decided to make a gofundme page because I was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Up until now, I have always been a very healthy person, never took a sick day. Finding out I have breast cancer has shaken me to my core.
A key to my treatment plan, Perjeta, is a medication that costs $10,000 as it's not on the PBS list. It is an enormous expense for a drug that will help keep cancer from returning. I've had to stop working as my immune system is low and looking after children in a childcare setting is not ideal.
My journey began just days after my 36th birthday. I was getting ready to go to my mums on April 23rd when I found an unusual lump in my left breast, which seemed rather strange and out of place. As soon as I got to mums, I told her, and we immediately went to the local GP and made an appointment to have an ultrasound done. At this stage, I wasn't stressing too much about the outcome as we didn't have a history of breast cancer in our family.
The results were being sent to my GP, it was a long wait and begun to weigh heavily on my mind. One week after finding the lump the GP confirmed that it could be cancer. I was rushed off to have a biopsy done the same day. I was shocked, and it felt like a bad dream, no one ever thinks they will get cancer and I was no different.
I met my dad and step mum at hospital to have a biopsy. The following day on May 1st, I had to meet my surgeon. My sisters and step mum accompanied me to that appointment. The surgeon talked to us about breast cancer and answered all our questions.
The next day I had three different tests to confirm if cancer had spread. Dad, Carly my sister and one of my cousins came with me and waited with me, the tests took all day. The mammogram was first then body scan and lastly a bone scan.
May 3rd was the day the surgeon broke the news. The test results confirmed it was breast cancer, it is aggressive for someone my age and had spread to my lymph nodes. However, we were told that it would respond well to chemo treatment. That was a significant relief and welcome good news after a string of devastating results and grueling tests. Even after all of this it still didn't seem real, I put one foot in front of the other and made it through the day. I am grateful to Mum, Dad, Gayle, my step mum, and boyfriend, for coming with me to that appointment.
The same week I met my Oncologist, she was charming and friendly and went over the treatment plan. Chemo is administered every three weeks for the first twelve weeks and then every week for the next twelve. During this time they will introduce targeted hormone therapy, two more medications called Herceptin and Perjeta. These drugs block the chemical signals that can stimulate the growth of cancer.
The treatment plan was formulated to shrink the tumor, then surgery to remove what’s left after the chemo and then radiotherapy. Before commencing any treatment, I had to undergo two further tests. They checked my heart and did genetic testing to confirm if the cancer was hereditary. Both came back clear, another great result.
Please, if you can help in any way towards the cost of Perjeta ($10,000), it will be much appreciated. It will go a long way towards paying for the treatment and making my life a lot easier during this difficult time. Thank you so much for the love, care and concern you have all shown.
Love,
Olivia
A key to my treatment plan, Perjeta, is a medication that costs $10,000 as it's not on the PBS list. It is an enormous expense for a drug that will help keep cancer from returning. I've had to stop working as my immune system is low and looking after children in a childcare setting is not ideal.
My journey began just days after my 36th birthday. I was getting ready to go to my mums on April 23rd when I found an unusual lump in my left breast, which seemed rather strange and out of place. As soon as I got to mums, I told her, and we immediately went to the local GP and made an appointment to have an ultrasound done. At this stage, I wasn't stressing too much about the outcome as we didn't have a history of breast cancer in our family.
The results were being sent to my GP, it was a long wait and begun to weigh heavily on my mind. One week after finding the lump the GP confirmed that it could be cancer. I was rushed off to have a biopsy done the same day. I was shocked, and it felt like a bad dream, no one ever thinks they will get cancer and I was no different.
I met my dad and step mum at hospital to have a biopsy. The following day on May 1st, I had to meet my surgeon. My sisters and step mum accompanied me to that appointment. The surgeon talked to us about breast cancer and answered all our questions.
The next day I had three different tests to confirm if cancer had spread. Dad, Carly my sister and one of my cousins came with me and waited with me, the tests took all day. The mammogram was first then body scan and lastly a bone scan.
May 3rd was the day the surgeon broke the news. The test results confirmed it was breast cancer, it is aggressive for someone my age and had spread to my lymph nodes. However, we were told that it would respond well to chemo treatment. That was a significant relief and welcome good news after a string of devastating results and grueling tests. Even after all of this it still didn't seem real, I put one foot in front of the other and made it through the day. I am grateful to Mum, Dad, Gayle, my step mum, and boyfriend, for coming with me to that appointment.
The same week I met my Oncologist, she was charming and friendly and went over the treatment plan. Chemo is administered every three weeks for the first twelve weeks and then every week for the next twelve. During this time they will introduce targeted hormone therapy, two more medications called Herceptin and Perjeta. These drugs block the chemical signals that can stimulate the growth of cancer.
The treatment plan was formulated to shrink the tumor, then surgery to remove what’s left after the chemo and then radiotherapy. Before commencing any treatment, I had to undergo two further tests. They checked my heart and did genetic testing to confirm if the cancer was hereditary. Both came back clear, another great result.
Please, if you can help in any way towards the cost of Perjeta ($10,000), it will be much appreciated. It will go a long way towards paying for the treatment and making my life a lot easier during this difficult time. Thank you so much for the love, care and concern you have all shown.
Love,
Olivia