Jen's Cancer Journey
Donation protected
Our daughter Jennifer was diagnosed with a very aggressive and rare form of cancer this past summer at age 38 after her son Tyler was born.
Her tumor was discovered during pregnancy and a biopsy had determined it to be a benign fibroadenoma, with less than a 1% chance that it could be cancer. She had surgery six months after Tyler was born, and the tumor was then found to be a type of breast cancer called a malignant phyllodes tumor and is categorized as a stage 3 sarcoma. It grew very rapidly to 7 inches in one year. There is a 60-70% chance that the cancer could spread, and if it does would require a strong chemotherapy treatment.
She is the mother of two children Tyler (15 months) and Cody (4 years). She will give it everything she has to get through this and see her little ones grow up.
Our goal is to help raise $10,000 to cover medical bills, additional testing not covered by insurance, and for out of pocket costs associated with integrative wellness programs at UCSD. We are so appreciative for your prayers and support in helping Jennifer to beat this cancer!
Jen’s Story
Hello! I’m Jennifer York and am a mother, nurse and a designer. I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend Jeremy and to be the mother to our amazing children. They are my everything.
I was so excited to start a new job designing community farms at 3 months pregnant. On my first day of work I happened to have my first maternity appointment with Tyler, and during this appointment a large breast lump was noted. I wasn’t too worried because I had a similar lump grow in the same location during my first pregnancy, which disappeared after Cody was born.

I had a biopsy which determined the lump be a giant benign fibroadenoma. There was less than 0.1% chance that it could be a rare type of cancer called a malignant phyllodes tumor, which could only be validated after being surgically removed. Thinking it was most likely benign, I waited to have surgery until after Tyler was born.
Tyler was four months old when the surgery was scheduled in May 2018 for that July. I walked into surgery thinking that by the afternoon I would be back at home lounging on the couch, watching movies and recovering. When I woke up from surgery it was a different story. What they found was very concerning. They told me it was the fastest growing tumor they had seen and it appeared to be malignant! The tumor had pretty much doubled in size over a two-month period to seven inches. I could feel it growing but had no idea it had grown that large!
A week after the lumpectomy, I had a follow up with the surgeon to discuss my pathology results. She sat down with me, looked me right in the eyes and told me it was what they had suspected - a malignant phyllodes tumor. Next steps consisted of a mastectomy, radiation treatment and potentially chemotherapy. I became overwhelmed with emotion. The surgeon's nurse came into the room afterwards and told me with great determination “you got this, you are strong, you will get through this!”.

Since this cancer is so rare, there is little scientific evidence on how to treat them with predictable outcomes. Surgery with good margins is the primary and most important treatment. Luckily, I had the legendary Dr. Anne Wallace (the Director of Breast Surgery at UCSD) remove the tumor. She is an extraordinary human being and I’m so inspired by her passion and dedication to the field. The entire tumor was cancerous all the way to the edges and it had a significant blood supply connected all around to the surrounding tissues. Three weeks after the first surgery I had a mastectomy and luckily all the remaining tissue was free of cancer.

There is some evidence that radiation may help reduce the reoccurrence of MPT. The day before Thanksgiving I completed a round of 30 radiation treatments to the chest wall at UCSD’s Moore’s Cancer Center.

I have decided to reserve chemotherapy for if metastasis occurs. The chemotherapy regimen consists of five-day hospital stays hooked up to chemo drip every 21 days for up to nine rounds. There are many potential long-term side effects including the possibility of developing a different type of cancer, early menopause, and damage to the heart and other organs. There haven’t been any double-blind studies conducted to know if the chemotherapy would be effective against MPT, so the benefit of waiting is that we can measure the tumor after treatment and know if the medicine is effective.
Major triggers that may wake up sleeping cancer cells include stress and inflammation. I'm currently engaged in evidence-based integrative programing at UCSD that can help to transform my body into an elevated state of well-being and potentially reduce the chance of the cancer spreading. I am currently taking a mind-body program, nutrition program, receive acupuncture and have entered an integrative medicine study that involves frequent testing - collecting data on the body's microbiome, biometics, nutritional status, sleep patterns and stress and inflammation bio markers. I will engage in a variety of integrative medicine treatments and document their impact on my health.
I have been studying health and wellness for many years and am a healthy person. It has been such a shock that this aggressive cancer has grown in my body. I'm determined to beat this, regain my health and to raise our beautiful kiddos. I really appreciate your support in helping me along a path to good health.
Thank you so much everybody for your love, prayers, and support!
#phyllodes
#beatcancer



Her tumor was discovered during pregnancy and a biopsy had determined it to be a benign fibroadenoma, with less than a 1% chance that it could be cancer. She had surgery six months after Tyler was born, and the tumor was then found to be a type of breast cancer called a malignant phyllodes tumor and is categorized as a stage 3 sarcoma. It grew very rapidly to 7 inches in one year. There is a 60-70% chance that the cancer could spread, and if it does would require a strong chemotherapy treatment.
She is the mother of two children Tyler (15 months) and Cody (4 years). She will give it everything she has to get through this and see her little ones grow up.
Our goal is to help raise $10,000 to cover medical bills, additional testing not covered by insurance, and for out of pocket costs associated with integrative wellness programs at UCSD. We are so appreciative for your prayers and support in helping Jennifer to beat this cancer!
Jen’s Story
Hello! I’m Jennifer York and am a mother, nurse and a designer. I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend Jeremy and to be the mother to our amazing children. They are my everything.
I was so excited to start a new job designing community farms at 3 months pregnant. On my first day of work I happened to have my first maternity appointment with Tyler, and during this appointment a large breast lump was noted. I wasn’t too worried because I had a similar lump grow in the same location during my first pregnancy, which disappeared after Cody was born.
I had a biopsy which determined the lump be a giant benign fibroadenoma. There was less than 0.1% chance that it could be a rare type of cancer called a malignant phyllodes tumor, which could only be validated after being surgically removed. Thinking it was most likely benign, I waited to have surgery until after Tyler was born.
Tyler was four months old when the surgery was scheduled in May 2018 for that July. I walked into surgery thinking that by the afternoon I would be back at home lounging on the couch, watching movies and recovering. When I woke up from surgery it was a different story. What they found was very concerning. They told me it was the fastest growing tumor they had seen and it appeared to be malignant! The tumor had pretty much doubled in size over a two-month period to seven inches. I could feel it growing but had no idea it had grown that large!
A week after the lumpectomy, I had a follow up with the surgeon to discuss my pathology results. She sat down with me, looked me right in the eyes and told me it was what they had suspected - a malignant phyllodes tumor. Next steps consisted of a mastectomy, radiation treatment and potentially chemotherapy. I became overwhelmed with emotion. The surgeon's nurse came into the room afterwards and told me with great determination “you got this, you are strong, you will get through this!”.
Since this cancer is so rare, there is little scientific evidence on how to treat them with predictable outcomes. Surgery with good margins is the primary and most important treatment. Luckily, I had the legendary Dr. Anne Wallace (the Director of Breast Surgery at UCSD) remove the tumor. She is an extraordinary human being and I’m so inspired by her passion and dedication to the field. The entire tumor was cancerous all the way to the edges and it had a significant blood supply connected all around to the surrounding tissues. Three weeks after the first surgery I had a mastectomy and luckily all the remaining tissue was free of cancer.

There is some evidence that radiation may help reduce the reoccurrence of MPT. The day before Thanksgiving I completed a round of 30 radiation treatments to the chest wall at UCSD’s Moore’s Cancer Center.
I have decided to reserve chemotherapy for if metastasis occurs. The chemotherapy regimen consists of five-day hospital stays hooked up to chemo drip every 21 days for up to nine rounds. There are many potential long-term side effects including the possibility of developing a different type of cancer, early menopause, and damage to the heart and other organs. There haven’t been any double-blind studies conducted to know if the chemotherapy would be effective against MPT, so the benefit of waiting is that we can measure the tumor after treatment and know if the medicine is effective.
Major triggers that may wake up sleeping cancer cells include stress and inflammation. I'm currently engaged in evidence-based integrative programing at UCSD that can help to transform my body into an elevated state of well-being and potentially reduce the chance of the cancer spreading. I am currently taking a mind-body program, nutrition program, receive acupuncture and have entered an integrative medicine study that involves frequent testing - collecting data on the body's microbiome, biometics, nutritional status, sleep patterns and stress and inflammation bio markers. I will engage in a variety of integrative medicine treatments and document their impact on my health.
I have been studying health and wellness for many years and am a healthy person. It has been such a shock that this aggressive cancer has grown in my body. I'm determined to beat this, regain my health and to raise our beautiful kiddos. I really appreciate your support in helping me along a path to good health.
Thank you so much everybody for your love, prayers, and support!
#phyllodes
#beatcancer

Co-organizers (2)
Judith Strouse
Organizer
Poway, CA
Jennifer York
Beneficiary
Allison Conrey
Co-organizer