MY NEEDS

I am looking for financial support with my breast cancer treatment, recovery, and management costs! Any amount is helpful and will go towards my growth and development past this terrible disease. I am beyond blessed to have your support! 

MY STORY

In early March, I woke up and, in my groggy discomfort, felt a mass in my right breast. I remember running through all of the possibilities as I grew alert. I cycled through shock, fear, and confusion as I rushed to work. Living alone with the possibility of something life-threatening, however unlikely, was daunting. Figuring out my important life and career decisions had already taken longer than expected, and illness could only make things worse.

The urgent care doctors I visited first erroneously told me that the initial ultrasound came back negative, and suggested I follow up in a month. Having no further advice, I waited. Eventually, I developed other palpable lumps within the same breast. I spent my spare time after working two jobs focused strictly on my creative goals as I made peace with the possibility of cancer. During my follow up ultrasound, the urgent care doctor changed her tone, concerned by the palpable malleability of the cyst.

The initial needle biopsy revealed vascularity in the masses, and braced me for the impact of the diagnosis: a rare form of papillary carcinoma. There are only a handful of documented cases for women in their twenties in the world! Trying to find the right doctors to treat such an uncommon condition took an extra month of time, and I finally decided on UCLA. Additional biopsies took more time to schedule, and I had to wait longer than usual to figure out a treatment plan. My breast started to rapidly accumulate even more cysts. My UCLA medical team decided to perform a full mastectomy and a lymph node biopsy (determining whether the cancer was invasive). The surgery was the only way to reveal the next step of treatment.

The final decision was to perform a mastectomy, opting for a DIEP flap procedure and breast reconstruction, as opposed to artificial implants. The entire process is more intense and invasive than implants, however less complicated in the long term. First, I had to gain weight so I could accumulate enough fat in my stomach. The operation involves cutting open my stomach and taking any fat and surrounding tissue, replacing my removed breast tissue, and allowing the nerves to form new connections. The skin from my abdomen would then be pulled down and sutured to the base of where they cut into my stomach, leaving me doubled over. Over months, my skin would stretch back and allow me to resume healthy posture.

On July 31st, I arrived at UCLA at 4:30 AM, and prepared for an eight-hour procedure. I braced myself for the fact that, as with all intensive surgeries, my life was in their hands. Thankfully, the surgery went smoothly, and I began my five-day hospital stay. My body was in extreme pain, and I was barely able to sleep while nurses and doctors checked on me around the clock. Slowly, I began regaining the ability to walk and use the right side of my upper body, before returning home the following Saturday.

To emphasize the intensity of the procedure: it took me 15 minutes (with three bodily drainage tubes intact, and Oxycodone in my system!) to walk to my apartment from the building entrance. I had to replace my old twin mattress with an expensive bed which would be large enough for a structure of pillows and stiff padding. These cushions help me remain bent at a 90-degree angle, including during sleep. (This prevents the sutures from tearing and causing severe complications.) I stayed mostly in bedrest for the first few weeks except for in-home nurse, PT, and OT appointments. After a week, I was able to remove the drainage tubes. After five weeks, I finally was well enough to leave the house. At the six-week mark, I'm extremely fortunate to have been declared cancer-free. No chemo or radiation is needed, since I was informed that I found my cancer at the early stages and the surgery was a success!

Here's the thing: traveling to and from clinics, being prodded and cut, and making several lifestyle changes to improve my recovery, has built up my medical expenses. I'm doing the best I can with the time I have, but it often doesn't feel like enough. My full recovery from the mastectomy and reconstruction will take about six to eight more months. Additionally, my oncologist recommends hormone-blocking pills for the next ten years. Thankfully, I have an awesome support person staying with me to help, but we're also in similar positions. (He is disabled and is only able to stay while in recovery from his own medical issues.) It's very hard to do take care of things alone and make sense of everything, all while having little experience with a medical condition of this magnitude! I'm really proud that we've managed to keep daily things steady, but credit expenses are really the only things taking care of follow-ups. I may not be fully fit to return to the jobs I currently have, even if I run out of funds.

With the risks associated with hormonal medication, as well as the added risk of injury as my body heals, I am trying everything I can to make use of my skills to find any form of supplemental income I can use to increase my time at home. My family has been able to help a bit but sudden health issues affecting my grandparents in another country have also started to rapidly decrease my parents' savings. They may not be able to assist much longer. With your help, I may have the best possible chance of rehabilitating myself and staying on track.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

I currently am putting together funds for the hospital bills, the costs of a second opinion at another hospital, travel expenses to and from clinics, rent and utilities, added dietary costs, physical therapy, long-term medications to prevent the cancer from coming back. I also do not have a car and live alone, which adds to my stress (and in turn can make the cancer come back). As I am currently on disability leave and may be so for the next six to eight months, I will be struggling to pay these costs. I am looking at a total of at least $30,000 of added costs by my complete physical recovery from the surgery by February 2019. Again, ANY and all help you may offer, even $1, will go towards making my situation easier. Thank you!!!


Photos © Murphy Mejorada | @robotsbreathing 

For more of my journey, follow me on Instagram @flamingo.swan