Support for the Kelly Patterson Family

Matia is in the middle of active treatment for breast cancer. Unfortunately she was found to have high risk, locally advanced breast cancer, so her journey will be very long, very intense and she will need to fight against recurrence for the rest of her life. In November and December she underwent preoperative endocrine therapy, and in January she had a double mastectomy. A week later Matia had serious complications and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove a liter-sized hematoma, followed by a blood transfusion. It's been an indescribably difficult time and as one of her surgeons said after the emergency surgery, she has fulfilled her drama quota for a lifetime.

In a couple weeks chemo will start. Possibly radiation after that (this was a huge debate when her case was presented at the tumor board), 2-3 more surgeries and then 7-10 years of ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitor treatment (the most aggressive option) after that. There are so many major things happening at once it makes our heads spin. Her body is going through so much and due to the time-sensitive nature of breast cancer treatment and the complexity of her case, she is always working on this and it’s hard to rest. It is a huge disruption to our life in many, many ways, not to mention terrifying. Our community has been amazing and has seriously carried us through so much, and there is unfortunately more to come. Matia is often brought to tears about the support and depth of care we have been shown. Nevertheless, the demand of this major diagnosis continues to outpace our capacity and we so look forward to the day where that changes.

The help we need evolves all the time as treatment evolves. If you want to run an idea by us, share a resource with us, or just pass a kind word to Matia, please send it to [email redacted]

The girls have an wishlist of activities and learning materials: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2C4J6GX5HNN33

And Matia has a wishlist of recovery and chemo items: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3VP1BP30W8VIO?ref_=wl_share

Thank you ❤️