Hi everyone,

My name is Ara Apoyan and I am fundraising for my wife Karine, who's been diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. The first time she was diagnosed with breast cancer stage 0 (zero) was in March, 2015. It had a size of 6 millimeters (0.23 inches), was about the of size of a dry pea. The treatment was radiation. After completion of radiation and removal of the cancer her doctor prescribed her Tamoxifen (a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) medication used to treat breast cancer in men and women and as a prophylactic agent against breast cancer in women). They told us that taking Tamoxifen will reduce the chance of cancer recurrence by 5% if she takes it every day for 5 years. Karine has been taking Tamoxifen since then for 5 years every single day. She was finally cancer free and started to enjoy her life with me and 2 children. For those who are not familiar with side effects of that drug, here are the most common ones: hot flashes, nausea, joint pain, blood clots, menstrual irregularities, depression, vaginal bleeding, weakness, lost of appetite, excess sweating, hair loss, dizziness and many others. My wife has experienced most of these side effects. We were able to hide her illness from our children. She was cancer free for 9 years.

On December 30, 2023 she was scheduled for an MRI, which showed no sign of cancer. However, 3-4 weeks after the MRI she started to complain about strange pain in her breast and discoloration at the bottom of her breast where the skin became unusually thick. After informing her doctor about it she was scheduled for CT scan which showed that she has stage IIIb cancer with a size of 1.7 cm ( 0.66 inches - about the size of a thumb nail).

Of course it was shocking news for all of us and we realized that we're going to face very difficult times. They prescribed 22 weeks of chemotherapy and after that they going to perform a cancer removal surgery and double mastectomy.

I work as a contractor for one of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley. And because I am a contractor my salary is much less than a full time employee. During the pandemic we've learned that all big companies in Silicon Valley will allow their employees to work remotely, or at least hybrid. Also, noticing the crazy rent increases in San Francisco where we were living since our arrival to the US in 2001 we decided to buy a house in the Central Valley of California and instead of paying big money for rent we could pay for the mortgage.

First, I was allowed to work remotely but my wife was struggling to find a job here in Merced, California. Then my employer informed me that working remotely is no longer an option and I should work from the office.

Since October, 2022 I have spend almost 3 hours each way from Merced, CA to San Jose, CA and spend the whole day working in the office. Basically, I come home just for sleep till 3:15 AM every workday when my alarm goes off and I take the road.

With all that said, I need to take my PTO hours every time in order to take my wife to chemotherapy and every national holiday during which there is no shuttle service on buses to my office. I drive every workday from Merced, CA to Modesto and take company's bus to San Jose, CA (2.5-3 hours) . I ran out of PTOs a long time ago and used unpaid time off in order to take care of my wife - love of my life for 29 years. This is my outcry for help and to raise some money for my wife's medical bills and my situation.

Every cent is greatly appreciated.

God bless you!

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Ara.