Hey everyone!

This is Tamar here, and I never imagined I’d be writing this. In October 2023, I felt a pea-sized lump in my left breast. With a family history of breast cancer, I had my suspicions—but I still held onto hope that it was nothing serious. After undergoing months of tests and four biopsies, I finally received confirmation in January 2024: invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 2, grade 3 breast cancer.

Since then, my world has been turned upside down. I started treatment with two very aggressive chemotherapies and two targeted therapies, and the side effects were brutal. I experienced extreme lethargy, body soreness, dizziness, diarrhea, appetite loss, taste changes, neuropathy, and more. Losing most of my hair was a devastating blow, but that was just the beginning.

After my third treatment, I couldn’t keep any food down—and soon, I couldn’t even keep liquids down. I lost the ability to stand or walk, and even sitting up became a struggle. The dizziness was unbearable; the room spun anytime I wasn’t lying completely still. My body was shutting down, and I was wasting away. From March to May I lost 24 pounds and eventually ended up in the hospital.

At that point, I knew something had to change. I made the difficult decision to discontinue chemotherapy; It was doing a great job of shrinking the tumor, but it was doing more harm than good. I continued with targeted therapy while focusing on recovering enough to get cleared for surgery.

Moving forward to July, I was ready for surgery and opted for a double mastectomy and the first part of reconstructive surgery, so I currently have tissue expanders in place. The goal was to replace them with implants, but unfortunately, my port was initially placed too low, causing the expanders to push against it. Because of the risk of the port getting dislodged, my reconstruction surgery will likely have to wait until after I finish treatment.

I am still undergoing treatment—now a combination of targeted therapy and a milder chemotherapy. While I still experience some side effects, they are not nearly as severe as those from my pre-surgery treatments.

On top of that, I am still dealing with the physical toll of surgery. I have nerve damage in my chest and left armpit/arm, swelling and pain in my chest, and a significant loss of range of motion and pain in my shoulders. I am currently doing physical therapy to regain full movement and manage the discomfort, but it’s a slow and challenging process.

Thankfully, my insurance has covered the majority of my medical costs, which has been a huge relief. However, there are still out-of-pocket expenses that insurance does not cover, and that is what I’m asking for help with. The amount I’m requesting will go toward these remaining medical costs and transportation for treatments while I remain unable to work.

Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference and help ease the financial burden so I can focus on healing. If you’re unable to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser with your network would mean the world to me.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your kindness, generosity, and love during this time. I truly appreciate every single one of you.

With gratitude,

Tamar