- J
To know my Mom, Denise, is to love her. And this story is incredibly difficult to share.
When she told us kids that she was having a breast biopsy, we sent her a few encouraging messages that it was likely nothing, as all of us daughters have had our own experiences with benign cysts - breast and otherwise. So, when the results came back on a Friday afternoon as Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), we were equally as shocked as we were scared. Little did we know, that diagnosis would be the least threatening information we would come to receive in the next few weeks.
Appointments, ultrasounds, additional biopsies, and a PET scan revealed that her diagnosis had morphed from IDC into metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Metastatic means that it has spread to other parts of her body, and triple negative means that her form of breast cancer is more aggressive, has a higher rate of recurrence, and is less likely to respond to treatment. It was bad news after bad news. And it was, and still is, devastating.
This has shaken our family to its core. My mom is the most involved mother and grandmother you could ever imagine. She’s got one child planning a wedding and one child expecting a baby boy, and she fully intends to be involved in both. She is ready to fight this evil cancer, and she has an army of love and support to fight with her. However, we are not under any delusion that this will be easy mentally, physically, or financially.
We are blessed to have friends and family who have never let my Mom feel alone in this journey. She receives messages daily from people asking how they can help. So, as a family, we decided to set up a fundraiser. Even the smallest donation would make a huge impact as we begin to see the influx of medical bills. In addition to those, the intense chemotherapy Mom is starting this week has rendered her unable to work. The funds raised here will go directly to Denise for medical bills and living expenses.
This journey will not be easy, but we have faith and the love of friends and family to help us along the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and donations!
Love,
The children of Denise Haight
When she told us kids that she was having a breast biopsy, we sent her a few encouraging messages that it was likely nothing, as all of us daughters have had our own experiences with benign cysts - breast and otherwise. So, when the results came back on a Friday afternoon as Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), we were equally as shocked as we were scared. Little did we know, that diagnosis would be the least threatening information we would come to receive in the next few weeks.
Appointments, ultrasounds, additional biopsies, and a PET scan revealed that her diagnosis had morphed from IDC into metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Metastatic means that it has spread to other parts of her body, and triple negative means that her form of breast cancer is more aggressive, has a higher rate of recurrence, and is less likely to respond to treatment. It was bad news after bad news. And it was, and still is, devastating.
This has shaken our family to its core. My mom is the most involved mother and grandmother you could ever imagine. She’s got one child planning a wedding and one child expecting a baby boy, and she fully intends to be involved in both. She is ready to fight this evil cancer, and she has an army of love and support to fight with her. However, we are not under any delusion that this will be easy mentally, physically, or financially.
We are blessed to have friends and family who have never let my Mom feel alone in this journey. She receives messages daily from people asking how they can help. So, as a family, we decided to set up a fundraiser. Even the smallest donation would make a huge impact as we begin to see the influx of medical bills. In addition to those, the intense chemotherapy Mom is starting this week has rendered her unable to work. The funds raised here will go directly to Denise for medical bills and living expenses.
This journey will not be easy, but we have faith and the love of friends and family to help us along the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and donations!
Love,
The children of Denise Haight
Organizer and beneficiary
Denise Vanderlinde Haight
Beneficiary