SURVIVING MALPRACTICE WHILE FIGHTING CANCER

Hello my name is Bianca, I am 21 years old and I was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma  stage 2 in my left leg which has metastasized to the lungs. It all began in June of 2017 when I went to my local hospital for a golf ball sized bump that appeared on my leg. The doctor requested an ultrasound and then told me that I had a cyst. The doctor continued to tell me how I could pop this cyst by just hitting it hard. As time went by the bump continued to grow. I returned to my local hospital in November of 2017 because at this time the bump was the size of a tennis ball. The doctor did another ultrasound and decided to puncture the bump. The doctor then said that it was an infection under the skin and sent me home with antibiotics. Time continued on, fast forwarding to January of 2018 when I went to a hospital that was 45 mins away from home at this time the bump was the size of an orange . The doctor immediately did an ultrasound and stated that something did not look normal. He continued to do a CT Scan and told me that I needed to get further testing done due to abnormal findings.  Time continued on and between fighting with medical insurance and trying to get seen by an oncologist, the bump on my leg continued to grow and reached the size of a cantaloupe. In early June, I was finally able to see my oncologist which then did a biopsy to confirm the type of cancer I have. On June 12th, 2019 I was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma stage 2. On June 16th of 2018 I went into the hospital due to  loosing blood because my skin had stretched out so much it because paper thin. I returned to my oncologist office on July 5th of 2018 to remove stitches from a port surgery. At this time my doctor told me that I needed to have emergency surgery to remove the malignant tumor. On July 9th,2018, I had surgery to remove the malignant tumor as well as to have reconstructive surgery.  After being in the hospital for a week and a half I was finally released and sent home. I was unable to stand for more than 15 mins at a time.  The following week I started Chemotherapy which continued on until September. I was then disconnected from my treatment due to having my port being infected. I continued to battle with my insurance to get my port removed. In January of 2019 I went to my local hospital due to having chills, fever, and extreme nausea. I was given oral antibiotics and was sent home. Finally in February of 2019, I was approved to have surgery to remove the infected port. In June of 2019 I began radiation to finish killing off any malignant cells in my leg.  On June 27th, 2019 I started a clinical trail which seemed to work. In the month of July I had a very intense emotional breakdown due to having  stress and being scared.Unfortunately, on September 19th I had a scan done which then showed us that the treatment was no longer working and the nodules in my lungs were growing. October of 2019 I was tested for another clinical trail, unfortunately I did not qualify for this trail.  To this day I am still trying to get treatment to continue my road to recovery. 

The purpose of me doing this is because I am medically in debt. My mother comes to all of my appointments and due to this she is unable to work. She has always supported me, and feeling helpless and unable to help financially is very overwhelming.  Due to having to undergo different clinical trial treatments I have stopped working. I must travel to Santa Monica 1 to 3 times a week.  The distance to my oncologist office is  70 miles away from home. Not only do we have to pay for gas but we must also pay parking fees. Family and friends have helped me pay for these fees as well as using credit cards. I have had to put a hold on my life due to having cancer, I am unable to continue my education and attend college. My family had told me about asking for help but I have finally decided to ask for help, Anything is greatly appreciated. May God bless you.