- R
As some of you may know already, my mom Andrea was recently diagnosed with stage 3 Breast Cancer. Her form of cancer is rare and very aggressive. She has Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. If you do not know much about it, this type of cancer is going to be a tough battle but it is one we as a family are prepared to fight.
She has agreed to be apart of a clinical trial which will hopefully help a new procedure get an FDA approval for future breast cancer patients. This clinical trial means she will be battling this cancer for a year, due to the additional chemo treatments and additional testing she needs to do weekly that this trial adds on. With that being said she will be out of work for the next year. Monty, her fiancé, has decided to take off work in Alaska until January in order to be with her at this most crucial time. The decision to not go back to work in is difficult to make when concerning money, but an important one to help my mom through this battle.
In an effort to keep my mom and Monty together during this battle, and help them out with the out of pocket medical expenses this dreaded disease burdens people with. We as a family are asking for your help with financial support so that she can focus on her treatment without the additional stress of bills.
My mom is the most kind, loving, wonderful mother and grandmother. She is so very loved by everyone she comes in contact with and deserves to be able to feel as comfortable as possible while fighting this aggressive form of cancer.
I refuse to lose my mom to this disease and I am confident that she will be a survivor along with many others who have fought this battle. Thank you all in advance for your support, our family is so lucky to have you along for this journey with us.
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UPDATE: September 18th, 2020
We are all SO happy to finally be able to write this update for everyone. As of September 9th, my mom has finally finished her very LAST chemotherapy treatment!! The FDA trial my mom was apart of was amazing and did exactly what it needed to do. She is CANCER FREE! Our family is so extremely happy that she has overcome so many challenges this last year and was able to kick cancer's ASS.
Although she was able to to win this battle, her journey is not over just yet.
She still needs to attend physical therapy on her arm due to radiation tightening up some cords and needs to work on getting full movement back. Once she does she, she moves on to physical therapy on her foot! (Which is has recently broken due to a small fall. But since her bones are so brittle from chemo, that small fall made a big impact on her foot)
Additionally, due to her being apart of a FDA trial, she will be seen by her cancer team for the next 10 years. This is because her type of cancer has a chance of coming back. But if it does come back, we are hopeful to find it right away and nip it in the butt. We are so very thankful that her team will be monitoring and watching over her for so long!!
We want to thank you all SO MUCH for all the love and support. It truly has helped us as a family get through this tough battle! Thank you all that have donated, your generous donations have helped more than you can imagine.
We are still facing large medical bills for treatments and physical therapy. With that being said, we are still accepting donations! We ask that you please share this page or donate if possible!
THANK YOU!! <3
Below are a few pictures from her very LAST chemo treatment!
Below are pictures from my trip back home to Oregon last week!
*I am so thankful to have recently traveled home to Oregon for a week to FINALLY be able to see her again. We had a great time celebrating her beating cancer! This was my first time being able to see her since treatment (due to COVID it was not safe for me to travel home to see her) so this trip home was much needed!*
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UPDATE: June 1st, 2020
My mother had her lumpectomy surgery in March and it went great! She recovered well and went straight into a full month of radiation (every single day), along with her chemotherapy treatments every Thursday. She is officially finished with radiation and will continue the chemo treatments until mid September. She also recently has started her physical therapy sessions.
Due to unexpected bills that occurred from her surgery, we ask that you all continue to share this page and donate if possible!!
Thank you all so much for the continued love and support you have shown our family during these trying times. Hope you all are staying safe and healthy!
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UPDATE: January 2nd, 2020
~HAPPY NEW YEAR~
Our family wanted to wish you all a Happy 2020 and Happy Holidays! We hope you all had a wonderful time and was able to spend it with your family. I (Katie) got the chance to fly back home for the Christmas for two weeks to see everyone. I had a great time back home visiting and it was great to see how my mom has been doing in person again.
We truly appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers, along with all your kind donations and support! It means the world to us all. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. While visiting back home, I witnessed truly how hard this disease can be on someone. There were days where my mom simply couldn't do much of anything at all due to how hard it was attacking her. My mom has started her first round of her new chemo drug and it has taken a toll on her. It has dropped her immune system so low that she has been unable to continue her chemo treatments for the time being. Her body has to work even harder now to get back to the place it needs to be in order to continue, this includes her having to self-inject herself with shots that should help but haven't seemed to do much yet. We are hoping to get her back to the chemo treatments as soon as possible.
Monty, her fiancé, has been staying home from work in Alaska in order to help her through everything. Unfortunately, with both of them not being able to work, they have no steady income coming in. This means that this month it is time that he will need to go back to Alaska to work again. Meaning my mom will be home alone, fighting against this horrible disease by herself. We are praying her body starts to react better to this new chemo drug before he leaves, so she is not stuck with the worst parts by herself.
My mom has a long journey ahead of her, including surgery in the next month or so, more chemo, and radiation. With that being said, we ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Please continue sharing this page so we can do our best to support her through this difficult battle.
Thank you all so much again! Happy 2020!
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UPDATE: October 10th, 2019
~BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH~
I got the chance to fly back home to Oregon (for those of you who don't know, I currently attend ASU and am living in Arizona) to visit with my mom and check in. It was a short trip but a great one.
Chemo has been going great, so far the cancer in her breasts have shrunk 50%. Which is GREAT news. But chemo will still need to be continued for at least 4 months. My mom, for the most part, has been feeling pretty good so far. Some days are worse than others, which is to be expected. Her hair was supposed to start falling out 14-21 days once chemo started and it decided to drastically fall out on the 22nd. She has now shaved her hair off. I was able to send her a wig while in AZ and during my trip home we went and got her another one. This is definitely a tough transition for her and she is trying her hardest to navigate her way through it. I will post pictures of them below soon!
We are still looking for ways to raise more money, whether through gofundme or by reaching out to other breast cancer organizations that provide financial help. If anyone has any good insights or ideas, feel free to send them my way! I would love to hear them.
With the spirit of it being breast cancer awareness month, we ask for everyone to make sure you and your family members are being checked to make sure you can stay away from this horrible disease.
Please keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers!
Once again, thank you everyone for your continuous love and support!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome baby Hunter to the world!! This is Kyle's second baby boy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In case you would like to read more about this rare form of cancer, I have attached links below)
https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/triple-negative-breast-cancer
https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/idc
She has agreed to be apart of a clinical trial which will hopefully help a new procedure get an FDA approval for future breast cancer patients. This clinical trial means she will be battling this cancer for a year, due to the additional chemo treatments and additional testing she needs to do weekly that this trial adds on. With that being said she will be out of work for the next year. Monty, her fiancé, has decided to take off work in Alaska until January in order to be with her at this most crucial time. The decision to not go back to work in is difficult to make when concerning money, but an important one to help my mom through this battle.
In an effort to keep my mom and Monty together during this battle, and help them out with the out of pocket medical expenses this dreaded disease burdens people with. We as a family are asking for your help with financial support so that she can focus on her treatment without the additional stress of bills.
My mom is the most kind, loving, wonderful mother and grandmother. She is so very loved by everyone she comes in contact with and deserves to be able to feel as comfortable as possible while fighting this aggressive form of cancer.
I refuse to lose my mom to this disease and I am confident that she will be a survivor along with many others who have fought this battle. Thank you all in advance for your support, our family is so lucky to have you along for this journey with us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: September 18th, 2020
We are all SO happy to finally be able to write this update for everyone. As of September 9th, my mom has finally finished her very LAST chemotherapy treatment!! The FDA trial my mom was apart of was amazing and did exactly what it needed to do. She is CANCER FREE! Our family is so extremely happy that she has overcome so many challenges this last year and was able to kick cancer's ASS.
Although she was able to to win this battle, her journey is not over just yet.
She still needs to attend physical therapy on her arm due to radiation tightening up some cords and needs to work on getting full movement back. Once she does she, she moves on to physical therapy on her foot! (Which is has recently broken due to a small fall. But since her bones are so brittle from chemo, that small fall made a big impact on her foot)
Additionally, due to her being apart of a FDA trial, she will be seen by her cancer team for the next 10 years. This is because her type of cancer has a chance of coming back. But if it does come back, we are hopeful to find it right away and nip it in the butt. We are so very thankful that her team will be monitoring and watching over her for so long!!
We want to thank you all SO MUCH for all the love and support. It truly has helped us as a family get through this tough battle! Thank you all that have donated, your generous donations have helped more than you can imagine.
We are still facing large medical bills for treatments and physical therapy. With that being said, we are still accepting donations! We ask that you please share this page or donate if possible!
THANK YOU!! <3
Below are a few pictures from her very LAST chemo treatment!
Below are pictures from my trip back home to Oregon last week!
*I am so thankful to have recently traveled home to Oregon for a week to FINALLY be able to see her again. We had a great time celebrating her beating cancer! This was my first time being able to see her since treatment (due to COVID it was not safe for me to travel home to see her) so this trip home was much needed!*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: June 1st, 2020
My mother had her lumpectomy surgery in March and it went great! She recovered well and went straight into a full month of radiation (every single day), along with her chemotherapy treatments every Thursday. She is officially finished with radiation and will continue the chemo treatments until mid September. She also recently has started her physical therapy sessions.
Due to unexpected bills that occurred from her surgery, we ask that you all continue to share this page and donate if possible!!
Thank you all so much for the continued love and support you have shown our family during these trying times. Hope you all are staying safe and healthy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: January 2nd, 2020
~HAPPY NEW YEAR~
Our family wanted to wish you all a Happy 2020 and Happy Holidays! We hope you all had a wonderful time and was able to spend it with your family. I (Katie) got the chance to fly back home for the Christmas for two weeks to see everyone. I had a great time back home visiting and it was great to see how my mom has been doing in person again.
We truly appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers, along with all your kind donations and support! It means the world to us all. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. While visiting back home, I witnessed truly how hard this disease can be on someone. There were days where my mom simply couldn't do much of anything at all due to how hard it was attacking her. My mom has started her first round of her new chemo drug and it has taken a toll on her. It has dropped her immune system so low that she has been unable to continue her chemo treatments for the time being. Her body has to work even harder now to get back to the place it needs to be in order to continue, this includes her having to self-inject herself with shots that should help but haven't seemed to do much yet. We are hoping to get her back to the chemo treatments as soon as possible.
Monty, her fiancé, has been staying home from work in Alaska in order to help her through everything. Unfortunately, with both of them not being able to work, they have no steady income coming in. This means that this month it is time that he will need to go back to Alaska to work again. Meaning my mom will be home alone, fighting against this horrible disease by herself. We are praying her body starts to react better to this new chemo drug before he leaves, so she is not stuck with the worst parts by herself.
My mom has a long journey ahead of her, including surgery in the next month or so, more chemo, and radiation. With that being said, we ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Please continue sharing this page so we can do our best to support her through this difficult battle.
Thank you all so much again! Happy 2020!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: October 10th, 2019
~BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH~
I got the chance to fly back home to Oregon (for those of you who don't know, I currently attend ASU and am living in Arizona) to visit with my mom and check in. It was a short trip but a great one.
Chemo has been going great, so far the cancer in her breasts have shrunk 50%. Which is GREAT news. But chemo will still need to be continued for at least 4 months. My mom, for the most part, has been feeling pretty good so far. Some days are worse than others, which is to be expected. Her hair was supposed to start falling out 14-21 days once chemo started and it decided to drastically fall out on the 22nd. She has now shaved her hair off. I was able to send her a wig while in AZ and during my trip home we went and got her another one. This is definitely a tough transition for her and she is trying her hardest to navigate her way through it. I will post pictures of them below soon!
We are still looking for ways to raise more money, whether through gofundme or by reaching out to other breast cancer organizations that provide financial help. If anyone has any good insights or ideas, feel free to send them my way! I would love to hear them.
With the spirit of it being breast cancer awareness month, we ask for everyone to make sure you and your family members are being checked to make sure you can stay away from this horrible disease.
Please keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers!
Once again, thank you everyone for your continuous love and support!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome baby Hunter to the world!! This is Kyle's second baby boy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In case you would like to read more about this rare form of cancer, I have attached links below)
https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/triple-negative-breast-cancer
https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/idc