“The Second Act” Megan’s Cancer Treatment Fund
Donation protected
We do our very best everyday to put a smile on our faces. Put on big girl boots and trek through this thing called life. But sometimes, the trek gets harder than you could ever imagine but even then you power-through because you know God wouldn’t put more on you than you could handle.
I was two months shy of my 16th birthday when I was first diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease. I had gone into the doctor for a routine physical and he discovered a golfball sized lump in my neck. After numerous tests and a biopsy to remove the lump it was confirmed that I had cancer. It broke my family’s heart. Cancer? What? We had never experienced something like this and in me of all people? I mean, I was a teenager for crying out loud. I remember my mother asking the doctor a list of questions as I just sat there unable to speak or even move as the shock of the diagnosis pierced through my veins. I started Chemo just one week after that.
My hair started to fall out just weeks after my first treatment. My fingernails turned jet black and I was sick more often than not. I was in high school at the time so I did my best to remain as upbeat as possible, I mean who wants to be “the girl with cancer” ..everyone looking at you, asking you questions, etc.. so I begged my close friends and family not to tell people because I just wanted to be as “normal” as possible.
Eventually I was missing so much school being in and out of the hospital that my parents had to tell my teachers about my diagnosis. After a year of chemo and six months of radiation I was informed that I was in remission. I would be able to go off to college and not worry about 5-hour chemo treatments or traveling an hour over the highway everyday for radiation. I was free!!
I went for my yearly checkups like clockwork and kept getting good news. I was ecstatic when I turned 28 because that meant I was 10 years cancer free. What a milestone! I thought that feeling would last forever and then it happened my biggest fear became my realest reality. Back in January after having my thyroid and two tumors removed the doctors discovered that my cancer had returned. It had spread beyond my thyroid into my chest and lungs. Stage 3. I cried and I cried. Here I was 30 years old. Newly engaged. Working the job of my dreams and I have cancer AGAIN? Why??
This time it wasn’t my mother holding my hand as I got the news, she had passed away nine years earlier, it was my fiancé, Justin. He asked the probing questions just like my mother had all those years ago. The doctor said that because I had radiation so early in life it left me at higher risk for breast cancer. Having radiation at such a young age compromised my ovaries, and since I was too young at the time to freeze my eggs the likelihood of me having children was slim to none.
At first I refused to do chemo. There was no way I was going to go through that process all over again. I knew first hand the effects it had on the body and the thought of having to experience that again made me sick to my stomach. So, my doctor suggested immunotherapy. This would essentially attempt to build my immune system so that it could be strong enough to fight off the cancer. After three cycles and a double lumpectomy from my both breasts the doctors informed me that the immunotherapy wasn’t working like they had hoped and that it was important that we start chemo as soon as possible. I couldn’t believe it! Here we were back where we started with Chemo being my only option.
The doctors scheduled a brain scan, chest scan, and two ultrasounds prior to my first cycle of Chemo. I am now three cycles into my new treatment and it’s a lot.
This has taken a toll on me both mentally and physically. I have done my very best to put on a brave face for my family, friends, colleagues and anyone else who looks to me for support but honestly I’m scared. My faith in God has carried me and I will continue to rely on Him throughout this journey, but I’m also going to rely on the people that God has placed in my life. Your encouragement, your prayers, and your love has helped more than you know.
My fiancé and I are very prideful people. We work full-time. Everything we do goes towards our mortgage, monthly bills, etc.. but when you add Chemo treatments to the equation it changes things A LOT! One cycle alone cost over $12,000 and that’s not including scans, surgeries, and my medication. It’s overwhelming and unfortunately insurance only covers so much. It’s hard enough fighting this battle again but it’s even harder when you have to consider all the financial strain it puts on you. Any donation no matter how small will help pay for treatments and these unexpected medical bills. Your prayers mean more than any dollar amount you could ever donate. So please keep me and my family in your prayers!!
I love you all so much!
Write that down.
I was two months shy of my 16th birthday when I was first diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease. I had gone into the doctor for a routine physical and he discovered a golfball sized lump in my neck. After numerous tests and a biopsy to remove the lump it was confirmed that I had cancer. It broke my family’s heart. Cancer? What? We had never experienced something like this and in me of all people? I mean, I was a teenager for crying out loud. I remember my mother asking the doctor a list of questions as I just sat there unable to speak or even move as the shock of the diagnosis pierced through my veins. I started Chemo just one week after that.
My hair started to fall out just weeks after my first treatment. My fingernails turned jet black and I was sick more often than not. I was in high school at the time so I did my best to remain as upbeat as possible, I mean who wants to be “the girl with cancer” ..everyone looking at you, asking you questions, etc.. so I begged my close friends and family not to tell people because I just wanted to be as “normal” as possible.
Eventually I was missing so much school being in and out of the hospital that my parents had to tell my teachers about my diagnosis. After a year of chemo and six months of radiation I was informed that I was in remission. I would be able to go off to college and not worry about 5-hour chemo treatments or traveling an hour over the highway everyday for radiation. I was free!!
I went for my yearly checkups like clockwork and kept getting good news. I was ecstatic when I turned 28 because that meant I was 10 years cancer free. What a milestone! I thought that feeling would last forever and then it happened my biggest fear became my realest reality. Back in January after having my thyroid and two tumors removed the doctors discovered that my cancer had returned. It had spread beyond my thyroid into my chest and lungs. Stage 3. I cried and I cried. Here I was 30 years old. Newly engaged. Working the job of my dreams and I have cancer AGAIN? Why??
This time it wasn’t my mother holding my hand as I got the news, she had passed away nine years earlier, it was my fiancé, Justin. He asked the probing questions just like my mother had all those years ago. The doctor said that because I had radiation so early in life it left me at higher risk for breast cancer. Having radiation at such a young age compromised my ovaries, and since I was too young at the time to freeze my eggs the likelihood of me having children was slim to none.
At first I refused to do chemo. There was no way I was going to go through that process all over again. I knew first hand the effects it had on the body and the thought of having to experience that again made me sick to my stomach. So, my doctor suggested immunotherapy. This would essentially attempt to build my immune system so that it could be strong enough to fight off the cancer. After three cycles and a double lumpectomy from my both breasts the doctors informed me that the immunotherapy wasn’t working like they had hoped and that it was important that we start chemo as soon as possible. I couldn’t believe it! Here we were back where we started with Chemo being my only option.
The doctors scheduled a brain scan, chest scan, and two ultrasounds prior to my first cycle of Chemo. I am now three cycles into my new treatment and it’s a lot.
This has taken a toll on me both mentally and physically. I have done my very best to put on a brave face for my family, friends, colleagues and anyone else who looks to me for support but honestly I’m scared. My faith in God has carried me and I will continue to rely on Him throughout this journey, but I’m also going to rely on the people that God has placed in my life. Your encouragement, your prayers, and your love has helped more than you know.
My fiancé and I are very prideful people. We work full-time. Everything we do goes towards our mortgage, monthly bills, etc.. but when you add Chemo treatments to the equation it changes things A LOT! One cycle alone cost over $12,000 and that’s not including scans, surgeries, and my medication. It’s overwhelming and unfortunately insurance only covers so much. It’s hard enough fighting this battle again but it’s even harder when you have to consider all the financial strain it puts on you. Any donation no matter how small will help pay for treatments and these unexpected medical bills. Your prayers mean more than any dollar amount you could ever donate. So please keep me and my family in your prayers!!
I love you all so much!
Write that down.
Organizer
Megan Marie
Organizer
San Antonio, TX
