Erin's Breast Cancer Recovery Fund

Our dearest Erin was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will need a double mastectomy. She is a strong mother, sister, daughter, friend and our wonderful shop mom. We have managed to make sure her surgery and medical costs are covered, but due to the seriousness of this surgery she will need to miss a substantial amount of work. This fundraiser is to help her get through the time off for two surgeries without the added stress of worrying about paying her bills and living expenses while recovering.

Erin first noticed an abnormal lump in January while giving self exam (please give self exams ladies!). Her first mammogram was in May, and they confirmed that something was amiss, at which point they scheduled a biopsy. Unfortunately, the June biopsy confirmed our worst fears, it was definitely cancerous. On June 12th, the official diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma was received and we started preparations for treatment. Initially, we thought a simpler lump-ectomy would be the best route for treatment, but a genetic test showed a genetic mutation with a predisposition to breast cancer and increased her chances of recurrence by 60%. A double mastectomy will cut that recurrence  chance by 90%, so with lots of thought and consideration, she has made the hard decision to go with the double mastectomy.

Her first surgery is tentatively scheduled for August 17th, and she will need to have 4-6 weeks of recovery after that surgery. Most of that will be ordered bed rest with a stay at home order of at least 4 weeks, and we would like her to stay home for the full 6 weeks to recover fully. The first surgery will include the placement of "expanders" to take the place of removed material, and in 3-6 months she will need another surgery to permanently replace the expanders with implants, requiring another 2-4 weeks off of work.

Like many of us, Erin struggles with accepting help, especially financial. If our little shop family had the resources, we would cover her entirely, but this is why community is so important. We are trying to raise $6000 to cover her expenses and get her through her two surgeries, and as hard as it is to ask, we all greatly appreciate any help for our shop mom and close friend.