Oh sh*t. It's cancer.
Donation protected
The Short Story
What happens when you get engaged, laid off, and diagnosed with breast cancer all in the same week? Yeah... I’m not sure, either!

The Long Story
Last January I dedicated my 33rd year to prioritizing my health and my mind. In February I started a new job as a women's health social worker in Pittsburgh while continuing to teach yoga in the evenings. March left me with a fibromyalgia diagnosis. I began a treatment plan in April that included physical & occupational therapy, medication management, talk therapy, and weekly appointments. Prompted by my family’s medical history, I elected to undergo genetic cancer screening in June. I lost my dad to pancreatic cancer when I was 23 (2018 was the 10th anniversary of his passing), as well as his mother and her three sisters to breast cancer before they reached the age of 45.

My screen revealed a BRCA2 gene mutation, which prompted mammogram #1 on September 15th & recall mammogram #2 on September 27th. Round two uncovered abnormal imaging and cued biopsies on each side. Sierra and I were scheduled to leave one day later for our vacation, where we would become engaged. I was advised to schedule my first biopsy for the Monday following our return. While at home recovering from that biopsy, I was laid off from my job and informed that I would lose my health insurance at the end of that month. The pathology results came back four days later.

It's cancer.
Despite all of the questions that have come up, I'm certain that I need to accept a new reality. I'll be unable to secure employment until I recover from my bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction, radiation, and possible chemotherapy. I turned 34 two days after surgery. My fertility doctor prescribed back-to-back cycles of hormone injections and egg retrievals in order to expedite the IVF process for my fiance and I. All of the above-mentioned procedures cost as much in dollars as they do time and sanity, yet are necessary in order to mitigate the side effects of treatment and give me any sort of chance at having kids in the future. This will all be in addition to the general cost of living a life, of course. Sort of like a, "Bi*ch-I-know-cancer-is-extra", type of situation.

I’ve always prided myself on being an independent, “I-can-do-it-myself” type of woman. It goes without saying that it’s entirely out of my comfort zone to ask for help. My new reality has shown me that this type of pride can be driven by poor self-worth and shame. In the past, I’ve sacrificed plenty of comfort zones in an effort to impact and be impacted by this big, beautiful, wild world. So, fuck it...
GOODBYE COMFORT ZONE

I have cancer and I need your help.
My family needs your help. Every cent counts right now and each one means more than I can convey. All of the thank yous and all of the love to yinz.
We got this.
Instagram: @yinz_and_yang
What happens when you get engaged, laid off, and diagnosed with breast cancer all in the same week? Yeah... I’m not sure, either!
The Long Story
Last January I dedicated my 33rd year to prioritizing my health and my mind. In February I started a new job as a women's health social worker in Pittsburgh while continuing to teach yoga in the evenings. March left me with a fibromyalgia diagnosis. I began a treatment plan in April that included physical & occupational therapy, medication management, talk therapy, and weekly appointments. Prompted by my family’s medical history, I elected to undergo genetic cancer screening in June. I lost my dad to pancreatic cancer when I was 23 (2018 was the 10th anniversary of his passing), as well as his mother and her three sisters to breast cancer before they reached the age of 45.
My screen revealed a BRCA2 gene mutation, which prompted mammogram #1 on September 15th & recall mammogram #2 on September 27th. Round two uncovered abnormal imaging and cued biopsies on each side. Sierra and I were scheduled to leave one day later for our vacation, where we would become engaged. I was advised to schedule my first biopsy for the Monday following our return. While at home recovering from that biopsy, I was laid off from my job and informed that I would lose my health insurance at the end of that month. The pathology results came back four days later.
It's cancer.
Despite all of the questions that have come up, I'm certain that I need to accept a new reality. I'll be unable to secure employment until I recover from my bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction, radiation, and possible chemotherapy. I turned 34 two days after surgery. My fertility doctor prescribed back-to-back cycles of hormone injections and egg retrievals in order to expedite the IVF process for my fiance and I. All of the above-mentioned procedures cost as much in dollars as they do time and sanity, yet are necessary in order to mitigate the side effects of treatment and give me any sort of chance at having kids in the future. This will all be in addition to the general cost of living a life, of course. Sort of like a, "Bi*ch-I-know-cancer-is-extra", type of situation.
I’ve always prided myself on being an independent, “I-can-do-it-myself” type of woman. It goes without saying that it’s entirely out of my comfort zone to ask for help. My new reality has shown me that this type of pride can be driven by poor self-worth and shame. In the past, I’ve sacrificed plenty of comfort zones in an effort to impact and be impacted by this big, beautiful, wild world. So, fuck it...
GOODBYE COMFORT ZONE
 I have cancer and I need your help.
My family needs your help. Every cent counts right now and each one means more than I can convey. All of the thank yous and all of the love to yinz.
We got this.
Instagram: @yinz_and_yangOrganizer
Julie Young
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA
