Cancer Fund for Betty Ledbetter

In March 2013, Mama (Betty Ledbetter) was placed in the hospital with a severe staph infection that had spread to her blood system.  She was placed on IV antibiotics.  The staph infection was also found in a muscle in her hip and in her finger.  She had surgery for this.  She was at Northside Cherokee for approximately three weeks.  She was then placed in the Brian Center for rehab.  While in the Brian Center, she had a CT scan of her right hip and a mass was detected in her breast.  She went and had a biospy of that.  During this time, she had started having severe back pain and was sent for an MRI of her back.   The biopsy report and MRI report came back the same day.  The mass was triple negative breast cancer and the MRI showed a pocket of infection on her spine.  She was taken to Kennestone Hospital and it was noted that she also had infection in her hip.  She was admitted to Kennestone Hospital.  She was there approximately five weeks.  During this time, she had surgery on her spine and surgery on her hip.  The staph infection had returned.  The infection had eaten the hip socket out and we were told she would probably never walk again.  She was so weak, the breast cancer could not be treated.  She was sent back to the Brian Center.  In September, she was finally strong enough to have surgery for the breast cancer.  She had a mastectomy and radiation.  In April of 2015, another lump was found in her left chest wall.  It was biopsied and the breast cancer was back.  She then had chemo for this.  She has been in the hospital multiple times during the last three years.  She had a hip surgery to try and rebuild her hip that was unsuccessful.  Last year, she was admitted for high calcium levels.  Last month, she began experiencing pain in the left and right chest.  A CT scan was done and  lesions were found on her right lung and the upper lobe of her liver.  A PET scan was done.  The results showed cancer in her left chest wall as well as metastatic cancer in her right lung and possibly her liver.  She is having a biopsy on April 19 and will then have to have chemotherapy for three months after that.  We will use the money raised from this for medical bills as well as helping pay her everyday bills.  Mama has been through so much in the last three years and she constantly is worrying about finances and how to pay for all the medical expenses.  With this account, we are trying to take some of the financial stress off of her.