Brenda's Battle Fund
Donation protected
Our mother, Brenda Palasch, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in August of 2013 at the age of 51. And her battle thus so far has been quite a roller coaster ride…physically, emotionally and financially.
Brenda underwent a single mastectomy in September 2013 which came with some complications. A secondary malignant neoplasm of the pleura was found, which is basically cancer cells that had spread to the lung area. This then led to a pleural effusion—the accumulation of an abnormal amount of pleural fluid in the chest cavity space, which caused her left lung to collapse. She was treated at the University of Penn for the lung issues, despite great efforts they were unable to save her lung. She spent months with a tube through her side to drain all the excess fluid. Now going back to the mastectomy, as the breast was being removed the doctors discovered that one of the tumors had attached itself to breast muscle. They had recommended she undergo radiation, but unfortunately due to the loss of lung they determined that she would not be strong enough to withstand the treatment. They were hopeful that frequent doses of chemotherapy would be beneficial. She then began chemo and remained on this regiment for about a year. We saw some good results from chemo and some bad. The good being her cancer level was decreasing, but the bad being the toll it was taking on her body. She chose to take a break from chemo at the end of 2014, with the okay from her doctor of course. He has been closely monitoring her and she goes for a PET scan every 3 months.The last scan which was in April did reveal an increased level of cancer, but the doctor is not too worried. He believes that with the Tamoxifen she is taking that she could all of sudden go from seeing no results to a big drop, so we just keep praying. However if the next screen continues to show this increase, she will most likely return to the chemotherapy.
Brenda worked for 20+ years as a residential aide at the ARC of Cape May County, she loved her job and especially the residents she worked for. But she has been out of work since this diagnosis and the doctor has not given an approval for her to return as of yet, as she still endures a great deal of pain and will need physical therapy to help some of these issues when the time is right. She has been paying for her health coverage through Cobra, for a year and a half the cost was over $1000 a month, but she could not sustain that cost and downgraded her plan and is now paying $700 a month, however as of June 1st that option will expire. That’s not to mention, the co-pays, prescriptions, and the outstanding medical bills due (over $5000). We have looked into the Marketplace and most likely that is where she will end up, but many of the treatments/tests she requires are at a much more costly rate than we have seen with the current insurance carrier.
Cancer, hmmm…it’s very scary to think that if you don’t have the financial means, that you might not receive the best care available and that’s pretty much where we stand. (We don’t want to have to think about foregoing a test because we can’t afford it.) We are so fearful of losing not just my mom’s health care but everything that both my mom and dad have worked so hard for their entire lives. It almost seems so unfair that cancer is so expensive to have!
For those of you who know my mother, you know that she worries about everything, as she puts her whole heart into every situation. I wish I could say that she has put all of her uncertainties behind her at this stage in the game and all of her fight at the forefront of her concerns, but that’s just not the case. I truly believe that with a little help from our family, friends and community that we could ease some of her stresses and allow her to put that energy where it needs to be…in the breast cancer battle.
We have been so blessed with all of the help we have already received along this journey, it has touched our hearts in the deepest way!
Please consider lending our mom a hand and/or a prayer, as every little bit truly counts.
Seasen, Kaley and Eddie
Brenda underwent a single mastectomy in September 2013 which came with some complications. A secondary malignant neoplasm of the pleura was found, which is basically cancer cells that had spread to the lung area. This then led to a pleural effusion—the accumulation of an abnormal amount of pleural fluid in the chest cavity space, which caused her left lung to collapse. She was treated at the University of Penn for the lung issues, despite great efforts they were unable to save her lung. She spent months with a tube through her side to drain all the excess fluid. Now going back to the mastectomy, as the breast was being removed the doctors discovered that one of the tumors had attached itself to breast muscle. They had recommended she undergo radiation, but unfortunately due to the loss of lung they determined that she would not be strong enough to withstand the treatment. They were hopeful that frequent doses of chemotherapy would be beneficial. She then began chemo and remained on this regiment for about a year. We saw some good results from chemo and some bad. The good being her cancer level was decreasing, but the bad being the toll it was taking on her body. She chose to take a break from chemo at the end of 2014, with the okay from her doctor of course. He has been closely monitoring her and she goes for a PET scan every 3 months.The last scan which was in April did reveal an increased level of cancer, but the doctor is not too worried. He believes that with the Tamoxifen she is taking that she could all of sudden go from seeing no results to a big drop, so we just keep praying. However if the next screen continues to show this increase, she will most likely return to the chemotherapy.
Brenda worked for 20+ years as a residential aide at the ARC of Cape May County, she loved her job and especially the residents she worked for. But she has been out of work since this diagnosis and the doctor has not given an approval for her to return as of yet, as she still endures a great deal of pain and will need physical therapy to help some of these issues when the time is right. She has been paying for her health coverage through Cobra, for a year and a half the cost was over $1000 a month, but she could not sustain that cost and downgraded her plan and is now paying $700 a month, however as of June 1st that option will expire. That’s not to mention, the co-pays, prescriptions, and the outstanding medical bills due (over $5000). We have looked into the Marketplace and most likely that is where she will end up, but many of the treatments/tests she requires are at a much more costly rate than we have seen with the current insurance carrier.
Cancer, hmmm…it’s very scary to think that if you don’t have the financial means, that you might not receive the best care available and that’s pretty much where we stand. (We don’t want to have to think about foregoing a test because we can’t afford it.) We are so fearful of losing not just my mom’s health care but everything that both my mom and dad have worked so hard for their entire lives. It almost seems so unfair that cancer is so expensive to have!
For those of you who know my mother, you know that she worries about everything, as she puts her whole heart into every situation. I wish I could say that she has put all of her uncertainties behind her at this stage in the game and all of her fight at the forefront of her concerns, but that’s just not the case. I truly believe that with a little help from our family, friends and community that we could ease some of her stresses and allow her to put that energy where it needs to be…in the breast cancer battle.
We have been so blessed with all of the help we have already received along this journey, it has touched our hearts in the deepest way!
Please consider lending our mom a hand and/or a prayer, as every little bit truly counts.
Seasen, Kaley and Eddie
Organizer and beneficiary
Brenda Lee Lewis Palasch
Organizer
Dennis Township, NJ
Brenda Palasch
Beneficiary