Cancer Medication Funds
Donation protected
Hello to you all
My battle with cancer started in August 2004. Two weeks before my 38th Birthday. I was diagnosed with DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) a non-invasive breast cancer. I was advised to have a mastectomy to eliminate the chances of the pre-cancer cells becoming malignant. So I had my left breast removed in December 2004.
I asked what the chances were of getting cancer in my other breast and was told there was no way to determine that. Knowing what I know today, if I had of been given the option to remove both breasts back then I would have taken that option. I may not have ended up where I am today.
I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in my remaining breast in December 2011 and told I needed to do 6 months of chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumor as it was too big to operate on. Luckily I responded to the chemo and the tumor shrunk. I had surgery to remove my breast, followed by 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy. After I recovered from treatment I thought I would be fine. I returned to work and a normal life. Unfortunately the cancer returned in 2013, it was now in my lungs. I had another 3 months of chemo which I once again responded to. I continued to work through my treatment as this chemo didn't make me sick like the previous one did. Life was back to normal again. Or so I thought. The cancer came back in my lungs again in late 2014. This time I decided to give up working to concentrate on my treatment, so 2 days before Christmas I resigned from my job.
I was given a couple of different types of chemo this time around as I did not respond to some of them. I got better for a few months and thought I was once again going to be fine. But I wasn't. Earlier this year in February I ended up in hospital unable to breathe. The cancer was back again, and now I also had a brain tumor. I once again started chemo. I had limited positive results but nothing like I had previously. Over the next few months I got sicker. I ended up in hospital again in May this year. I was told I only had weeks to live as the cancer was rapidly spreading and I now have what is called Lymphangitis. If I started chemo again it might buy me a couple of months the Doctor said as there was probably only a 20% chance I would even respond to chemo again. I was so sick I didn't want to do more chemo, now it was about quality of life for me not quantity of life. I only agreed to do more chemo if I wouldn't get sick from it. So they started me on a weekly reduced dose. Good news is I am responding to the chemo and I am now out of the hospital and at home able to breathe once again.
The reason I am asking for funds is because I am on numerous daily medications to help with the pain and side effects of my treatment. This medication is not cheap and I am not entitled to any benefits or even a Healthcare card from the Government as my husband - a man I met in 2010 and who stuck by me after my initial diagnosis in 2011 and then asked me to be his wife in 2013 - earns too much money for us to be eligible for a concession on my medication. We are expected to live off his wage alone. Once mortgage, bills, food, trips to the hospital and parking, etc are paid there's not much left to pay for medication. If I had a Healthcare card I would get my prescriptions for $6.10, but I don't have one and we can spend anywhere from $8.00 to $100.00 per week for my medications. Hence why I am asking for your help.
As a footnote to anyone out there, I am HER 2 positive, my cancer is not Oestrogen driven. Being HER 2 positive means my body produces a protein that loves cancer cells and attaches to them and makes them grow faster than normal. They did not test me for HER 2 or BRACA 1 or BRACA 2 back in 2004. My body also gets too smart for its own good and the cancer seems to find a way of becoming immune to the chemo drugs they give me after a while. Let's see how long those sneaky little cancer cells take to find a way around this chemo!!
My battle with cancer started in August 2004. Two weeks before my 38th Birthday. I was diagnosed with DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) a non-invasive breast cancer. I was advised to have a mastectomy to eliminate the chances of the pre-cancer cells becoming malignant. So I had my left breast removed in December 2004.
I asked what the chances were of getting cancer in my other breast and was told there was no way to determine that. Knowing what I know today, if I had of been given the option to remove both breasts back then I would have taken that option. I may not have ended up where I am today.
I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in my remaining breast in December 2011 and told I needed to do 6 months of chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumor as it was too big to operate on. Luckily I responded to the chemo and the tumor shrunk. I had surgery to remove my breast, followed by 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy. After I recovered from treatment I thought I would be fine. I returned to work and a normal life. Unfortunately the cancer returned in 2013, it was now in my lungs. I had another 3 months of chemo which I once again responded to. I continued to work through my treatment as this chemo didn't make me sick like the previous one did. Life was back to normal again. Or so I thought. The cancer came back in my lungs again in late 2014. This time I decided to give up working to concentrate on my treatment, so 2 days before Christmas I resigned from my job.
I was given a couple of different types of chemo this time around as I did not respond to some of them. I got better for a few months and thought I was once again going to be fine. But I wasn't. Earlier this year in February I ended up in hospital unable to breathe. The cancer was back again, and now I also had a brain tumor. I once again started chemo. I had limited positive results but nothing like I had previously. Over the next few months I got sicker. I ended up in hospital again in May this year. I was told I only had weeks to live as the cancer was rapidly spreading and I now have what is called Lymphangitis. If I started chemo again it might buy me a couple of months the Doctor said as there was probably only a 20% chance I would even respond to chemo again. I was so sick I didn't want to do more chemo, now it was about quality of life for me not quantity of life. I only agreed to do more chemo if I wouldn't get sick from it. So they started me on a weekly reduced dose. Good news is I am responding to the chemo and I am now out of the hospital and at home able to breathe once again.
The reason I am asking for funds is because I am on numerous daily medications to help with the pain and side effects of my treatment. This medication is not cheap and I am not entitled to any benefits or even a Healthcare card from the Government as my husband - a man I met in 2010 and who stuck by me after my initial diagnosis in 2011 and then asked me to be his wife in 2013 - earns too much money for us to be eligible for a concession on my medication. We are expected to live off his wage alone. Once mortgage, bills, food, trips to the hospital and parking, etc are paid there's not much left to pay for medication. If I had a Healthcare card I would get my prescriptions for $6.10, but I don't have one and we can spend anywhere from $8.00 to $100.00 per week for my medications. Hence why I am asking for your help.
As a footnote to anyone out there, I am HER 2 positive, my cancer is not Oestrogen driven. Being HER 2 positive means my body produces a protein that loves cancer cells and attaches to them and makes them grow faster than normal. They did not test me for HER 2 or BRACA 1 or BRACA 2 back in 2004. My body also gets too smart for its own good and the cancer seems to find a way of becoming immune to the chemo drugs they give me after a while. Let's see how long those sneaky little cancer cells take to find a way around this chemo!!
Organizer
Roslyn Pomroy
Organizer
Wildwood, VIC