Amy's fight against Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Donation protected
Amy's Hoag Foundation Speech
Caring Bridge Journal
Twenty-eight years ago I was blessed with an amazing daughter, Amy. She is beautiful, smart, funny, altruistic, and a pure joy to be around (Okay, except for at the age of 13). She is so dear to me. We are as close as any mother and daughter can be. I cannot tell you how devastated we were when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27. It just did not seem possible that someone so young, vibrant, full of life, and hopes for the future could be facing a very aggressive form of cancer invading her body and threatening her life. Unfortunately, that was the situation Amy found herself in one year ago.
The past year has been an unbelievable roller coaster of emotions of fear, anxiety, loss, anger, and reflection. Amy has been an unbelievably brave patient and a strong fighter. I could not be more proud of the courage, character and fortitude she has shown. I am so proud to call her my daughter.
As many of you know, Amy is not one to ask for help, especially for monetary help. So I have taken it upon myself to create this GoFundMe page for anybody who would like to contribute to helping Amy manage the financial burden of her breast cancer treatment over the last year and near future. Many people have asked how they could help Amy, so I decided to set this up for anyone who would like to help her. I know sometimes people prefer to directly donate rather than donate through a website, so if that is the case, please reach out and that can be arranged.
To give a little background, in September 2018 Amy was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, at 27 years old. Amy’s cancer was very aggressive and fast moving.
The first step before starting treatment was egg retrieval and harvesting (approx $6,000 plus annual egg storage costs) which insurance does not cover. Fertility is not guaranteed with chemotherapy, and Amy has always wanted to have a family, so she did one round of egg retrieval/harvesting. The fertility specialist wanted to do another round, however Amy’s oncologist, Dr. Vandermolen, strongly advised against this, telling Amy she couldn’t afford to postpone chemotherapy treatment.
Amy underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy from October – March. She then had a double mastectomy in March of 2018. This was followed by 30 rounds of radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks, which she finished in July. Amy is now considered cancer free and will remain very closely monitored. Amy recently followed up with her oncologist, who informed her that the game plan from here is annual imaging (CT/PET scan) and blood work every couple of months. Amy sees Dr. Vandermolen every other month for a check up and review of her blood work. It looks like she will continue seeing him every other month for quite some time. Eventually she will graduate to check ups being every 3 or 4 months, but that won’t be for a few years. After 5 years cancer free, Amy should finally graduate to seeing him every 6 months, assuming everything still looks good.
Given Amy’s cancer was the result of a genetic mutation, she still faces close monitoring not only for her breast cancer, but also for ovarian and pancreatic cancers.
The next step in Amy’s journey is to have her major reconstruction surgery in April of 2020. The procedure is known as a tissue transfer, in which tissue will be transferred from her lower abdomen to her chest to create new breasts. This surgery is an extensive 10-12 hour procedure and will require several days post-op in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) before she is moved to a post-surgical floor for several more days. We all know the incredible costs that can be associated with intensive care.
As most of you know, Amy is an Emergency Department Registered Nurse. Due to her work being physically demanding and requiring she be around ill patients, her doctors put her on disability due to her immunocompromised status, fatigue, and physical restrictions. She will again be put off work and on disability in a few months at the time of her reconstruction surgery for at least a few months.
Amy is a homeowner and lives on a single income with a mortgage, HOA, car payment, and everyday bills to pay. In an effort to help Amy manage her mounting medical bills and expenses that keep rolling in, I am setting up this account to help Amy. Unfortunately, being a nurse and off of work the last year, this has taken away the option for Amy to pick up extra shifts or work over time over the last year to help pay for the expenses of this unexpected journey.
Now that Amy has returned to work, she is trying to pick up hours when she can, to help with the impact this cancer’s expenses have had on her. Unfortunately, she has to be careful to find a balance so that she does not overdo it. The reality is, having the genetic mutation is already something not working in her favor, so she really needs to take care of herself as well as limit the amount of extra stress she puts on herself.
Money raised through this campaign will go to a variety of expenses. Some of these expenses include the cost of egg retrieval and harvesting along with the annual egg storage fee, none of which is covered by insurance. There are $50 co-pays every time Amy sees her doctors. Her oncologist was biweekly for 5 months, then monthly and now every other month for years– it adds up! She also has co-pays when she sees her breast surgeon, her plastic surgeon, radiation oncologist, and any other appointments. On top of this are the actual medical bills from imaging (ultra sounds, mammograms, MRI’s, PET scans), multiple biopsies, inpatient hospitalization for both surgeries, physical therapy, and prescription medications, one which was required for surgery and not covered by insurance, and cost $131 for ONE PILL. This of course does not end here, as Amy will continue to have very close monitoring with doctors appointments, MRI’s, PET scans, and follow-up’s over the years to come. Not only for her breast cancer monitoring but also her precautionary ovarian cancer monitoring which will consists of completely separate appointments, imaging, and surgery eventually to remove her ovaries.
An additional expense is the Penguin cold cap Amy used in order to keep her hair throughout chemotherapy. This is not covered by insurance and cost $510 per month for the equipment rental (x 5 months) plus the costs of dry ice, which was nearly $100 each chemotherapy session (x16). In addition, she also utilized a therapist to apply the caps for 6 sessions, at $580 per session, until her family was trained and ready to take over for the remaining 10 sessions. While Amy chose to do the cold caps knowing the expense, keeping her hair and having control over something in her life was so important to her.
For those of you unfamiliar with cold cap therapy, as I was, let me share a few brief facts about what this entailed. One hour before Amy’s chemotherapy infusion began we would begin the process. She would wear a Velcro strapped cap which covered her entire head like a helmet. The cap had to be approximately -35 degrees Celsius. You can imagine the pain and discomfort this entailed. The cap had to be changed every 20 minutes in order to maintain the cold temperature on her head. She had to wear the cap for an hour prior to chemotherapy starting, throughout the entire chemotherapy session (around 4 hours) and then for 5-6 hours AFTER the chemotherapy finished. There were some nights we sat in the car in the parking lot of the long closed infusion center completing her penguin cold cap therapy. Many patients cannot handle the discomfort and the grueling nature of the cold caps and quit. But not Amy!
Amy has chosen to be very open with her journey in hopes of educating others and bringing awareness to everyone. In September Amy was asked to speak at the Hoag Foundation Board Member annual retreat in which she shared her entire story in front of about 75 people including: donors, doctors, Hoag’s CEO, and many board members. She was also approached by the Hoag marketing team and asked if her story could be shared to all Hoag employees via an in home mailer. They also are featuring her story in the Hoag For Life Magazine (approx. 325,000 households), as well as the Heart of Hoag Mailer, which is sent to approx 200,000 households including city leaders and those who influence the communities Hoag serves. You can view Amy's speech at the Hoag Foundation annual retreat by clicking the hyperlink at the top above the Caring Bridge link.
Amy is doing all she can to educate others and turn this into a positive experience. If you wish to read more about her story and follow her progress, she journaled, and continues to journal, her entire journey on CaringBridge.com, which is linked to this page at the very top. The hyperlink "Caring Bridge Journal" above will take you directly to her journal. She wrote about the good, the bad, the ugly, the emotions, and everything in between.
I encourage everyone to read Amy’s story on Caring Bridge. The courage, strength, raw emotion and selfless sharing in her journal entries will bring you to tears, amazing moments of hope, and even some laughs. Amy is a wonderful writer and I hope you are able to take the time to read it. I could not be more proud of my baby girl.
Thank you all for supporting Amy in her fight against cancer, it means more to all of us than I could ever put into words.
Caring Bridge Journal
Twenty-eight years ago I was blessed with an amazing daughter, Amy. She is beautiful, smart, funny, altruistic, and a pure joy to be around (Okay, except for at the age of 13). She is so dear to me. We are as close as any mother and daughter can be. I cannot tell you how devastated we were when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27. It just did not seem possible that someone so young, vibrant, full of life, and hopes for the future could be facing a very aggressive form of cancer invading her body and threatening her life. Unfortunately, that was the situation Amy found herself in one year ago.
The past year has been an unbelievable roller coaster of emotions of fear, anxiety, loss, anger, and reflection. Amy has been an unbelievably brave patient and a strong fighter. I could not be more proud of the courage, character and fortitude she has shown. I am so proud to call her my daughter.
As many of you know, Amy is not one to ask for help, especially for monetary help. So I have taken it upon myself to create this GoFundMe page for anybody who would like to contribute to helping Amy manage the financial burden of her breast cancer treatment over the last year and near future. Many people have asked how they could help Amy, so I decided to set this up for anyone who would like to help her. I know sometimes people prefer to directly donate rather than donate through a website, so if that is the case, please reach out and that can be arranged.
To give a little background, in September 2018 Amy was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, at 27 years old. Amy’s cancer was very aggressive and fast moving.
The first step before starting treatment was egg retrieval and harvesting (approx $6,000 plus annual egg storage costs) which insurance does not cover. Fertility is not guaranteed with chemotherapy, and Amy has always wanted to have a family, so she did one round of egg retrieval/harvesting. The fertility specialist wanted to do another round, however Amy’s oncologist, Dr. Vandermolen, strongly advised against this, telling Amy she couldn’t afford to postpone chemotherapy treatment.
Amy underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy from October – March. She then had a double mastectomy in March of 2018. This was followed by 30 rounds of radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks, which she finished in July. Amy is now considered cancer free and will remain very closely monitored. Amy recently followed up with her oncologist, who informed her that the game plan from here is annual imaging (CT/PET scan) and blood work every couple of months. Amy sees Dr. Vandermolen every other month for a check up and review of her blood work. It looks like she will continue seeing him every other month for quite some time. Eventually she will graduate to check ups being every 3 or 4 months, but that won’t be for a few years. After 5 years cancer free, Amy should finally graduate to seeing him every 6 months, assuming everything still looks good.
Given Amy’s cancer was the result of a genetic mutation, she still faces close monitoring not only for her breast cancer, but also for ovarian and pancreatic cancers.
The next step in Amy’s journey is to have her major reconstruction surgery in April of 2020. The procedure is known as a tissue transfer, in which tissue will be transferred from her lower abdomen to her chest to create new breasts. This surgery is an extensive 10-12 hour procedure and will require several days post-op in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) before she is moved to a post-surgical floor for several more days. We all know the incredible costs that can be associated with intensive care.
As most of you know, Amy is an Emergency Department Registered Nurse. Due to her work being physically demanding and requiring she be around ill patients, her doctors put her on disability due to her immunocompromised status, fatigue, and physical restrictions. She will again be put off work and on disability in a few months at the time of her reconstruction surgery for at least a few months.
Amy is a homeowner and lives on a single income with a mortgage, HOA, car payment, and everyday bills to pay. In an effort to help Amy manage her mounting medical bills and expenses that keep rolling in, I am setting up this account to help Amy. Unfortunately, being a nurse and off of work the last year, this has taken away the option for Amy to pick up extra shifts or work over time over the last year to help pay for the expenses of this unexpected journey.
Now that Amy has returned to work, she is trying to pick up hours when she can, to help with the impact this cancer’s expenses have had on her. Unfortunately, she has to be careful to find a balance so that she does not overdo it. The reality is, having the genetic mutation is already something not working in her favor, so she really needs to take care of herself as well as limit the amount of extra stress she puts on herself.
Money raised through this campaign will go to a variety of expenses. Some of these expenses include the cost of egg retrieval and harvesting along with the annual egg storage fee, none of which is covered by insurance. There are $50 co-pays every time Amy sees her doctors. Her oncologist was biweekly for 5 months, then monthly and now every other month for years– it adds up! She also has co-pays when she sees her breast surgeon, her plastic surgeon, radiation oncologist, and any other appointments. On top of this are the actual medical bills from imaging (ultra sounds, mammograms, MRI’s, PET scans), multiple biopsies, inpatient hospitalization for both surgeries, physical therapy, and prescription medications, one which was required for surgery and not covered by insurance, and cost $131 for ONE PILL. This of course does not end here, as Amy will continue to have very close monitoring with doctors appointments, MRI’s, PET scans, and follow-up’s over the years to come. Not only for her breast cancer monitoring but also her precautionary ovarian cancer monitoring which will consists of completely separate appointments, imaging, and surgery eventually to remove her ovaries.
An additional expense is the Penguin cold cap Amy used in order to keep her hair throughout chemotherapy. This is not covered by insurance and cost $510 per month for the equipment rental (x 5 months) plus the costs of dry ice, which was nearly $100 each chemotherapy session (x16). In addition, she also utilized a therapist to apply the caps for 6 sessions, at $580 per session, until her family was trained and ready to take over for the remaining 10 sessions. While Amy chose to do the cold caps knowing the expense, keeping her hair and having control over something in her life was so important to her.
For those of you unfamiliar with cold cap therapy, as I was, let me share a few brief facts about what this entailed. One hour before Amy’s chemotherapy infusion began we would begin the process. She would wear a Velcro strapped cap which covered her entire head like a helmet. The cap had to be approximately -35 degrees Celsius. You can imagine the pain and discomfort this entailed. The cap had to be changed every 20 minutes in order to maintain the cold temperature on her head. She had to wear the cap for an hour prior to chemotherapy starting, throughout the entire chemotherapy session (around 4 hours) and then for 5-6 hours AFTER the chemotherapy finished. There were some nights we sat in the car in the parking lot of the long closed infusion center completing her penguin cold cap therapy. Many patients cannot handle the discomfort and the grueling nature of the cold caps and quit. But not Amy!
Amy has chosen to be very open with her journey in hopes of educating others and bringing awareness to everyone. In September Amy was asked to speak at the Hoag Foundation Board Member annual retreat in which she shared her entire story in front of about 75 people including: donors, doctors, Hoag’s CEO, and many board members. She was also approached by the Hoag marketing team and asked if her story could be shared to all Hoag employees via an in home mailer. They also are featuring her story in the Hoag For Life Magazine (approx. 325,000 households), as well as the Heart of Hoag Mailer, which is sent to approx 200,000 households including city leaders and those who influence the communities Hoag serves. You can view Amy's speech at the Hoag Foundation annual retreat by clicking the hyperlink at the top above the Caring Bridge link.
Amy is doing all she can to educate others and turn this into a positive experience. If you wish to read more about her story and follow her progress, she journaled, and continues to journal, her entire journey on CaringBridge.com, which is linked to this page at the very top. The hyperlink "Caring Bridge Journal" above will take you directly to her journal. She wrote about the good, the bad, the ugly, the emotions, and everything in between.
I encourage everyone to read Amy’s story on Caring Bridge. The courage, strength, raw emotion and selfless sharing in her journal entries will bring you to tears, amazing moments of hope, and even some laughs. Amy is a wonderful writer and I hope you are able to take the time to read it. I could not be more proud of my baby girl.
Thank you all for supporting Amy in her fight against cancer, it means more to all of us than I could ever put into words.
Organizer
Siobhan Hickey
Organizer
Yorba Linda, CA