Denise's battle against Breast Cancer

Hi, we are Denise's family and fundraising for her while she starts breast cancer treatment. We aim to help her with the last three months while she has been away from work (effective 7/29) and is expected to return on 12/1.

Denise has had a challenging year with her health, which has her on LOA from work until treatment is completed. Denise is a mom, daughter, friend, cousin, niece and a sister recently diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer. We are campaigning to raise funds to offset costs since she is currently on LOA from work and will only receive a limited amount of disability to cover her bills and personal expenses.

In May, Denise found a lump in her left breast, and the biopsy tested positive for breast cancer. Her surgical options were a mastectomy (removal of the entire breast) or a lumpectomy (removal of the tumor). The breast cancer team strongly felt they could remove the cancer by performing a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node (removing the tumor and sentinel lymph node to determine if the cancer had spread). While awaiting consultation from the surgery team, another health issue hit her hard.

In June, after experiencing shortness of breath for a few days, she went to the Emergency Room where they found she had a very low heart rate. It was determined she had suffered a 3rd-degree heart failure (electrical heart failure) and was immediately advised she needed a pacemaker or her heart could stop. She received the pacemaker and had to place the lumpectomy on hold for now.

In July, the lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node surgery was completed. It was later determined that a 2nd lumpectomy was required, which was completed in August. The outcome of these results would inform us of the likelihood of the cancer returning and determine if radiation or chemo treatment would be necessary.

In September, her treatment was determined, which includes radiation (3-6 weeks) and Tamoxifen medicine (next seven years). We are expecting her to start radiation in October through mid-November.

As you can see with all the appointments, she has exhausted her paid time off and sick leave and had to take a leave of absence in July from UCSF without pay. During treatment, she hopes to work from home, only if her symptoms allow her, but we won't know how her body reacts until the treatment starts.

Your donation (in any amount) will help raise funds during the duration of her radiation treatment to cover her monthly expenses while she faces a new set of challenges. Radiation therapy kills cancer cells. It's often used after surgery to reduce the risk of cancer returning.

Thank you for hearing our story and helping her as she continues to recover and move on to the last few stages of her battle against cancer. She remains upbeat, positive, and silly, as you all probably know her best, not to mention strong as an Ox. Please continue to pray for her.

With humbleness and gratitude, we truly appreciate your donation.

Denise's family