Emily’s Fight Against Breast Cancer

Aug 15: UPDATE since she is now a week & a half out from surgery. Emily had a Post Op appointment yesterday and was supposed to head back to Kirksville afterward. She did not get the news she was hoping to hear from the Doctors & her plans have changed a bit. They saw that she had a positive sentinel lymph node and now will need to meet with a Medical Oncologist this week to see what her next steps will be. She has remained positive in everything that she has gone through so far and is trying REALLY hard at this point. Please keep her in your thoughts, send a prayer her way, and send some good vibes & some extra positive thoughts. She definitely needs all of it. Thank you ❤️❤️

#herfightisourfight

Hey everyone!

As most of you probably do not know, this amazing woman has recently been diagnosed with Hormone Positive Invasive Ductus Carcinoma Breast Cancer...Invasive Breast Cancer. This has been a huge shock to all of us around her, but she has remained positive from the beginning. She is beyond determined to beat this & continue what she started, becoming a Doctor and being able to give back to those in her community. We will stand behind her 100% and do whatever we can to support her.

A little back story to catch you all up...

Last year after working her ass off, Emily got accepted into Medical School at ATSU in Kirksville, MO. We literally could not have been more proud to see her walk across that stage and get that white coat put on! In the late Fall, she started noticing a decrease in appetite, fatigue and some major weight loss. She saw a Dr in Kirksville who did some blood work, the results were normal and chucked up to be new stress from intense studies and pressures of medical school.

In March, she found a lump in her breast tissue. She was able to see her OBGYN in April and they decided it was best to do an ultrasound and a mammogram. These results ended with her Dr sending her to a cancer center in Columbia, MO, about 1.5 hours away from school. This is basically the start of her ever-increasing transportation & medical expenses, as she has not had a vehicle the entire time she has lived in Kirksville.

Throughout May, she had more imaging & multiple biopsies done in Columbia, MO.

On June 2nd, Emily was diagnosed with Progesterone and Estrogen Positive Invasive Ductus Carcinoma. In true Emily fashion, she did an EXTREME amount of research when she came home, started a new diet, did some DNA testing, and started looking around for other opinions. Again, in true Emily fashion, she held off on telling her family and any of us until she had her diagnosis because she did not want us to worry or to be bothered...she should know better!!! :)

Emily had her 5th MRI-guided breast biopsy and more imaging done throughout June. Since she is from St. Louis, she decided and was highly encouraged to go through Siteman Cancer Center for her second opinion. She was seen almost immediately and has since found out that she is also BRCA II Positive. She has decided to go through with getting a double mastectomy on August 4th, with up to 8 weeks being the recovery time & an unknown amount of surgeries to come next.

What we do know & have talked with Emily about is how she has almost depleted her savings while having to pay for some treatment costs and transportation costs. She has been fortunate enough to have friends in Kirksville who can drive her to & from the train station, or even to and from St. Louis. With all of these new expenses on top of being a medical student living on a limited budget, this is becoming nearly impossible. She is determined more than ever after all of this to stay in school & become the amazing doctor we all know she is going to be.

Her support system both here in St. Louis and Kirksville has been incredibly helpful, but at this point, financial support is what has become necessary to be able to get the treatments she needs.

Being BRCA II and hormone positive means she will need to be on hormone therapy for the next 5 years as well as have many screenings for other BRCA II cancers throughout her life. Since there are no physicians in this field in Kirksville, she will continue to travel to St. Louis for these treatments.

Emily wants everyone to know that making this was a hard thing for her to accept but she understands that her health is more important now if she wants to make a difference as a Doctor in the future. She wants us to be clear that if you are having a hardship, or cannot donate, she would rather you use your funds for early detection mammograms or medical genetic testing. She wants to reassure everyone that the funds will be used very responsibly only towards these listed expenses and she has EVERY intention of paying every single penny back to others someday!! We are so appreciative of any amount that you can give or any other way you feel that you may support our beautiful Best Friend during this time.