Fighting Cancer with Trish!

This is for my sister-in-law, Trish (Patricia, formally). She is witty, beautiful, loving, and intelligent.

Trish was diagnosed in March 2022 with Stage Four metastatic breast cancer (HER2+ H2-). Her cancer was discovered after being admitted to the hospital for fractures in her spine and hips and compromised kidneys. Cancer metastases were depleting the calcium in her bones. Put simply, Trish was very sick and in a lot of pain. The breast cancer spread from her breast to her lymph nodes, lungs, and bones. The Mets were innumerable.

Trish is a fighter! An oncologist specializing in Trish’s cancer said they would treat it “aggressively” as it is aggressive cancer. Trish went through 10 rounds of radiation and was immediately put on chemotherapy within the first two weeks of her diagnosis.

She continued to work as an accountant for a small company, as she did not have disability insurance. She and her husband pays for her health insurance.

Scott, my brother, her husband is loyal, charming, creative, and steadfast.

My brother is an Army Veteran and worked at Trish’s company. Knowing her caregiving would be a full-time job, he quit his position. His veteran’s disability and retirement do not go far.

Eight weeks ago, Trish reported the treatment was working. She would never be cancer free, but she could “live with the condition.”

Not three days after that news, Trish was stumbling and could not find her words. She was readmitted to the hospital. A head MRI revealed innumerable brain Mets—brain cancer. The radiology oncologist said that without brain radiation, “she’d live weeks.” Again, Trish was ready to fight. She endured another five rounds of radiation and a change in treatment. (Chemotherapy does not cross the blood-brain barrier.) She is still in treatment.

Trish and my brother live alone. They do not have children—except two fuzzy German Shepards.

The facts of their story—the worst kind of cancer diagnosis and treatment for eight months—cannot communicate the sadness, frustration, and suffering—not just of Trish’s body and mind, but of their relationship and hopes for the future. This is not how they imagined their retirement. Trish and my brother remain committed to her treatment and their life together.

At this time, social security disability will not be processed for at least four to six months. Unemployment is possible (not certain) and still months out.

Trish’s company “could not offer” a severance package.

Trish has officially had cancer for eight months. She is 46.

#FuckCancer

#BreastCancer

#CancerFighter

#CancerAwareness

#CancerSupport

#CancerTreatment

#Cancer

#MilitaryVeterans

#VeteranFamilies

#VeteranSpouses

#ArmyFamilies

#ArmyVeterans

#ArmySpouses