Help Melt Away Veronica's Stress & Breast Cancer

Dawn Plummer is organizing this fundraiser.

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Have you noticed that this fall has been spectacularly colorful? For our family, it has been a technicolor ride of emotions. On September 16th, my sister Veronica Galasso learned that she has invasive ductal HER2 triple-positive breast cancer on the right side. At 35, Veronica found her cancer before her very first mammogram. To add insult to injury, this diagnosis, unfortunately, comes after a few tough years of stress and loss.

These last weeks have been filled with an onslaught of scans and procedures, many doctors appointments and scary conversations about what comes next. All the while, Veronica has put one foot in front of another and inspired us all with her determination. Together, we will get through this.

Veronica is my “little” sister (she came along when I was 11, and I was a lucky girl who had a real-life human baby doll:) Veronica lives in Harrisburg, PA, with her husband Bobby, just down the way from our mom Brenda. Veronica has dedicated her adult years doing care work--first for developmentally disabled people and for the last six years as a Patient Service Representative alongside the fantastic team at Urology of Central PA.

What Comes Next

Evaluated at Stage 1B, Veronica is eligible and has chosen to participate in a breast cancer treatment trial study. Not only does this help contribute to scientific breast cancer research, but it also decreases her number of treatment rounds and therefore decreases her exposure to the possible effects of the chemotherapy drugs. Her treatment plan will be to undergo 4 rounds of chemo treatment (instead of 6!)--each treatment being 3 weeks apart. She kicked off her first treatment on Thursday, October 27th. Chemo #1--✅! Her other treatments are scheduled for November 16th, December 7th and 28th. Her surgery will be scheduled for the new year, and her total treatment will happen over a total of 1 year. This will be a long road with twists and turns along the way.

Help Us To Support Vern!

We are wrapping her in love and support. We are also quickly learning how medical bills have become the US’s #1 cause for bankruptcy:/ While Veronica has health insurance (thank goodness!), we are seeing her medical costs (co-pays, deductibles, etc) pile up fast. (Did you know that UPMC gives a 20% discount to all those who can PAY IN CASH? My understanding is that people who don’t have that kind of cash need that “discount” the most! But don’t get me started about the injustices of our broken healthcare system.)

Additionally, earlier this year, Veronica needed shoulder and carpal tunnel surgeries that used up all of the FMLA time (and financial support) available to her. She has no PTO left, so any time off in 2022 will need to be unpaid, adding significant financial strain to an already tight budget. Please help us relieve this added stress in this incredibly stressful time by sharing a donation of any size as a gesture of love and support when she needs it most!

On behalf of her husband Bobby, our Mom, Mark (Dad), Brent (brother), Susan (SIL), Diana (SIL) and her nieces and nephews, we thank you in advance for joining us in supporting her with love, prayers and support at this time.