Anita's Breast Cancer Journey

Hello and welcome to Anita’s breast cancer journey.

Anita was first diagnosed with triple negative breast lobular carcinoma in June of

2022. This type of cancer is rare, poorly known, and usually more aggressive,

harder to treat, and more likely to recur compared to other types of breast cancer.

Her battle began when she underwent a unilateral mastectomy in August of 2022.

By March of 2023, the Oncology team found an additional lump prompting

concern and close monitoring. In October of 2023, they elected to do a biopsy of

the lump after no improvement was noted. Biopsy results confirmed the lump was

positive for the same type of cancer cell previously found. After Anita discussed

plan of care options with her family and Oncologist, together they opted to do a

PET scan to evaluate for metastasis. The PET scan results showed a spot on her

liver, indicating the possibility that the breast cancer was in fact spreading. During

the following month in November, Anita had a liver biopsy performed.

Unfortunately, the results were again positive for the same type of aggressive

cancer cell formerly found.

Anita has altruistically devoted the last 40 years of her career to helping people in

both the medical and holistic fields. Her desire in fighting her own cancer is about

finding a treatment plan that balances both a holistic and conventional medical

approach. This treatment approach tends to be more costly, understanding that

insurance denies coverage to most nontraditional therapies. On top of battling

cancer, Anita has been struggling with Hashimoto’s (an auto-immune disorder

affecting the thyroid) for the last 20 years. This disease can cause rapid

weight-loss, fatigue, brain fog and muscle weakness, etc. In the setting of her

breast cancer, her Hashimoto’s has been flaring up, exacerbating the above

symptoms and signifying that undergoing extreme medical therapies would be too

harsh on her body. After thorough research and communicating with peers with

similar diagnoses, she found an integrative cancer clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona

called Brio-Medical Center. This cancer clinic would offer a comprehensive and

personalized treatment program curated to target her specific genetic form of

cancer. The Brio team is dedicated to providing expert care to patients at all stages

of cancer and have shown favorable results for people with stage 4 cancer like

Anita. The program is 7 weeks in duration and requires payment in full prior to

initiation. On top of paying for the 7-week treatment program out of pocket, Anita

would have to fund her own travel, housing, food, etc., all while being away from

home and loved ones.

To know Anita is to love her. With grace, Anita and her family welcome any

donation to help support her treatment plan. We want to thank you for your love,

support, generosity, and endless prayers as she embarks on this healing journey