Lindsay Kinney
Donation protected
This is my campaign story... I found out on October 2nd that a biopsy was positive for ductal and lobular carcinoma in my right breast. The tissue sample revealed that the tumor is estrogen and progesterone positive, and HER2 negative. I initially went in for a check up in the spring, when I first noticed a lump and was told that “it was nothing to worry about”. I took that answer, and ran with it until a couple weeks before my 3 month re-check when I could feel a major change in the size and shape of the lump. I knew it was cancer, and the testing confirmed it.
I am starting this gofundme campaign to help with the financial burden that goes along with most, if not all, serious illnesses. After starting chemotherapy, I tried working for 1 week in October, and unfortunately it did not go well for many reasons. I started my short term disability leave earlier than I had planned on November 1st. Which I am SO thankful for. I have worked for the MESD for 15 years! I'm glad that I have that paid benefit to fall back on during this time, but I only receive a percentage of my pay and it is not enough to sustain. I will say it is has been so nice to have more time to focus on me. My health. My kids. My endless appointments! Those are the most important things! However, it does mean that I am facing a significant reduction in my monthly income. Pair that with cancer related medical costs, and having to pay for my health insurance out of pocket through COBRA.....I am financially stressed! Paying my COBRA insurance premium (around $650/mo) and my mortgage is what I will be using the donations from this campaign for. Anything you can contribute will be appreciated! Seriously, so much.... Also, I would love it if you could share the link to my gofundme on your social media page to spread the word that I am in need. :)
At first, I was against the idea of having a gofundme. It made me angry at the system to be forced to ask my circle of friends and family for money. Why isn't there a system in place to take care of our sick?!!??! There HAS to be something else out there!! And there are some things, but I don't qualify, or I have to go through a long waiting period, or I have to move to another country. I complained.... Then a friend (you know who you are) put it into perspective for me. She told me about this commencement speech by James Patterson:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You could name them – work, family, health, friends, spirit – and somehow you’re keeping all of these balls in the air.
“Hopefully, you come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, believe it or not, it will bounce back.
“But the other four balls – family, health, friends, spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, maybe even shattered. They will never be the same.
“Once you understand that, maybe, just maybe, you strive for more balance in your lives. Try to do that.”
So far I have had 3 ultrasounds, 2 mammograms, a breast biopsy, an MRI, a PET CT scan, a lymph node biopsy, 4 Lupron injections, a port placement procedure, a MUGA (heart study), given myself 43 Zarxio injections in my abdomen, 1 (horrible) neulasta shot, too many pills to count, had my first chemotherapy treatment on October 21st, and six more rounds over and done with since. I'm sure there has been more..... But I was so glad to have that first round down! I feel like I had to ferociously claw my way through all the testing as fast I could so I could start treatment. Kaiser is a take a number kind of system, and I was NOT going to sit and wait for my number to be called. That being said I gave myself a new peace of mind as of mid-December... I had my first appointment at OHSU for a second opinion, and made a plan with the team to switch my care over to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. I finished my last two rounds of AC chemo at Kaiser Interstate, and transitioned to OHSU when I started my four rounds of Taxol in December.
My oncologist at Kaiser and at OHSU have been wonderful. Both have reported that my tumor is noticeably smaller (yay!) throughout chemo and paired with hormone suppression therapy!! I feel pretty good during the week "off" from chemo and am able to spend much needed time with my kids and get some chores done around the house. Thank you to all the people that have sent food our way! It has been such a help.
My last chemo is coming up this Thursday the 6th of February. I think it goes without saying that I am glad to be coming to the end of this chapter. However there are many more pages to go in this crappy book! Double mastectomy with reconstruction (second week in March), most likely followed by radiation treatment. I have my surgical and radiation consults all scheduled for this month, along with diagnostics to see where I'm at, at this point. I won't know fully know how I responded to chemo until after the surgical pathology report. I'll try to keep you all posted. I am ready for all of it. It’s a strange feeling to want something that is so difficult, so badly. But it’s what I have to do! I am ready! I am the storm! And here I am. Asking for help with my rubber ball. ❤️
I am starting this gofundme campaign to help with the financial burden that goes along with most, if not all, serious illnesses. After starting chemotherapy, I tried working for 1 week in October, and unfortunately it did not go well for many reasons. I started my short term disability leave earlier than I had planned on November 1st. Which I am SO thankful for. I have worked for the MESD for 15 years! I'm glad that I have that paid benefit to fall back on during this time, but I only receive a percentage of my pay and it is not enough to sustain. I will say it is has been so nice to have more time to focus on me. My health. My kids. My endless appointments! Those are the most important things! However, it does mean that I am facing a significant reduction in my monthly income. Pair that with cancer related medical costs, and having to pay for my health insurance out of pocket through COBRA.....I am financially stressed! Paying my COBRA insurance premium (around $650/mo) and my mortgage is what I will be using the donations from this campaign for. Anything you can contribute will be appreciated! Seriously, so much.... Also, I would love it if you could share the link to my gofundme on your social media page to spread the word that I am in need. :)
At first, I was against the idea of having a gofundme. It made me angry at the system to be forced to ask my circle of friends and family for money. Why isn't there a system in place to take care of our sick?!!??! There HAS to be something else out there!! And there are some things, but I don't qualify, or I have to go through a long waiting period, or I have to move to another country. I complained.... Then a friend (you know who you are) put it into perspective for me. She told me about this commencement speech by James Patterson:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You could name them – work, family, health, friends, spirit – and somehow you’re keeping all of these balls in the air.
“Hopefully, you come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, believe it or not, it will bounce back.
“But the other four balls – family, health, friends, spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, maybe even shattered. They will never be the same.
“Once you understand that, maybe, just maybe, you strive for more balance in your lives. Try to do that.”
So far I have had 3 ultrasounds, 2 mammograms, a breast biopsy, an MRI, a PET CT scan, a lymph node biopsy, 4 Lupron injections, a port placement procedure, a MUGA (heart study), given myself 43 Zarxio injections in my abdomen, 1 (horrible) neulasta shot, too many pills to count, had my first chemotherapy treatment on October 21st, and six more rounds over and done with since. I'm sure there has been more..... But I was so glad to have that first round down! I feel like I had to ferociously claw my way through all the testing as fast I could so I could start treatment. Kaiser is a take a number kind of system, and I was NOT going to sit and wait for my number to be called. That being said I gave myself a new peace of mind as of mid-December... I had my first appointment at OHSU for a second opinion, and made a plan with the team to switch my care over to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. I finished my last two rounds of AC chemo at Kaiser Interstate, and transitioned to OHSU when I started my four rounds of Taxol in December.
My oncologist at Kaiser and at OHSU have been wonderful. Both have reported that my tumor is noticeably smaller (yay!) throughout chemo and paired with hormone suppression therapy!! I feel pretty good during the week "off" from chemo and am able to spend much needed time with my kids and get some chores done around the house. Thank you to all the people that have sent food our way! It has been such a help.
My last chemo is coming up this Thursday the 6th of February. I think it goes without saying that I am glad to be coming to the end of this chapter. However there are many more pages to go in this crappy book! Double mastectomy with reconstruction (second week in March), most likely followed by radiation treatment. I have my surgical and radiation consults all scheduled for this month, along with diagnostics to see where I'm at, at this point. I won't know fully know how I responded to chemo until after the surgical pathology report. I'll try to keep you all posted. I am ready for all of it. It’s a strange feeling to want something that is so difficult, so badly. But it’s what I have to do! I am ready! I am the storm! And here I am. Asking for help with my rubber ball. ❤️
Organizer
Lindsay Kinney
Organizer
Corbett, OR