Elena's Breast Cancer Battle

Hello dear friends and family. It is devastating to announce that our dear friend Elena Keating is facing a rough road and needs our support as she faces this frightening cancer diagnosis.

Elena has been a superstar supporter of others and has rallied for those who have needed aid and encouragement, whether or not she knew them personally. Now is our chance to be there for her.

Monday June 10th, after a routine mammogram followed by various scans and a biopsy, Elena was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, an aggressive form of Breast Cancer. Diagnosis was a shock. Elena has been impressively committed to keeping herself healthy including regular exercise and has no family history of breast cancer. This truly is unsettling and life-changing.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of canceling commitments, strategizing the future, and absorbing a tremendous amount of information. It’s also been the start of a journey of acceptance of this new challenge and reality, which includes preventing metastasis with years of anti-cancer meds. As Elena processes this diagnosis, she describes it as surreal, she said it feels like a movie she doesn’t want to be in. Her outlook is impressive, not feeling sorry for herself but absorbing all information in a logical and rational way as it comes. She focuses on one step at a time. Elena is finding outstanding support within the Breast Cancer Center at Kaiser which is now affiliated with the Cancer Centers at Stanford and UC Med.

Surgery is scheduled this week to remove the original tumor plus surrounding tissue that contains spreading cancer cells. Lymph nodes will also be removed. Samples then go to pathology for further testing, with results available 10 days after surgery which will determine the next steps. If no further cancer is detected, Elena will need to allow a month of healing before beginning radiation treatments 5 days per week.

Since receiving her diagnosis, Elena has been forced to cancel all current and future jobs, including a position in which she was quite excited. This has abruptly ended her income stream for a minimum of several months or longer. Duration is currently unknown.

Please consider supporting our friend during this great time of need. Your contribution will make a difference and it’s proven that sharing this GFM link will greatly increase donations. All funds from this campaign will be used to cover the basics of housing costs, monthly bills and necessary living expenses. Your donation today gives you the opportunity to positively affect someone’s life and you will forever be a member of Elena’s support team. Please help spread the word!

NOTE: If you’d like to make a private contribution, outside of GFM, please private message me.

Elena didn’t want a Go Fund Me, but we’ve been friends since age 5 and after talking her through her 1st week of shock, it was clear to me I needed to set her straight about the realities of her circumstances. She was extremely stressed about the possibility of having to move out of her home and bring in renters due to her loss of income. Being a breast cancer survivor myself, the thought of orchestrating a living situation move while undergoing treatments is unfathomable. With existing emotional and mental strain, even though she doesn’t show it to the world, it shouldn’t be compounded by financial struggles.

Thank you in advance for your consideration, heartfelt compassion and action!

EVERY dollar counts and no amount is too small! That’s why GFM works. Together, Today - we can make a huge impact!! REMINDER: Please share this link on your social media pages or text & email those you think should see it. Sharing is Caring