Kellee's immunotherapy Fund
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Please please help Kellee to fight this...
Here is Kellee's own words
Hi my name is kellee Harvey and I'm 27 years old.
This is my story:
In February 2016 I found a small lump in my breast and immediately went to the doctors who then referred me to Barnsley hospital. I had an appointment at the breast unit on the 1st march, I saw the consultant who examined me and she thought it was a fibroadenoma ( none cancerous tumour ) but sent me for an ultrasound scan to be sure. After my scan she told me that my 2cm lump was definitely not cancerous and that it could get bigger or smaller but because of my age it was nothing to worry about. She told me that it would be painful and discharged me. Over the next month it grew dramatically so I went back to the doctors so I could have it removed. At this point I was not worried as I was told that it wasn't cancerous and that it would never form to cancer. I was referred back on the 17th may.
I saw the same consultant and when she examined me again she was shocked with how much it had grown and she could feel a lump underneath my arm. She then sent me for a biopsy. I had to return on the 19th may for the results.
When I walked in a Macmillian nurse was also in the room at this point I knew something was wrong.
My life changed at this point.
She told me I had stage 3 triple negative breast cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes and that I now had 5 tumours and my main tumour had tripled in size.
She then went on to ask me if I wanted to have kids in the future and asked a what point in my cycle I was to see if it was possible to freeze my eggs. It wasn't possible.
I was heartbroken and in shock. How could they have got it so wrong? Why didn't they do a biopsy when I first came when I was old enough to be eligible. Why did they tell me it could never form to cancer? Why did they tell me it could get bigger but it was nothing to worry about?
I was angry. How could they get something so wrong! My life was in there hands and they made such a big mistake by sending me home.
The following week was hectic. I had to have a mammogram, ct scan, Mri scan and a bone scan to see if the cancer had spread anywhere else. Then I also had to start Chemo within the week too so I had to have pre assessment to check to see if my body was strong enough to cope with the Chemo and then I started treatment. 6 sessions of Fec-t 1 every 3 weeks.
The side effects from Chemo are awful.
I lost all my hair within 3 weeks, I was forced into early menopause I was having hot flushes every half an hour, I couldn't sleep. I was really ill on a few occasions and had to keep having over night stays in the hospital due to my immune system been so low that I picked up infections or my temperature went really high. I constantly felt sick.
I got myself so depressed that I had just had enough and started to wonder if the treatment was worth having with how ill I felt from it.
Around my 5th session I noticed another lump was growing in the same breast and when I saw the consultant they assured me it was just hormonal. It carried on growing which caused me to grow more concerned. I then insisted on a biopsy.
It was cancer. Again the hospital had got it wrong!
It didn't change the outcome as I knew in a few months I was going to have surgery and it would be removed.
They didn't know why I grew this new tumour while having treatment.
When Chemo finished I was so happy, 1 part was over. Next step surgery.
In October I had a double mastectomy.
26 years old and having to have both your boobs removed got me so depressed.
I was really down. I didn't recognise myself anymore. When I looked in the mirror I didn't know the person who looked back at me.
I felt ugly. I didn't feel like a girl. I had no hair, no eyebrows, no eye lashes and no boobs. Things that every girl takes for granted. I sound very self centred but it broke me. I used to cry every time I looked in the mirror. The old me was gone and I could never get her fully back.
In December I started radiotherapy. I was scheduled for 25 sessions. Once a day for 5 weeks. Only getting the weekends off. What a great way to spend the Christmas period I though having to travel to the hospital every day.
A week into radiotherapy I found another lump! This time above my collar bone near my neck. Weston park hospital wasn't too concerned so I rung my macmillian nurse who got me in the day after for a biopsy. Surprise surprise it was cancer. It had spread further into my lymph nodes. I had another ct scan which showed it was only there and no where else in my body. I was also informed that they could not removed the cancer from its new location.
They told me to carry on with my radiotherapy but upped the dosage to the maximum.
Radiotherapy finished on the 4th Jan 2017. This was supposed to be the end of my treatment and I was supposed to go into remission.
Unfortunately this wasn't the case.
They wanted me to have a break from all treatment for awhile and I was referred back to oncology on the 2nd Feb.
When I went back they told me I had to wait abit longer before they could repeat my ct scan. My scan was arranged for the 15th march and an appointment to see oncology on the 16th.
I thought this would be the ideal time for me to fit a holiday in with my boyfriend Aaron.
I turned 27 on the 17th February and the week before I had started feeling unwell with a bad cough. I went to the doctors who listened to my chest and told me I had fluid on my lungs so gave me a course of strong antibiotics and some painkillers for the pain. The day before we went on holiday I was no better so I went back to the doctors who gave me some more antibiotics and tramadol for the pain.
We travelled to Mexico on the 28th Feb. Such a beautiful place.
My cough got worse and I was in agony every time I coughed. On a morning I would cough for at least 20 minutes straight and I would cry with the amount of pain that I was in. My chest was so sore. Half way through the holiday I nearly had to come home the pain was that bad but I was been stubborn and I didn't want to let it ruin my holiday. After the year I had had I just wanted to enjoy myself even if I was in a lot of pain so I persisted with the final week determined not to go home.
The last few days of the holiday I just felt completely drained and I was ready to come home.
The day I landed in the U.K. Was the day I was booked in for my ct scan. Things had not improved with my cough and I was still in a lot of pain.
The day after I got my results. It wasn't good news
The cancer had spread. I had now got lots of spots all over both of my lungs and in the lymph node surrounding them. This is what was causing the excruciating pain I was in.
I was heartbroken and completely devastated.
I now have to start Chemo again! One thing I didn't want to do.
I had been strong up till this point but I just had a complete melt down. I didn't understand why this was happening to me or what I had done wrong in life to deserve it. I had to come to terms with the fact that I was terminally ill and this disease will one day defeat me.
The only place I was ever scare of cancer spreading to was my lungs.
Everyone breathes and it's such a natural thing that we all take for granted. It scares me so much the thought of not been able to breathe and suffocating.
I have never been so frightening in my whole life.
I have now been researching into immunotherapy, I've heard great things with it helping people with triple negative cancer.
Triple negative cancer is the worst type to have as it doesn't respond to hormone replacement. So there is less options for my type of cancer than others that do respond to them.
I'm only young and I'm willing to try anything to help prolong my life. There is so much I want to achieve and do with my life.
I'm an only child and it took my mum and dad 13 years to conceive me. This is so unfair on them. I'm there baby. They don't deserve to go through this. There good people who work so hard. They do everything for me and I'm absolutely devastated for them. I honestly feel worse for them than I do myself. There my rock and this world is so cruel and unfair. There the reason I keep going, keep fighting. I can't bare the though off them losing me.
Any help is really appreciated. Currently I am making a bucket list and I would like to complete everything on there if my health lets me.
Life is short guys please don't take it for granted.
Thank you in advance for anyone who is willing to help.
Love you all
Kellee
Here is Kellee's own words
Hi my name is kellee Harvey and I'm 27 years old.
This is my story:
In February 2016 I found a small lump in my breast and immediately went to the doctors who then referred me to Barnsley hospital. I had an appointment at the breast unit on the 1st march, I saw the consultant who examined me and she thought it was a fibroadenoma ( none cancerous tumour ) but sent me for an ultrasound scan to be sure. After my scan she told me that my 2cm lump was definitely not cancerous and that it could get bigger or smaller but because of my age it was nothing to worry about. She told me that it would be painful and discharged me. Over the next month it grew dramatically so I went back to the doctors so I could have it removed. At this point I was not worried as I was told that it wasn't cancerous and that it would never form to cancer. I was referred back on the 17th may.
I saw the same consultant and when she examined me again she was shocked with how much it had grown and she could feel a lump underneath my arm. She then sent me for a biopsy. I had to return on the 19th may for the results.
When I walked in a Macmillian nurse was also in the room at this point I knew something was wrong.
My life changed at this point.
She told me I had stage 3 triple negative breast cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes and that I now had 5 tumours and my main tumour had tripled in size.
She then went on to ask me if I wanted to have kids in the future and asked a what point in my cycle I was to see if it was possible to freeze my eggs. It wasn't possible.
I was heartbroken and in shock. How could they have got it so wrong? Why didn't they do a biopsy when I first came when I was old enough to be eligible. Why did they tell me it could never form to cancer? Why did they tell me it could get bigger but it was nothing to worry about?
I was angry. How could they get something so wrong! My life was in there hands and they made such a big mistake by sending me home.
The following week was hectic. I had to have a mammogram, ct scan, Mri scan and a bone scan to see if the cancer had spread anywhere else. Then I also had to start Chemo within the week too so I had to have pre assessment to check to see if my body was strong enough to cope with the Chemo and then I started treatment. 6 sessions of Fec-t 1 every 3 weeks.
The side effects from Chemo are awful.
I lost all my hair within 3 weeks, I was forced into early menopause I was having hot flushes every half an hour, I couldn't sleep. I was really ill on a few occasions and had to keep having over night stays in the hospital due to my immune system been so low that I picked up infections or my temperature went really high. I constantly felt sick.
I got myself so depressed that I had just had enough and started to wonder if the treatment was worth having with how ill I felt from it.
Around my 5th session I noticed another lump was growing in the same breast and when I saw the consultant they assured me it was just hormonal. It carried on growing which caused me to grow more concerned. I then insisted on a biopsy.
It was cancer. Again the hospital had got it wrong!
It didn't change the outcome as I knew in a few months I was going to have surgery and it would be removed.
They didn't know why I grew this new tumour while having treatment.
When Chemo finished I was so happy, 1 part was over. Next step surgery.
In October I had a double mastectomy.
26 years old and having to have both your boobs removed got me so depressed.
I was really down. I didn't recognise myself anymore. When I looked in the mirror I didn't know the person who looked back at me.
I felt ugly. I didn't feel like a girl. I had no hair, no eyebrows, no eye lashes and no boobs. Things that every girl takes for granted. I sound very self centred but it broke me. I used to cry every time I looked in the mirror. The old me was gone and I could never get her fully back.
In December I started radiotherapy. I was scheduled for 25 sessions. Once a day for 5 weeks. Only getting the weekends off. What a great way to spend the Christmas period I though having to travel to the hospital every day.
A week into radiotherapy I found another lump! This time above my collar bone near my neck. Weston park hospital wasn't too concerned so I rung my macmillian nurse who got me in the day after for a biopsy. Surprise surprise it was cancer. It had spread further into my lymph nodes. I had another ct scan which showed it was only there and no where else in my body. I was also informed that they could not removed the cancer from its new location.
They told me to carry on with my radiotherapy but upped the dosage to the maximum.
Radiotherapy finished on the 4th Jan 2017. This was supposed to be the end of my treatment and I was supposed to go into remission.
Unfortunately this wasn't the case.
They wanted me to have a break from all treatment for awhile and I was referred back to oncology on the 2nd Feb.
When I went back they told me I had to wait abit longer before they could repeat my ct scan. My scan was arranged for the 15th march and an appointment to see oncology on the 16th.
I thought this would be the ideal time for me to fit a holiday in with my boyfriend Aaron.
I turned 27 on the 17th February and the week before I had started feeling unwell with a bad cough. I went to the doctors who listened to my chest and told me I had fluid on my lungs so gave me a course of strong antibiotics and some painkillers for the pain. The day before we went on holiday I was no better so I went back to the doctors who gave me some more antibiotics and tramadol for the pain.
We travelled to Mexico on the 28th Feb. Such a beautiful place.
My cough got worse and I was in agony every time I coughed. On a morning I would cough for at least 20 minutes straight and I would cry with the amount of pain that I was in. My chest was so sore. Half way through the holiday I nearly had to come home the pain was that bad but I was been stubborn and I didn't want to let it ruin my holiday. After the year I had had I just wanted to enjoy myself even if I was in a lot of pain so I persisted with the final week determined not to go home.
The last few days of the holiday I just felt completely drained and I was ready to come home.
The day I landed in the U.K. Was the day I was booked in for my ct scan. Things had not improved with my cough and I was still in a lot of pain.
The day after I got my results. It wasn't good news
The cancer had spread. I had now got lots of spots all over both of my lungs and in the lymph node surrounding them. This is what was causing the excruciating pain I was in.
I was heartbroken and completely devastated.
I now have to start Chemo again! One thing I didn't want to do.
I had been strong up till this point but I just had a complete melt down. I didn't understand why this was happening to me or what I had done wrong in life to deserve it. I had to come to terms with the fact that I was terminally ill and this disease will one day defeat me.
The only place I was ever scare of cancer spreading to was my lungs.
Everyone breathes and it's such a natural thing that we all take for granted. It scares me so much the thought of not been able to breathe and suffocating.
I have never been so frightening in my whole life.
I have now been researching into immunotherapy, I've heard great things with it helping people with triple negative cancer.
Triple negative cancer is the worst type to have as it doesn't respond to hormone replacement. So there is less options for my type of cancer than others that do respond to them.
I'm only young and I'm willing to try anything to help prolong my life. There is so much I want to achieve and do with my life.
I'm an only child and it took my mum and dad 13 years to conceive me. This is so unfair on them. I'm there baby. They don't deserve to go through this. There good people who work so hard. They do everything for me and I'm absolutely devastated for them. I honestly feel worse for them than I do myself. There my rock and this world is so cruel and unfair. There the reason I keep going, keep fighting. I can't bare the though off them losing me.
Any help is really appreciated. Currently I am making a bucket list and I would like to complete everything on there if my health lets me.
Life is short guys please don't take it for granted.
Thank you in advance for anyone who is willing to help.
Love you all
Kellee
Organizer
Vicky Martin
Organizer
England