My Battle Against Breast Cancer
Donation protected
I never thought it would be me. Let alone at 32 years old, while raising my two beautiful daughters. Yet then again, what women ever thinks it's going to happen to her.
On 01/27/2017, I was told those dreaded words that have changed my life completely in a matter of minutes. The doctor completed the mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsies and revealed that I have breast cancer. Jennifer, you have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It's stage 2A, Grade 3. Which is good, it was caught early, however your her2 positive which makes this an aggressive cancer which means we need to treat it aggressively and quickly before it has a chance to spread. As I felt my world come crashing down the feelings that were going through my mind were truly indescribable. It was as if the rest of the world and the people sitting there speaking me to disappeared and I was locked inside my own mind with this news. The process has gone so quickly I'm still trying to process and wrap my head around the fact that I'm facing the biggest fight of my life, and to keep my life. Within two weeks of being diagnosed the battery of tests commenced to make sure it had not spread further than my breast and lymph nodes.
On 2/09/17, I had surergy which was when I had the medi-port placed into the left side of my chest. This medi-port is what the iv gets attached to, to deliver the chemotherapy into my body. My chemotherapy regimen was quickly started the next day, 02/10/17. I sat in the chair while for 5 1/2 hours poison was put in through my medi-port. Poison that will ultimately save my life in the end. Having the first round of chemo I felt a little sluggish that day and the following day. Only to really feel the side effects hit and hit hard on day 3. In my mind I now know I was completely in denial about how the chemotherapy was going to hit my body.
In already the short time span of starting on the road to fighting breast cancer, I'm finding it pop up more and more than my insurance will not cover costs. They wouldn't even cover the cost of an oral solution I needed to obtain from the cancer center. An oral solution to help heal my tongue, mouth, and throat were the chemotherapy has severally scalded it so badly I've been going in daily since Tuesday to receive fluids, and steriods through my medi port because eating and drinking is very difficult right now.
The day I made to tell my daughters what was going on. A moment that will forever be burned into my memory. I was so unsure of how to tell my 12 year old and 6 year old daughters. How do you approach a situation like that??? I was fortuanate enough that the Breast Care Center had given me some books to share and read with my daughters. "My Mom and the Polka Dot Boo-Boo." The book is very forth coming however in a manner that's meant to help children understand better, and try to take away that fear. The first line opens with, how mom has a boo-boo and that boo-boo is breast cancer. I can still see their faces of fear and horror as the tears streamed down both of their cheeks. It's a moment I'll never forget. I felt like I had crushed their world completely. So many questions came from them. Many of which I could answer, some of which I could not. The most important one being, "mom are you going to die?" I've spent my days every day reassuring my daughters I will beat this, and I'm not going anywhere. It's going to be hard, and a long road, but I'm going to do it. Which reassuring my children that I'm going to beat this is of so much importance to me.
My fighting gloves are on, and already this fight has begun. Sometimes it's hard asking for help. However, sometimes it just not an option to not ask for some help. So I'm asking for help. If your able to donate even $1, to help with my fight against breast cancer I will be forever grateful for your generosity. I will try my best between being a single mother of my daughters, and chemotherapy treatments to keep this page updated as I go through this journey. Please bare with me if I'm not able to at times for this first round of chemotherapy kicked me hard to the ground. Thank you everyone who has sent love and prayers to myself and my children through this time. Please keep them coming. We need all the prayers we can get right now.
Thank you.
On 01/27/2017, I was told those dreaded words that have changed my life completely in a matter of minutes. The doctor completed the mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsies and revealed that I have breast cancer. Jennifer, you have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It's stage 2A, Grade 3. Which is good, it was caught early, however your her2 positive which makes this an aggressive cancer which means we need to treat it aggressively and quickly before it has a chance to spread. As I felt my world come crashing down the feelings that were going through my mind were truly indescribable. It was as if the rest of the world and the people sitting there speaking me to disappeared and I was locked inside my own mind with this news. The process has gone so quickly I'm still trying to process and wrap my head around the fact that I'm facing the biggest fight of my life, and to keep my life. Within two weeks of being diagnosed the battery of tests commenced to make sure it had not spread further than my breast and lymph nodes.
On 2/09/17, I had surergy which was when I had the medi-port placed into the left side of my chest. This medi-port is what the iv gets attached to, to deliver the chemotherapy into my body. My chemotherapy regimen was quickly started the next day, 02/10/17. I sat in the chair while for 5 1/2 hours poison was put in through my medi-port. Poison that will ultimately save my life in the end. Having the first round of chemo I felt a little sluggish that day and the following day. Only to really feel the side effects hit and hit hard on day 3. In my mind I now know I was completely in denial about how the chemotherapy was going to hit my body.
In already the short time span of starting on the road to fighting breast cancer, I'm finding it pop up more and more than my insurance will not cover costs. They wouldn't even cover the cost of an oral solution I needed to obtain from the cancer center. An oral solution to help heal my tongue, mouth, and throat were the chemotherapy has severally scalded it so badly I've been going in daily since Tuesday to receive fluids, and steriods through my medi port because eating and drinking is very difficult right now.
The day I made to tell my daughters what was going on. A moment that will forever be burned into my memory. I was so unsure of how to tell my 12 year old and 6 year old daughters. How do you approach a situation like that??? I was fortuanate enough that the Breast Care Center had given me some books to share and read with my daughters. "My Mom and the Polka Dot Boo-Boo." The book is very forth coming however in a manner that's meant to help children understand better, and try to take away that fear. The first line opens with, how mom has a boo-boo and that boo-boo is breast cancer. I can still see their faces of fear and horror as the tears streamed down both of their cheeks. It's a moment I'll never forget. I felt like I had crushed their world completely. So many questions came from them. Many of which I could answer, some of which I could not. The most important one being, "mom are you going to die?" I've spent my days every day reassuring my daughters I will beat this, and I'm not going anywhere. It's going to be hard, and a long road, but I'm going to do it. Which reassuring my children that I'm going to beat this is of so much importance to me.
My fighting gloves are on, and already this fight has begun. Sometimes it's hard asking for help. However, sometimes it just not an option to not ask for some help. So I'm asking for help. If your able to donate even $1, to help with my fight against breast cancer I will be forever grateful for your generosity. I will try my best between being a single mother of my daughters, and chemotherapy treatments to keep this page updated as I go through this journey. Please bare with me if I'm not able to at times for this first round of chemotherapy kicked me hard to the ground. Thank you everyone who has sent love and prayers to myself and my children through this time. Please keep them coming. We need all the prayers we can get right now.
Thank you.
Organizer
Jennifer Davis
Organizer
Portland, ME