I keep getting email reminder to update my “campaign”, so here’s the latest on my journey.
Charlie and I moved to Brooklyn and are loving the change. We have lots of space and both a front and back garden for him to explore. This is so clutch on days when I don’t feel well.
I have proton radiation in harlem 5 days a week and am doing okay. I feel like I ascend into a space ship with a great Playlist for an hour each day. It’s an amazing center and the only one in all of NY State so I am lucky it’s so close and to be back in NYC. BTW, if any science folks out there understand and want to chat about this kind radition, pls feel free to reach out. I’m fascinated!
I’m also doing both PT and acupuncture twice a week. I’ll do PT as long as I can manage it. My wizard of an acupuncturist is keeping me in one piece so I will make it there no matter what it takes.
Week 1 of radiation down. 5 more to go. 🩷💪🫶🤛👊🐩🐶🐾🏡
If I tag you in this it’s to say thank you for your love and generosity. Likely you’ve already donated so it’s not a solicitation, it’s a thank you for being part of my village. If you do feel comfortable sharing this that amazing, if not, that’s great too.
- Hi all, just popping in with gratitude and an update. It’s been a bumpy road but I’m nearly healed from my surgeries and ready to start the next phase of treatment. Because it was unclear how effective chemotherapy would be for me and most importantly why, I’ve decided to do a clinical trial. After consulting with my colleagues at Columbia, friends in the medical field and my oncology team at Montefiore I’ve decided to do the NIH ofset clinical trial Study Details | NCT05879926 | Evaluating the Addition of Adjuvant Chemotherapy to Ovarian Function Suppression Plus Endocrine Therapy in Premenopausal Patients With pN0-1, ER-Positive/HER2-Negative Breast Cancer and an Oncotype Recurrence Score Less Than or Equal to 25 | ClinicalTrials.gov
I start treatment next Tuesday May 26th. I am so appreciative of all the support, prayer, positive energy and love that’s been bestowed upon me during this difficult time. I am so incredibly lucky to have such a great support system. During this time, I will mostly be on FMLA again. So many thanks for the financial support and donations. The funds really helped bridge the gap while I underwent and healed from my surgeries. Here’s to being bionic by 2027 🙂 Ellie
- No one expects to hear that they have breast cancer, especially at 48. And no one is prepared for the financial and logistical toll that cancer care can take. None of us were prepared to hear that our friend had cancer and would have a long and expensive journey of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation ahead of her. Five months after giving up her New York apartment and moving out to the country, my dear friend Ellie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully she’s receiving excellent treatment in NYC at Montefiore Oncology Center. But she has been largely unable to work and the travel, medical and hotel bills have begun to pile up and drain her savings. Having to manage that on top of dozens of appointments and procedures and multiple surgeries has been overwhelming. She still has months of chemo and weeks of radiation ahead of her and is currently recovering from her third surgery (two of which were unexpected). I’m happy to provide more details and receipts, invoices and bills for anyone who wants them but I’m trying to keep this short and concise. While we are all grateful for the care she is receiving, we’re very worried about the financial and logistical havoc her illness is causing. Any donations and shares would be so incredibly appreciated. Ellie didn’t want to create this campaign herself, so I offered to do it myself. While she can ask for donations to save the dogs, it seems harder to ask for her for help for herself. All donations go straight to her bank account. You can also use private methods of payment or gift cards if that feels more comfortable. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Art S.