Thursday, April 10, 2014

www.cancercankissit.org

I started round 2 cycle 1 of chemo this morning.  My levels rebounded wonderfully with the help of a shot after my last round so there were no problems to report.  Just hoping to relax and stay ahead of the fatigue.  So prayers for that are appreciated.

Since I don't have much other news, I thought I would use this blog entry to plug the upcoming benefit being held for Don and I on May 4th.  Our friends are going crazy posting fliers.  I am entertained by friends sending me pictures of myself in a lot of bar establishments some that I used to frequent and others that I have not heard of.  Our friends and family are working like crazy to get the word out about this event.  They are also coming together with several restaurants, spas, golf courses, etc to get awesome raffle give aways the day of the event.  On top of the raffles, there is also a silent auction that will be held for items such as 2 condos in Florida and a  house rental in Michigan.  Oh and BIG SCREEN TV's.  If this isn't enough to make you want to attend, I don't know what is.

Kids and adult are welcome on May 4th.  There will be several events for kids to partake in and our favorite local band is playing "The Walk-ins".  Not only are they the best band, Our friend and Ryan's Godfather is the lead singer! (We were not paid to say this, they really are THAT GOOD!)  Check out their website at www.thewalkins.com.  Also the ticket price includes beer and wine and a buffet.  Please go to the website www.cancercankissit.org to get your tickets today. 

The website set up for the benefit talks about what the money will go towards, but to personalize it some, I thought I would share for you here as well.  Don is fortunate enough to work for a great company that offers health benefits, but like anybody with benefits, there usually is a deductible that you are required to pay out of pocket before insurance will cover 100%.  2 years ago, I would not have known what my deductible was nor did I really care about my health benefits.  Just so long as I carried my card in my wallet and took it with me to my once in a blue moon appointment, I was just fine!  I paid my piddly co-pay and went on my way. After being diagnosed last year, we started to see what 1 round of chemotherapy could cost.  Last year my insurance paid approx $300K for my chemo and surgery.  This year being on now 3 different types of chemotherapy, Don and I have reached our deductible and in fact, we did so in early March.  Insurance will now pay 100%, but our portion is not  a few pennies.  We are paying what we can and going along our way, but we get that me having Stage 4 cancer, when January rolls around, we will be expected to meet the dreaded deductible again.  So even if we could pay off this year, this is going to be a yearly expense.  

Along with insurance, we have also decided to enroll Ryan in day care a couple days a week not only for him to build strong social skills, but also because with this chemo, I have days of severe fatigue.  Being a one income family now, we are watching our money more closely and if I were not ill, he would not be attending daycare.  So this will help ease the financial burden of him being there and should we need to increase the number of days he attends, we can feel like we can do that.

Lastly it will help Don and I should we decide we need to travel somewhere for another opinion.  Last week I went to NC for an appointment and it was a rather cheap trip considering my parents had miles for me to fly and they paid for our hotel room.  Unfortunately we do not know someone in all 50 states and nor will I expect my parents to front the bill.  So money raised can be used for travel and hotel accommodations.  As I mentioned Dr. Carey at Chapel Hill gave me a few trials that I may qualify for, but none are local.  The closest one they found was in Ohio at this time.  So while I am not going on this trial, it shows that in the future a trial may require me to travel.

So in a nutshell, that is what we are up against.  We are so appreciative for all that have donated and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see as many of you there as possible on May 4.  Don and I have the most supportive network and not only would I love to see all of you, I want our family and friends that have been working so hard towards this benefit to see it pay off.   So if you can, go on the above website and purchase your tickets in advance and come out that Sunday to see friends, family and US!!!

We love you all!

Amber 

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