Fundraiser for Dundee mother with stage 4 cancer

Imagine for a minute how it would feel to have a 3-year-old son and knowing you will never see him turn 10.

That is my reality. At 39 my life turned into this nightmare. It all started in my 8th month of pregnancy when we found out I had stage 2 genetic breast cancer. The doctors wanted to start chemo right away so my son was born early, but healthy, on Feb. 25.

With a new baby to care for and weekly infusions of chemo, but somehow we seemed to make it. Our son was raised in the hospital and as we celebrated his second birthday, we were declared cancer free.

We felt so many things; joy, exhaustion, and excitement to finally be able to start our life.

I am a only child and I wanted our son to have a sibling so we set out to have another child. The doctors were worried about the quality of my eggs after all the chemo, radiation, and surgeries so we chose to go the fertility treatment route. This dream was not to be, as 3 days before the treatment we found out the cancer came back with a vengeance. This time it spread from my initial generic breast cancer to my lymph nodes, my liver and bones. The diagnosis was stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The doctors have given me 2-5 years to live, at most.

Today I take chemo twice a day by mouth and getting out of bed is a daily fight. We didn't have time to grieve for the loss of so many dreams. We went back on the survival autopilot mode we had become accustomed to while trying to come to terms with our new reality. Today we live on my husbands income and the medical bills just keep piling up. I feel helpless, watching, and not being able to help.

I'm doing this to help my family deal with the debt that this disease caused. When I'm gone, my son will grow up without a mom, and my husband without a wife. My last wish before I die is to help eliminate the debt that this terrible disease caused.

Learn more at www.gofundme.com/f/new-mom-dying-of-metastatic-breast-cancer.