Nicole’s Story
This is Nicole Kuettner. You may have met her or spoken with her at one point or another. She is an employee of C’s Home & Office Management. If you have had the opportunity to meet her you know first-hand she is a wonderful person, always bright, positive and in great spirits. She is also a Breast Cancer Survivor.
This is Nicole’s story!
It was May of 2015 when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer at the time I was only 34. It had traveled to my axillary lymph nodes in my right armpit. I discovered the lump after showering while I was drying off with a towel. When I first heard the doctor say it was “Cancer,” I was shocked. Never did I even that that at my age that it could possibly be cancer. There is no history of breast cancer in my family.
When I first found the lump, I had no insurance. I had called 2 different places and at the time they would not help me because I was not 40 years old. By the time I got insurance figured and got to see a doctor, it was 8 months later. Had these organizations been able to help me I might not have been diagnosed stage 2. I know changes are in place now regarding early detection. I feel so strongly about this because I don’t think I would have survived till 40 had I waited.
Chemotherapy started on June 1, 2015.
I went to treatments every 3 weeks of 4 different chemotherapy drugs. My family and fiancé were my support network. Luckily, I was able to take time off from work and concentrate on getting better and taking care of my body through chemotherapy and multiple surgeries.
After a trying road of treatment, I completed the heavy chemotherapy in September 2015 and continued one other chemo drug for another 7 months every 3 weeks. I had a double mastectomy in January 2016 in which they put in tissue expanders for implants down the road. In April I switched the expanders out for implants and was able to return to work in May 2016.
When you are going through the treatment you face many days to day obstacles of just trying to cope with all the symptoms and the exhaustion and all the feelings you have running through your head. For me, my family was my rock! I couldn’t have done it without them!
Like I said earlier early detection is huge!! Please get yourselves checked out and take advantage of the programs out there to help you nowadays. Make sure you have a support system and ask a lot of questions!!
There is hope
It is important to know that since Nicole’s diagnosis, New York State passed, “Shannon’s Law.” Shannon’s Law requires large group insurance companies to cover annual mammogram screenings for women aged 35 to 39 when medically necessary. This is still an ongoing battle since it is reported that on average 12,000 cases of Breast Cancer in women under 40 years are diagnosed each year in the state of New York. Imagine how many beyond our state.
Health coverage is still an ongoing battle for the treatment of Breast Cancer. There are options that can help alleviate the cost through healthcare.gov . There are also hospitals that have programs in place for discounted treatments for people without healthcare coverage and non-profit medical facilities that offer programs, some even offer free care. It may take some time to find these options but asking questions is vital.
As a company, we at C’s support the women and men who are stricken with Breast Cancer through the nonprofit organization, Cleaning for a Reason. We practice this service year-round. We receive from the organization request for local community members that sign up for the cleaning service where they receive up to 2 hours of free cleaning so that when they come home from treatment they are coming home to a clean, healthy environment.
