Connie Schafer

Hello,

I saw a piece on your business on our local station.  I would like to tell you about my mom.  She had breast cancer over 5 years ago.  She didn't tell me till the day before her surgery. (I lived in another state)  Well, she had her left breast removed and lymph nodes too.  They thought they had got all of it.  She didn't have insurance so she just paid the final bills about a year ago.  Every dime owed.  

She started out going to her appointments, but she had so much depression and didn't admit it.   She came to visit at Christmas last year and she had a lump on her neck. I convinced her to go to the dr. again.  She did and the lump on the neck was just a small cyst.  Nothing to worry about.  They had her get a mammogram and there wasn't good news there.  They saw something, a dimpling on the same side that she lost her breast.   She has been to breast specialist, etc.  She has chosen not to seek any treatment and no further testing.  She still has no insurance.  They have told her that there is help with the bills, but she says she would like to just live that rest of her live, (however long it is)  without being sick from treatments and I think the bills have something to do with it also.  She says not.

She has had only one day of bad pain, so she tells me.  She lives in Georgia and i'm in Lawrence, Kansas.  I'm planning to take my children down over Thanksgiving and take her to Graceland if possible.    She has had a rough life at times,  she lost a child when she was young and couldn't have anymore and then adopted me.   She has been through two marriages, the lose of her beloved father (last year) and putting her mother in a nursing home due to dementia.

I think she is being very brave.  She is alone all week due to my stepdad driving truck.  He too should get an award.  He works so hard and was actually very sick last week, but kept going because he was worried what was going to happen to her.   He is preparing to have to take some time off to be with her.

They have had their ups and downs, but they have really come together.

Her name is Connie Schafer

Thanks for listening!!!!!!!