Kristal's Booby Battle, New City, NY (2025)

09/20/2023

Yesterday was a rough day. It was my last chemo treatment (I still have 10 days of severe pain coming my way). And in Oct I start 5 weeks of radiation 5 days a week. And I thought I was going to be done except for reconstruction….But then I found out that this treatment will not only last me a year. I will have to take medicines to block the hormones for at least 5 years plus 2 years of a type of oral chemo. Both options will give me menopausal symptoms and horrible GI problems. I might even have to get shots in my hip for 6 months then every 3 months for the remainder of the 5 years.

NONE of this was told to me until yesterday, and I only found out because I specifically asked. It’s hitting me hard to say the least.

How am I supposed to live a normal life again? How am I supposed to get a normal job?
How am I supposed to move on from this?

For now all I can do is cry.

07/03/2023

How it’s going since my 2nd AC treatment…so far after my first 2 treatments I feel horrible for about 8 days. Day 9-10 the nausea comes and goes and I’m still limited on what I can eat, but then physically I’m mostly ok. Mentally I’m a wreck, our apartment is very small and the weather hasn’t been great so it’s hard to get outside. After shaving my head (which was very traumatic) the hair started to fall out and it was very difficult to look in a mirror.
Luckily when I was at my worst my first love Jessica Cavedoni showed up and dug me out of the hole I had fallen in. My MIL Janet Post ordered this wig off my Amazon wishlist and I LOVE it!! I have an extra week off from chemo this week because of the 4th and I’m taking advantage of the time and sneaking off to SD for the weekend. Shhh don’t tell 😘
Thank you all so much for your continued support, some days I feel so lost in grief and all your messages, love and support remind me I don’t have to do this alone 💝

06/16/2023

Officially cleared post surgery, for working out, beach and pool. The best thing about this for me is being able to walk (carry) Penelope to the park, hoping to jump into a CorePower Yoga class, and take a bath when my bones are aching. I joined my first cancer group session this week, it was ok. I never thought I would enjoy group therapy. It brings up all my public speaking fears. I was called on to introduce myself and explain where I am in my treatment. Which was terrifying and I got through it in a blur, but otherwise I just listened. It’s a tricky thing because we all have such different types of cancer and treatment plans. What I took away was, my side effects could be a lot worse and there is still a chance that I will feel worse. The doctors and nurses will work with me individually to help subside as much as possible. Although I’m terrified about this next session (it’s supposed to get harder with each time) I feel more prepared. I will be shaving my hair on Tuesday before my next infusion because after the 2nd treatment my hair will start falling out in large quantities and I think that will be harder to deal with then taking control and cutting it myself. Wish me luck!! Thank you again to everyone who has sent us items from our wishlist, and donated to the GoFundMe. I am also starting to read more paper books, if you want to send me your favorites I’d love to try them. 💝

06/12/2023

First round of AC chemotherapy was awful. Thankful my parents Kim Egan were here to help. I can’t imagine it getting worse each time. I will have 3 more AC infusions every other week. Then it switches to 4 infusions of the T. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, this is by far the most difficult thing I have ever had to face in my life.

05/15/2023

A few updates post drain removal. While I am so relieved to have the drains removed it has not been as seamless a transition as I hoped. Sleeping anywhere except my back is still difficult (although getting better by the day). My allergies have gone haywire over the weekend giving me a horrible sore throat and congestion. (It’s always something right!? 🙃) My nerves are still punishing me daily, between pins and needles, to sharp bust of pain, to a weird burning sensation, to a weird numbness that never goes away. I know my body is still healing so I am trying to give myself grace. This has been a very challenging time for us and continue to be endlessly grateful for all of the support we have received from you all. I have been asked for our Amazon wish list a few times since my story expired so I will add it here. Thank you all again so much for everything!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/fNwLwJD?ref_=wl_share

05/05/2023

My sister friend Valerie Alexander is here to help nurse me this week and I am so excited 💝

04/30/2023

A little surgery update. I know Zack posted on Tuesday that my surgeon was happy with the lymph node results and after a night in the hospital I was discharged. The last few days have been much harder then I was prepared for. Even with the nerve block I have had significant pain since Tuesday evening. I mistakenly downplayed the pain while in the hospital so when discharge was delayed it had been hours since I received any pain medication and was in a serve amount of pain. It took a couple days to get on a pain management schedule that helped. The pain is worse at night after “milking” my drains and doing my physical therapy exercises 3 times a day. Sleeping on my back is also not super comfortable and my neck is full of knots and giving me headaches. I’m officially out of oxy so will be alternating Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I am really hoping to have my drains removed on Tuesday at my follow up appt with my plastic surgeon, 🤞🤞.
I have also learned at NY State max disability is $170/week. I was originally told about 50% of my salary so the stress has begun to really take over. All of your donations will help us pay our deductible and max out of pocket payments for my treatment plus rent etc.
I cannot stress how grateful I am for all your support. It has been felt and gives me the energy to push forward during the most difficult moments. I love you all 💝

04/25/2023

Today was surgery day. As of this post, Kristal has completed her double mastectomy and her wonderful surgeon at Sloan Kettering was very pleased with how things went. Only two lymph nodes tested positive for malignant tumors but the other 3 biopsied were clear. This is excellent news and confirms our surgeon's belief that we caught the cancer early. While this is undoubtedly good news, it does mean that Kristal will need to undergo chemo and radiation following her recovery from the mastectomy. In the meantime, Kristal is recovering well post surgery and once the anesthesia fully wears off Kim (Kristal's Mom) and Zack will go visit her and share everyone's kind thoughts and wishes today. We can't tell you how much our support means and know that we will get through this with your help.

On a more logistical note, Kristal completed her last day of work on Friday and applied for disability so that she can have some income while continuing her treatment. While she will be receiving some income during this period, it is unfortunately only 50% of her normal salary. All of our support has been so fantastic and has given Kristal the ability to take this much needed recovery time. We couldn't do this without all of you and we will keep the updates coming.

04/24/2023

Friday was a big day - last day of work for awhile (fingers crossed disability kicks in soon!) and pre-op appointment with surgeon. I was told I only have a 5% chance of sensation returning to my chest, (and sorry if TMI) but even if I keep my ni***es I probably won’t ever have feeling in them again….I’m sure I could have googled this, but I didn’t and was very unprepared for this information. It’s scary to think how much of my life will forever be changed after tomorrow.
I feel like a broken record but I have to say again how grateful I am for all the support, whether it’s monetary, spiritual, offering rides and or meals, I am eternally grateful for each and every one who has joined my army to fight this disease. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and love you to the moon and back!

04/20/2023

Photos from my I had the most wonderful week spending time with people I love in a place I can’t wait to move back to. (And yes if I could live at Disneyland I would!)
I am so thankful for all your love and support! 💝

04/07/2023

Genetic testing results are in…drumroll please… NEGATIVE for all genes related to cancer. What this means, not a whole lot considering I already have malignancy, but at least I won’t be encouraged to have a hysterectomy at 40.
Also, had my appointment with my incredibly good looking plastic surgeon on Wed Dr Jonas Nelson (look him up…swoon). The closer my surgery gets the more I really hate all of this. If you know me you know I do not do needles. When I made the decision to have the double mastectomy it seemed like an easy choice since I would not be awake for the procedure… I failed to comprehend all the needles before and after they would be using while I am awake…it is extensive!
Your continued love and support will be much needed in the coming weeks and very much appreciated.

04/04/2023

Hello Support Army-

Moving has been more challenging this time around for obvious reasons. Rents in NY have skyrocketed, so we moved from a 2 bedroom (with no closets) into a very modest 1 bedroom. Our new apartment is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in between Broadway and Riverside Dr. Which means we are just blocks from both Riverside Park and Central Park. This neighborhood is one of my favorite in NYC, so location wise we scored big time.

My boss and I finally had the dreaded talk yesterday about my employment status during my treatment. I knew it needed to happen but I was not prepared for the amount of stress the decision we came to would cause, April 21st will be my last day working full time. I will be applying for disability at 50% of my weekly salary. Luckily our health insurance is through Zack’s job, but we are definitely very dependent on my salary especially with the significant increase in rent we will see.

This is my long winded way of saying Thank you again to everyone who has donated to the GoFundMe. Every penny will be so helpful while I navigate treatment and no longer having a full time income. Thoughts and prayers are also felt and much appreciated!

03/29/2023

Omg the donations that have been coming in are truly a miracle! Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t even put into works what it means to me! We are moving tomorrow and it has (as always) been a bit of a nightmare. But I will update everyone on the GoFundMe page and here once we are a bit more settled. But again thank you all so much for your continued support 🥰

03/23/2023

Kristal has been diagnosed with Stage 2 hormonal breast cancer. Her surgeon believes they have caught it early and said this type of cancer is treatable. She will have surgery (April 25th), chemo and radiation over the next year. Please stay tuned for further updates and send her so much love and encouragement! If you would like to donate to help with medical expenses, meals, etc - here is the link: https://gofund.me/6dc92d98

03/23/2023

Welcome to Kristal's B***y Battle - a dedicated space to follow along as Kristal kick's cancer's ass! Post encouragement, well wishes, thoughts and prayers so Kristal will feel the love all the way down to her bones! We will share updates (the good and bad) so make sure to tune in and cheer her along!

Kristal's Booby Battle

09/20/2023

07/03/2023

06/16/2023

06/12/2023

05/15/2023

05/05/2023

04/30/2023

04/25/2023

04/24/2023

04/20/2023

04/07/2023

04/04/2023

03/29/2023

03/23/2023

03/23/2023

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