At 35, Gia Gayoso said she wasn’t worried when she felt a lump in her breast because she had found a benign cyst before.
Gayoso, a nurse, was responsible and had it checked anyway. It’s a decision that gave her a fighting chance.
“The radiologist came in and started doing the ultrasound herself, and when she told me it didn’t look good, my whole world stopped for a second,” Gayoso said. ‘I was like, ‘This can’t be happening.’“
More women younger than 45 years old are being diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, and some of them face fertility issues.
Breast cancer treatments like chemotherapy can lead to early menopause, so Gayoso decided to undergo ovarian stimulation to collect and freeze as many eggs as possible.
“They tell you to be calm, relax, can’t stress, so that you can have healthy eggs,” Gayoso said. “But, how do you manage staying calm knowing, ‘I have cancer and need to start chemotherapy,’ when I am done with it?”
Gayoso was able to freeze 17 eggs, so when she is cancer-free, she will be able to do in vitro fertilization to start her family.
“This is very heavy to deal with -- emotionally, physically, dealing with injections, with hormones, mood swings, and with the cancer diagnosis,” Gayoso said.
She has undergone two rounds of chemotherapy and has 14 more to go. Her treatment will also include a bilateral mastectomy, surgery to remove the breast tissue, followed by reconstructive surgery.
“I have a really good support of family and friends,” Gayoso said. “I think that’s how I am able to wake up every morning and say, ‘I have a lot of people rooting for me!’ and ‘I have to keep going!’”
Young breast cancer patients also have to deal with the unexpected financial burden. In Gayoso’s case, The Livestrong Foundation helped with some of the cost of the fertility treatment, which was not covered by her health insurance.
Nicolle Zabian and Susan Trottier set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to benefit Gayoso.
“To make things even harder, Gia recently transitioned from working at a hospital to an independent clinic, which means she currently doesn’t have active health insurance coverage through her job,” Zabian wrote.
Gayoso’s friends worry that she will be unable to work during her chemotherapy and surgeries.
“For someone who has dedicated her life to caring for others, it’s incredibly difficult for Gia to ask for help. But right now, she needs us — her friends, family, patients, and community — to lift her up the way she’s always lifted us," Zabia wrote.
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Local 10 News Digital Executive Producer Amanda Batchelor contributed to this report.
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