Meet Grant Recipient Tricia Lynn Leckbee
On April 1, 2017, Tricia Lynn Leckbee's monthly self-breast exam went from routine to life-changing.
"I found a lump, three fingertips long, which hurt upon touching," the married mother of two boys says. "I called the doctor right away, even though I had been told cancer doesn't hurt."
Tricia Lynn was due for her yearly mammogram two days later. After giving her two X-rays and an ultrasound, the doctors set her up for more testing.
"I was scared to death, of course," she remembers. "That night, I prayed, 'Please, God, don't let this be the C-word."
On April 21, the doctor confirmed her worst fear. At 44, Tricia Lynn was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
She immediately thought about her family. "I took a big breath and said, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to be here for them and make more memories. With my faith and hope, we'll win.'"
On May 23, 2017, Tricia Lynn had a double mastectomy. But she still needed treatment for her high-risk, fast-growing cancer. That meant 16 rounds of three different chemotherapies and 33 rounds of radiation.
"Since I was so young, they said I needed to take a chemo pill for ten years to prevent the cancer from coming back," Tricia Lynn adds.
It's been about two years since Tricia Lynn's diagnosis. Her medication gives her bone and joint pain, and every six months for ten years, her oncologist takes her blood work, and her surgeon checks for lymph nodes via an ultrasound under her armpit.
Tricia Lynn's treatments have given her complications. Last year, she got two terrible infections from having two surgeries six months apart.
"Come to find out, I needed to go to someone who specializes in patients who have had radiation," she says.
Tricia Lynn has since seen a doctor Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa but will need three more surgeries, with more tissue taken out. She'll need to take six or more weeks off of work with no pay.
"Ever since this nightmare first started, it's been so hard for me to work fulltime," Tricia Lynn says. "We are trying so hard to make ends meet."
Tricia Lynn even went to work while receiving chemo, except for the times she just couldn't walk.
"My husband and I are trying to keep life as normal as we can for the kids not to notice," she says. "Bills keep piling up, but we have to put food on the table for our kids. We still owe money from my last two surgeries and have more to go."
Amber's Antibodies helps Tricia Lynn and Southwest Florida families like hers experiencing financial hardship due to cancer through our grant program. We are a 100% volunteer-based nonprofit organization with no overhead, so all of the money we earn goes to grant program participants and cancer research. To date, we have given $289,575 total to 105 local grant recipients and donated $135,750 to cancer research.
"I want to say a big 'thank you' to Amber's Antibodies for everything they do for so many families, from the bottom of my heart," Tricia Lynn says. "God bless you all."
To donate to Amber's Antibodies and help support Southwest Florida families experiencing cancer, click here.
