‘You’ve got Stage-four cancer’ One Key Wester’s story

‘You’ve got Stage-four cancer’

One Key Wester’s story

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

Cancer kills.

But it also can be beaten.

Those are the two scenarios racing through Christie Voss’s mind right now.

On Aug. 19, a month shy of her 40th birthday, Voss received a grim diagnoses: stage four breast cancer – with metastasis to her bones. Now this mother of two little girls must battle both her disease and the medical and insurance bureaucracy at the same time.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month kicks off in October stories like Voss’s will highlight the hard work that lies ahead in bridging the gap between medical needs, and resources in the world’s richest country.,

According to the Florida Health Department in Monroe County, there were 115.4 incidences of breast cancer for every 100,000 residents of the Florida Keys, from 2007-09, a slightly better percentage than the state average of 113.9.

However, deaths from the disease in Monroe County were higher than the Florida average, with 21.7 per 100,000 locals losing their battle with the disease, compared to 20.9 statewide, in the years 2009-11. The dearth of specialized cancer facilities in the area is one possible explanation for the discrepancy.

“When the doctors told me I had stage-four cancer, I felt hopeless and depressed,” said Voss, who recently moved to Fort Lauderdale from Key West. “For a long time I felt as if I was in an alternate universe. I thought, ‘this can’t be happening. It’s not real.’”

Unfortunately for Voss and her daughters Emily, 9, and Sophia, 8, the situation is all too real, and has been a hugely stressful emotional and financial drain on the family.

Voss’s friends have set up an account at https://www.gofundme.com/christievoss to help pay some of her bills, but the freelance graphic designer still must negotiate with her insurance company, which is opposed to paying for some of the more experimental treatments. Voss is preparing to start chemotherapy, while still looking into more holistic alternative medication available at http://hippocratesinst.org/

Simultaneously Voss is trying to earn a living for her loved ones and herself.

“When I was first diagnosed, it was like, OK, because you don’t really understand the gravity of what it means, unless you know somebody well who’s already gone through it,” Voss said. “It’s very scary to go forward very quickly, putting your life into the hands of doctors you don’t know. I’ve received different diagnoses and treatment options, and deciding which way to go is very difficult. There’s a huge disconnect between the doctors. I have to get it right the first time, because I might not get another chance. I know a lot about nutrition and different treatment options in foreign countries, like Mexico and Germany, but they’re not legal or covered here.”

Still, Voss is determined to do everything she can to defeat her illness.

“The conventional medical view is that stage-four cancer is not curable,” she said. “So the doctors talk about getting it under control, to the point that it can be managed. The statistics are not in my favor. Only about 15 to 20 percent of people like me make it another five years. But there are also a lot of online forums out there for women who have had it for decades. I want to get a few more decades out of life, as I have two young daughters whom I want to watch grow up.”

Besides her daughters, who have filmed a Bob Dylan-style internet clip appealing for help for their stricken mom at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t7i5rzee0jsvtal/AADdWS2_RhSUgJPOZIyzIWRPa?dl=0 Voss has been heartened by the response she’s received to her plight.

“I’ve received so many donations from people I don’t know,” she said. “It’s really brought me a lot of hope.”