Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Meet Our Local Survivor Carlee

Meet Carlee Morse. Here's her Survivor story.

Last July 4th, 2023, I found a lump on my left breast. I was 32 at the time, married with 2 small children, Ryan (4) and Lauren (3).

I thought it could possibly be hormones because my body had gone through 3 (yes, 3) miscarriages that year. But not only was there a lump but also a dent in my breast. I went to my doctor 2 days later and they confirmed they could feel the lump + sent in an order to get a mammogram. It took 6 weeks to actually get a mammogram after it was ordered. So on August 18th, 2023 I had my very first, second + third mammograms. By the third time I was called back I knew something wasn't right.

I got an ultrasound immediately after the third mammogram and it took a long time. The radiologist came in looked at my breast + underarm and sat me up and said it most likely was cancer. She was 99% sure. And it was already in my lymphnodes. As you can imagine that is a lot to process.

A few days later I went in for my biopsy to confirm it was cancer, and discover what type of cancer so I could start treatment immediately.

I got my biopsy results and the breast surgeon told me I was Stage 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer. He had already been talking to local oncologist to set up a plan to start chemotherapy.

I went in for surgery about a week or so after that to get my chemoport placed and started chemo about a week after the port was placed. Talk about a whirlwind.

For the next 6 months my job was to get chemo + take care of my sweet babies. It was the hardest time of my life. I have an AMAZING community of support who made us meals + helped watch the babies while I went to my MANY doctor appointments so my amazing + supportive husband could still work + work overtime to help alleviate the cost of all the medical bills.

In March 2024 I finished my chemotherapy 😍 I was thrilled to be done + couldn't wait to feel a bit of normalcy, whuch never came. I was still very sick after chemo. Vomiting + so weak I couldnt get out of bed. This part always makes me so sad, but MY babies were having to make their own food + basically take care of themselves during the day, while I laid in bed. In April 2024 as I was preparing to get my double mastectomy I passed out on my plastic surgeon in Jacksonville. They rushed me to the hospital by ambulance, and my blood pressure was dropping. They finally did some more blood work and found out what was wrong with me. "You have Adrenal Insufficiency, and if you would have gotten your double mastectomy surgery this week you would have died on the operating table".

Oh my goodness. How?? It was caused by the immunotherapy, Keytruda that I have been taking and this condition will be lifelong. Adrenal insufficiency requires you to be steroid dependent multiple times a day for the rest of your life, and on occasions like surgery you must updose a ton or you will go into Adrenal Crisis which is life threatening.

So I'm processing all that and I still have to get a double mastectomy. So the next week I go in again for surgery and they take 15 lymphnodes + all my breast tissue + I get a surgery called Lympha to reduce the risk or getting lymphedema.

The surgery goes great, recovery is great and then I get the BEST NEWS of all!!! My pathology report was clear, NO MORE CANCER!!!! The chemotherapy + immunotherapy kicked cancers butt!!!

A few weeks later I began my 6 weeks of radiation therapy to get any last little remnants of the cancer, and while that made me tired I pushed through and had an awesome summer with my babies, to the best of my ability.

In August 2024, I finished up my LAST immunotherapy infusion and the rest is history 😭

I am here, I am cancer free, and I am trying my best to thrive after the cards I have been dealt. I praise God they caught the Cancer in time so the treatment could diminish it out of my body.


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