Cancer by the Numbers

1: Number of times a doctor told me, “Best-case scenario, you’ll be stuck with a ‘frankenboob.’ ”
0: Odds a doctor gave me that I’d be able to get chemo in time to save my life.
3: Months a doctor predicted I’d live.
10: Age of my daughter when I got this prognosis.
9,342: Number of miles I drove for cancer treatment in 2014 — not including travel for radiation therapy — after Stanford Hospital agreed to take me as a patient.
$250: Cost per pill for post-chemo nausea medication.
$0: Amount per pill reimbursed by insurance.
2: Number of pills needed per chemo treatment.
8: Number of chemo treatments.
$5,859: Total cost of hotel stays during chemotherapy.
$1,300: Total tax deduction allowed for hotel stays.
117: Number of hours I spent on hold with insurance companies, listening to bad music playing in a loop, during cancer treatment.
0: Number of doctors, clinics, and hospitals in my area that would accept my health insurance after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed.
$300: Amount I paid for one hour with the only oncologist who agreed to see me, on the condition that I pay cash in advance.
4: Number of days I had to avoid human contact after each chemo session to prevent infection.
2: Trips to the ER during chemotherapy for a zero white-blood-cell count combined with fever that nearly killed me.
1: Pairs of shoes stolen from my hospital room while I was in surgery.
2: Nipples saved from amputation during my breast cancer journey.
7: Number of pinprick-sized tattoos I got in preparation for radiation.
6: Weeks of daily radiation.
141: Miles from my house to radiation treatment, one way.
24: Number of cupcakes my daughter and I distributed on my last day of radiation, mostly to stranger