Lauren & Chris Yerkes: Our Cancer Journey: November 2024

This will be a recap of October to today. Lots has been going on and we’ve been incredibly busy. The format of this is going to be a bit different since we have so much to talk about, so we’ll format it by date since October 1!

- 10/2: Keck USC – What I Wish I had Known About Before Breast Cancer Before My Diagnosis

o To kick off breast cancer awareness month, Keck USC asked me to write a blog post for the month. Article can be seen by clicking on this LINK.

- 10/3: PET Scan

o Dr. Vandermolen ordered an annual PET Scan, but things became tricky with insurance because they did not approve the order. It was a bit of a nightmare battling with insurance to get the scan approved. Their reasoning for denial was that there was no concern as to how Lauren’s progress this past year has been. However, it was frustrating because they use everyone as an average against others and with a genetic mutation it shouldn’t have been denied. We ended up paying out of pocket for the PET Scan for peace of mind and it was worth every penny.

- 10/5: The Pink Journey Foundation Walk @ The Beach House in Seal Beach

o Thank you to everyone that attended this year! We absolutely loved being close to home, in a familiar setting and the intimate feeling of walking with The Pink Journey Foundation. It was nice to get everyone together and we thoroughly enjoy these walks each year to be in company that has been in our shoes. We plan to do The Pink Journey walk again next year and hope to see their presence continue to grow!

- 10/6: Huntington Beach Air Show

o It was a busy weekend with The Pink Journey walk the day before, but we spent the day with Chris’s parents at The Huntington Beach Air Show. Chris and Jim have a love for aviation and we have never been able to attend this show because we’ve been busy. We went and boy was it a bummer because the fog and clouds were so heavy that instead of seeing anything it purely became an ‘audio’ show. Hopefully next year will be better!

- 10/7: PET Scan Results

o We were anxious to get the results of Lauren’s PET Scan with the monthly check-in. Lauren purposefully scheduled the appointment for the 7^th of the month since that is our lucky number. And of course, we got good news that it was CLEAR! Chris knew this would be the case but getting that confirmation for both of us was just icing on the cake.

- 10/8 – 10/13: Chris Atlanta

o With everything already going on in the month of October, Chris had a work trip for the Petit Le Mans race in Atlanta that he needed to attend. While Chris was out there, he realized that our CDA house had a smoke detector that was chirping, as if the battery was dead.

- 10/13 – 10/14: Chris CDA for Smoke Detector

o So instead of flying home from Atlanta, Chris flew directly to CDA for the night to change the battery, because the following weekend we were heading there to deliver our truck and the Jeep. On top of that, since the last time anyone was at the house was when Lauren and her dad were there, and they had left in a haste because we had found out that Irv had suddenly passed away.

- 10/15: Chris rear ended in our white truck that was going to CDA

o To get the truck ready for the cold weather and the salt that is used on the roads to melt ice in CDA, Chris scheduled for the truck to have a spray-in bedliner done before the 1,392 mile drive to CDA. On the way to the shop in Huntington Beach someone who was on their phone was not paying attention and rearended him. We aren’t sure if the person didn’t stop or if they mistakenly hit the accelerator pedal. Luckily the damage wasn’t too bad and by the looks of it the truck probably needed a new bumper – just the worst timing on top of everything else we had going on.

- 10/18 – 10/21: Chris drive to CDA; Salt Lake

o On the 18th at 4am, Chris left Seal Beach with our white truck and the Jeep being towed on a trailer so that both could be permanently left in CDA. The trip was broken up into 2 days with Chris spending the night at a friends house in Salt Lake City. Over the course of the 2 days, Chris drove just over 24 hours and NEVER again will he drive a trailer that far. 50mph winds from Barstow to Salt Lake, snowstorms in Utah and lots of snacks to get by. Lauren got to fly to CDA! We spent the next 2 days getting some things done around the house, managed to find a body shop in CDA to get the truck fixed and flew back home the evening of 10/21.

- 10/22: Lauren & Chris talk at Motul

o Chris’s work invited us both to speak about breast cancer and the journey we went through. It was a really engaging and fun conversation and everyone had great questions. It was fun for us to share our story and teach others about breast cancer.

- 10/23: Lauren spoke at Rosary High School

o Lauren was asked to speak in front of about 30 high school students who are at a all girl’s school in Orange County. They have a club and Lauren was able to share a little bit about breast cancer, how she found it and the importance of genetic testing. You are never too young to learn about the risks!

- 10/25: The Pink Journey Foundation Mobile Mammogram Event w/ REVOLVE

o One of the final projects Lauren worked on before leaving REVOLVE was to get The Pink Journey’s mobile mammogram program as a partnership between REVOLVE and TPJF. Lauren went and volunteered at the event, where they were able to offer free mammograms to close to 20 attendees in partnership with REVOLVE’s customers. Lauren’s sister, Kimmie, was able to attend and get a mammogram as preventative screening due to Lauren’s diagnosis, even though she is not yet 40! Her’s was all clear.

- 10/27 – 10/28: Lauren CDA

o We were notified that the truck was fixed sooner than the 2 weeks they had quoted us and with all the trips Chris had, Lauren decided to fly to CDA for one night to pick up the truck. It was a quick 24 hours that was super productive.

- 11/1 – 11/5: Sedona

o A few days later, we were off again! We decided to spend time in Sedona and Flagstaff for our 12 year wedding anniversary since it had been 3.5 years since we had gone. While in Flagstaff we went to a delicious restaurant called Atria for dinner and went to a 700,000 year old extinct lava tube. Lauren chickened out so our excursion that probably would have lasted an hour ended up being about 15 minutes. While in Sedona we ate, went on a few hikes and got massages. It was a nice and relaxing getaway after a busy month.

- 11/11: Celebrated 2 Years Cancer Free & Veteran’s Day & USC Health Magazine

o This day, 2 years ago, we received the all clear from Lauren’s surgeon, Dr. Guerra that there was no cancer left after chemotherapy and surgery! We will always celebrate this day because not only did it confirm there was no cancer left but it confirmed that Lauren’s chances of reoccurrence were reduced to less than 10%. Back in August, Lauren did an interview and a video shoot with USC Health Magazine to talk about her diagnosis and care at Keck. We’ve had to keep it quiet until they approved that we could release the article and video – it just so happens that it was released on Lauren’s cancer free date! The article will be published in their magazine that we will be getting some copies of in the next week, but you can view the video interview in the link provided.

Link to article can be seen HERE. Link to the interview can be seen on YouTube here:

We wrap November with Lauren heading to CDA with her mom and grandma for a few days, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we look forward to spending time with family.

Lots of love,

Chris & Lauren