Charliegh Dorcas

By Randi-Marie Adams

Local woman fighting a rare form of breast cancer

Jun 10, 2022 | 11:16 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – Charliegh Dorcas is a 34-year-old mother of two kids and four stepkids. She has just recently been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 10-15% of all breast cancers. The term triple-negative breast cancer refers to the fact that the cancer cells don’t have estrogen or progesterone receptors and also don’t make any or too much of the protein called HER2.

TNBC differs from other types of invasive breast cancer in that it tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and tends to have a worse prognosis.

Dorcas said she found a large lump in her breast in April and thought nothing of it. She said she had gone for a breast examination six months prior. Regardless, she still made an appointment with her doctor.

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“I never thought it was cancer, [sic] like I never. The whole time I was like, oh, it’s a cyst,” explained Dorcas

She then received a life-changing phone call. Dorcas said she was at work and immediately broke down in tears.

“It’s like it doesn’t have receptors, so you can’t fight it with hormones and stuff. So, the only thing, [sic] you have to fight it with the chemo first to try and shrink it cause it’s a very aggressive cancer, and then I’ll have a double mastectomy.”

Dorcas was diagnosed on April 14 and has had five rounds of chemo so far. She will continue treatment until mid-July and then doctors will reassess and see if the chemo is working properly. Unfortunately, she is unable to work due to her treatments. The problem is medical EI only covers roughly 16 weeks, something she says won’t last throughout her treatment.

“When you have cancer, it’s a flawed system for sure. I believe its about 16 weeks, that won’t even get me through my six months of chemo and I’ll probably be off for a year to a year and a half.”

Dorcas says she was told that many people who have cancer and are being treated usually don’t qualify for disability either.

“Yeah, I talked to a finance person with the cancer agency and they said it’s very hard to get that. Like [sic] I will definitely try, but, they said that a majority of people are denied that as well. “

Dorcas works at the Treasure Cove Casino and since her diagnosis, her co-workers have rallied around her to show their support both emotionally and now financially. They have created a Facebook page called Charliegh’s Angel’s where they are accepting donations from the community for a silent auction. Charliegh family has also created a GoFund Me page to try and help alleviate some of the future costs.