I need your help paying for my cancer care
Donation protected
In 2020 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Hormone-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. I know this news comes as a shock to most of you, and I'm sorry to say I have more surprising news to share.
I'm fighting cancer with everything I've got, and I'm doing well. But radiation treatments have left me with a substantially-weakened arm, which has forced the need for caregivers. They are needed, but after three years, I can no longer pay for them on my own. It's why I'm asking for your financial help -- which you'll read more about further on.
Cancer’s costly …
- The available subsidized caregiver services -- which I do take full advantage of -- don't give me the number of hours or services I need, to help me with the everyday tasks we all do without even thinking about -- until we can't -- like, for example, showering, some cooking, making beds and laundry. So far I've spent more than $200,000 on caregivers, which isn't covered by OHIP. It's significant, and not my only expense. And it's the reason why I am asking for your help.
- Even being fully vaccinated isn't enough to prevent anyone from getting COVID. But my risk is higher given my compromised immune system. As my oncologist says, we just don't know if my case would be mild as many are now, thanks to the vaccines. So crowded supermarkets and stores are risky. And given I was diagnosed at the height of the pandemic, it's been three years that I've been having everything delivered -- groceries, cleaning and medical supplies, medication. You'd be surprised how delivery charges add up.
- It will come as no surprise that I also had to buy a wig. It wasn’t cheap, but let me assure you it has nothing to do with my need for donations. In all honesty, I’m just shamelessly fishing for compliments. I think it looks way better than my hair ever looked. What do you think? I’m sporting it in the photo up top.
There is, happily, a bright side to my story and you, of all people, need to know that. It’s been three years since I began this journey, and I’m very much alive — which reflects the positive news I received, along with my diagnosis …
While I can’t be “cured,” my cancer CAN be controlled, which is why metastatic cancer is now called “chronic cancer.” As for the type of breast cancer I have, there are many available drugs for it, all of which have proven to be successful.
Even better, there’s a brand new, highly-effective treatment that’s just been approved for use in Canada — which has now been added to the existing arsenal, should I ever need it.
I’m responding well to my treatment, there is ongoing stability and improvement and my oncologist’s very pleased with my progress. I’m also constantly told my “positive attitude will bode well for me and there’s medical evidence to support that.” And I also feel very good!
Before I continue, though, I feel I need to apologize — for saying nothing, for the most part, until now and for being evasive when so many expressed concern when I suddenly disappeared from social media for months three years ago
Misguided as they may have been, I did have my reasons: I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me, and I don’t feel sorry for myself. Plus I feared I’d get no work if clients were afraid I’d be dead before I finished it.
I also must confess that finding the courage to let go of my pride, admit I need help and ask for it in such a public forum as this is, hands down, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Much harder, to tell you the truth, than it was for me to absorb, accept and refuse to give into fear or be daunted by my stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
But this Brooke Davis quote pretty much sums up what drives me: “Sometimes, life will kick you around, but sooner or later you realize you’re not just a survivor. You’re a warrior, and you’re stronger than anything life throws your way.”
Little by little, a little becomes a lot ...
Now you know everything except what I’m asking of you and what my overall fundraising goal is, so here they are.
I am asking you to help support the overwhelming ongoing cost of my care, so much of which is the cost of the caregivers. They are essential and I can’t handle the cost on my own anymore. My goal is to raise $200,000.
BUT — that does NOT mean that individual donations have to be supersized. This Tasmanian proverb explains it far more eloquently than I can: “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”
My doctors tell me all the time that people in my situation can, and are, living for years, and it’s already three for me. There are never any guarantees for any of us, but the success and advancements in treatments for my cancer give me hope and my doctors and I feel positive.
And let me assure you, your generosity will continue to do good, regardless, because I will pay it forward and whatever I don’t need — should things turn out that way — will be donated to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, where I am lucky enough to be treated.
I’d also be very grateful if you’d help me get the word out and share this as well.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, FOR READING, SHARING AND FOR YOUR GENEROSITY. BLESSINGS.
#HelpingHandsNeeded
#EveryDollarHelps
Organizer
Fransi Weinstein
Organizer
Toronto, ON