Support Rebecca & Her Kids Future Without Her

Rebecca is a warrior in every sense of the word, but cancer is a cruel disease. While others celebrated New Year’s Eve, our friend Rebecca received the devastating news Dec. 31st that it would be her last. Her oncologist let her know she was in her final months.

Now, her focus is on planning and preparing a future for her husband and young children that she won’t be there to share.

Suddenly diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2023, Rebecca has faced this battle with courage and grace, taking things one day at a time. Having painfully lost her own mother to cancer in 2005, Rebecca is heartbroken at the thought of her children facing a similar loss & will do everything she can to cherish her time with her children and support her family's future.

How Can You Help? We Rally Together for Rebecca McColl & Her Family

Rebecca has done everything she can in this battle and it’s our turn to urgently step up for her and her family.

We’re asking her friends, family, and community to come together to ease the financial burdens of this next chapter and help provide support for her current care and children’s future.

Please donate and share Rebecca’s story widely.

These funds will support:

1. Immediate Expenses: Covering medical costs, household bills, and other needs to ensure Rebecca’s days are as comfortable as possible. Rebecca has been unable to work this school year while undergoing treatments, and we want to ensure her husband, Drew, can also take time off to be with her and their family.

2. Family Support & Future Planning: Providing additional support for her children’s needs, from childcare costs to emotional support resources, and establishing a financial cushion for her children as they navigate a future without their incredible mom.

3. Please Share Her Story: If you’re unable to donate, we still greatly appreciate you taking the time to read her story and share it with others.

Rebecca hopes that sharing her story will help raise awareness to improve early cancer detection and remind us all that life is unpredictable so love large, spread joy and cherish the time you have.

A Beacon Of Joy On The Darkest Days

Stories from friends and family consistently highlight Rebecca's selflessness. She always puts others first, a quality that defines her deeply generous and kind spirit.

Even when she shared her latest prognosis, she said, “I’m sorry,” to us, as if she needed to apologize for being the bearer of such difficult news instead of the one enduring it firsthand. That’s who she is—always thinking of others, even in the darkest moments.

Throughout her battle, Rebecca has shown incredible strength and has been determined to still deliver moments of joy for others. She has made it a point to brighten the spirits of those around her, dressing up for every single chemotherapy appointment. Thank you to Tim for being a sidekick so many times in costume too!

Whether she appeared at the hospital as Napoleon Dynamite, a minion, a Christmas elf, or a caped crusader, Rebecca’s costumes weren’t just for her—they were for the staff, fellow patients, and kids, a reminder that joy can exist even on the hardest days.

A Life Full of Love and Resilience

Rebecca is a loving mother of three young children, devoted wife, cherished daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, teammate and passionate teacher. She has faced terminal cancer head on with unimaginable courage and strength.

Just before Rebecca’s diagnosis, she had embarked on an exciting new chapter, with a new teaching job and a new home in London with her three beautiful children and her newlywed husband Drew. Her tragic and shocking cancer diagnosis came just before Rebecca and Drew’s daughter turned two, revealing aggressive triple-negative breast cancer that had already spread to her liver.

She persevered through challenging chemotherapy treatments, while juggling her life as a mom and teacher. Her resilience fueled her hope of returning to work again, even recently completing two courses, aiming to fulfill her ambitions of one day becoming a Principal.

Drew, Rebecca's husband, has been a rock— searching for treatments, holding her through hard times, shaving her head with a steady hand, and taking on extra work while she’s been unable to. She is the love of his life, and it’s heartbreaking to know that cancer will take her from us far too soon.

Rebecca's journey has been one of resilience, fuelled by her unwavering spirit, her love for her family and the love and support of family and friends. Her father Phil, sister Katherine, children and Drew have been pillars of strength, hope and encouragement.

Focusing on What Matters Most to Rebecca - Her Family

Rebecca’s energy is waning each day and she wants to make the most of the time she has with her children.

We want to help make Rebecca as comfortable as we can and ensure that Rebecca and Drew can focus on making lasting memories with their family. Your help can reduce the financial stressors and burden for their family during this limited time and help Rebecca with her aims to plan for her children's future.

Honouring Rebecca’s Strength, Kindness & Love.

Cancer is also just one part of Rebecca's story.

Please share your words of love and memories with her and her family, celebrating who she is beyond the disease she has battled.

Her family means everything to Rebecca. Let’s show them how much she means to us through honouring her strength, selflessness, and love.

Thank You - Your support means the world to Rebecca.

Thank you to everyone for standing with Rebecca and her family throughout her battle with cancer.

She is incredibly grateful and has a deep appreciation for the amazing family, friends and colleagues she has shared her life with.

The Organizer and Fund Team Members:

Ali, Kendra and Lindsay met Rebecca (aka Rebbie) as kids playing against each other in the Hamilton Basketball Association. Rebecca was a young legend in the league. She later became a teammate, school mate and best friend.

Rebecca led multiple Hamilton Transway basketball teams to provincial championships, won an OFSAA provincial gold medal alongside her sister Katherine with our Westdale Warriors high school team and she was an OUA basketball all star during her time at Western University.

Her leadership and support on the court, carries over to how she has always treated others as a friend, colleague, teacher, partner and mother – leading by example, with compassion, strength, kindness and fierce protectiveness for those she loves.

We’ve weaved in and out of each others lives over the past 30 years, always knowing that no matter the distance there was a deep love for each other and the experiences we’ve shared.

I hope she understands how loved she is and the meaningful impact she has had on her friends, family, colleagues, students and community.

This heartbreaking situation is a stark reminder to spend the time you can with those you love as life will always feel too short.