Tirzah is a 40-year-old mother, wife, and one of the strongest people we know.

She beat breast cancer three years ago, but now it’s back as stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that has spread to her liver, lungs, and bones.

This isn’t curable, but it is treatable. What she’s fighting for now is more time with her kids and her husband, Ricky.

From Tirzah:

"I have so much to live for. I want to see Vayda have a baby and get married. I want to see Mason grow up. I want to be here for Ricky. I just turned 40. I'm going to keep fighting and try everything I can."

What we're raising money for:

Our healthcare system covers a lot, but not enough. The money raised here gives Tirzah a real shot at more time and the best possible quality of life.

Our initial goal is $48,000. Every dollar directly supports Tirzah and her fight against cancer:

How to help

This is how we support her through this together.

The funds we raise here are what we need to get through the first chapter. Treatment for stage four cancer doesn't end at six months. It’s something Tirzah will be living with long-term. With the right care, many people live for years, even decades. The goal is to give her the best possible quality of life, and as much time as we can. As her journey continues, we'll update this page, raise the goal, and tell you exactly why.

The community is already showing up:

Friends have flown in to help care for her. Others have organized their own fundraisers. Meals have been arriving at the door. If you're wondering whether your contribution matters, know that you're joining something that's already in motion.

A Note from Rachel Brownless, one of Tirzah’s closest friends:

Hi. I'm Rachel, and I'm writing this for my best friend Tirzah. I've known Tirzah May since we were 13.

I still remember spotting this tall, slightly awkward girl in the front hall of high school. I was also a tall, slightly awkward girl, so real recognize real and we clocked each other immediately.

Back then, Tirz had this long, beautiful black hair. Unfortunately, it was the era of the pixie cut. Some of us (me) had the self-awareness to know that cutting our hair into a tight little crop was not our journey. Tirzah… did not. Because the cool girls were doing it, she did it too.

It was, objectively, a terrible haircut.

But somewhere in the wreckage of that decision, we started talking and we basically haven't stopped in the 28 years since.

For those of you who don't know Tirzah well, it would be easy to judge her on the surface. She's glam and beautiful, honestly, a real-life Barbie and people often stop there.

But if you only take her in at face value, you miss everything that actually matters.

Underneath, she is funny, wildly kind, and a little weird in the best way. Completely and unapologetically herself. She's the kind of person who makes you feel comfortable immediately with no judgment. She has a depth and empathy that you don't often encounter everyday.

She finds joy in the smallest things. She'll dance on the side of the street, sing completely off-key, and not think twice about it. She has never cared what people think and that's exactly what makes her so magnetic.

On top of all those beautiful qualities she also happens to be one of the strongest people I know and that is not an exaggeration. She raised her two children largely on her own, working multiple jobs, barely sleeping, holding everything together without the safety net most people have to rely on. She built a life through sheer force of will. And then she met Ricky, and built another one with love and stability. I have never seen her as happy as she has been with him and their kids.

In 2022, at 36 years old, Tirz was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through sixteen rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy, reconstruction, and eight months of hormone therapy. She did all of it. In 2024 she was told she was cancer-free and discharged from the cancer centre.

Earlier this year, Tirz started getting short of breath. A cough she couldn't shake. She thought it was the flu. In March, alone in a Saskatoon emergency room while Ricky was out of town for work, Tirz was told the breast cancer had come back. It had spread to her bones, her liver, and her lungs. It is stage four metastatic breast cancer. She kept it from Ricky for six days so she wouldn't interrupt his job.

She's back in active treatment, and the toll has been brutal. At her worst, she couldn't make it up her own stairs, and Ricky had to carry her. Treatment for stage four cancer isn't a finish line she's running toward. It's a rhythm she'll be living in for years, probably for the rest of her life.

Metastatic breast cancer is not curable. It is, for many people, livable. Sometimes for years, sometimes for decades, especially with access to the right treatments, the right trials, and the right support.

What she's fighting for is time. Time to watch her kids grow up. Time with Ricky. Time to be present for the small ordinary things she says this disease taught her to love. The money we raise here buys her a real shot at that time, and at the best possible quality of life inside it.

Tirz beat cancer once. She shouldn't have to fight this alone and with your help, she won't. All I want for my best friend is for her to feel supported and not alone as she faces this next chapter, and to have the freedom to explore every possible option available to her. If you can, please contribute and help us give her the longest, fullest, most beautiful life possible.

Thank you for reading this. Thank you for loving her.

With Love and Gratitude,

Rachel

A few practical notes

Donations through GoFundMe in Canada are treated as personal gifts, so they aren't tax deductible, and Tirz won't owe tax on what's raised. Funds go directly to her. Rachel and Travis are managing this page so that Tirz and Ricky don't have to. Reach out to either of us with any questions.