Help young teacher Tash beat pancreatic cancer

Natasha Rankin is a young woman in her early 30s. She is a graduate teacher at Anderson's Creek Primary School in Warrandyte, Melbourne. Natasha is an extremely dedicated and passionate teacher, always going above and beyond to deliver targeted teaching and developing relationships with her students. Her knowledge of technology and her 'can do' attitude have meant that in a short time she has proven to be indispensable to the running of the school.

Late last year, Tash wasn't feeling well. After a series of tests, much to everyone's shock, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During this difficult time, she made sure that she continued to teach in between treatments no matter how unwell she felt. The doctors felt that she should have the invasive Whipple procedure to give her the best chance of beating the cancer. She was operated on during the school holidays over the summer and amazed her doctors when she was able to recover in record time. This is a testament to Tash's determination to beat her illness. Her immediate family is in Queensland and, apart from her partner Dan and her colleagues, she has little support at this difficult time.

This year, Tash is undergoing chemotherapy while teaching a Grade 3/4 class. Teaching can be a taxing profession at the best of times, but doing so whilst undergoing chemotherapy is unfathomable. Tash never complains and continues to come to work as much as possible. Unfortunately, Tash has now run out of sick leave from the Department of Education. This means that when she is not well enough to work, she has no income to pay for her escalating medical bills. Cancer treatment is expensive. The goal of this 'gofundme' page is to raise some much needed funds for Tash to be able to take days off work when she is battling the side effects of chemotherapy.