Catherine Noah - Cancer & Medical Expenses

My name is Stephanie Safholm and I am fundraising for Catherine Noah.

Our friend and local farmer, Catherine Noah, is about to start another round of surgeries for the breast cancer she was diagnosed with in 2019. The financial burden is high for her as a self-employed farmer. Her partner, David, also needs to focus on helping her heal. Please consider helping this North Shore friend with medical and living expenses. Our goal is $5500. Read below for Catherine’s journey.

Upcoming Surgeries

I have finally been cleared to have the last of my surgeries done and will have to have another radical mastectomy done and reconstruction surgery from having both of my breasts removed and finally seeing the light at the end of this torrential journey I never had ever thought I'd have to take. This journey has had me constantly always worried about making it through this battle. Stressing out and worried financially about how we're gonna make it and dealing with all the gnarly side effects affecting me physically, mentally and emotionally. Especially since I'm on the last stretch of it and know this is the end of the road I'm on and the hardest part of it to get through. I just hope I have enough strength to make it to the finish line of what I will go through and hope to finish.

Cat’s Cancer Journey

I was first diagnosed with cancer in March 2019 and that's when my whole life changed into an unknown journey with an outcome that could change at any moment. I was diagnosed with stage 2 metastatic breast cancer that spread to my lymph nodes and had to go through 6 cycles of 6-hour long chemotherapy treatments every three weeks. This was the hardest time of my life making it through the worst side effects I had from treatments. I wasn't able to eat or drink anything for the first 10 days after treatments and also was breaking out with rashes, losing my hair and dealing with all of this week after week. I don't know how I made it through. I also was doing 6 weeks straight 5 days a week of heavy radiation to my chest on top of chemotherapy. Right after having to go through all of those grueling month-after-month of intense heavy treatments I also had 3 major surgeries done three months in a row having undergone a radical mastectomy, surgical removal of all of my lymph nodes and surgery to have my body put into early menopause. When I finally finished my 6 cycles of chemotherapy and everything else I had to do, I thought I was completely done. My doctor congratulated me on a well-done fight beating cancer. I don't know how I made it through it all and was told I only have the last few surgeries to finish.

Three weeks later during a routine check-up, I was told I had 14 more months of treatments to do and that's when my doctors told me I had two cancers instead of one and was also diagnosed with HERS2 triple positive estrogen cancer, a type of cancer only 15 percent of women are diagnosed with. I was floored but didn't let my husband or doctor see my devastation of facing another battle for my life. Since then my body has been affected by so many of the side effects from doing 3 years of heavy chemotherapy treatments for two cancers. Chemotherapy Treatments, radiation treatment, and surgery after surgery. I have finally been put into remission but I only was put into remission because I was unable to finish the last 4 sets of treatments. After 3 years of treatments, it was affecting my heart dropping it to only working at 35 percent. The treatments were killing me making it dangerous for me to finish or even be able to have any more treatments done. I was at high risk of death and have been put into remission. It's been 5 weeks now my heart has finally healed and is working at 56 percent right now but I have to take heart meds to help keep it getting better.