Support Iryna and her family as she fights Cancer

This GoFundMe is to support our friend and tenant, Iryna. Iryna is a Ukrainian refugee living in Saskatoon, who is about to go through a 14-16 hour surgery following her recent Stage 3 cancer diagnosis of the mouth and lymph nodes. She will spend weeks in the hospital, which will be followed by radiation therapy and many, many months of recovery – and even if everything is successful there will still be permanent impacts on her ability to talk, and possibly to eat, and her appearance.

This difficult surgery and rehabilitation will require Iryna to take substantial time off from her job at Nestor’s Bakery, which is especially devastating because Iryna is the sole provider for her family still in Ukraine. She has been sending her earnings back home, where she has an ill husband and a teenage daughter who depend on her while the war continues to disrupt their ability to support themselves.

We’re asking if you can join us in rallying behind Iryna and her family as she faces a high-risk surgery and life-altering recovery. All money raised will go to Iryna so that she can continue to support herself and her family in Ukraine. Any little bit helps. If you’re not in a position to contribute financially, we’d be grateful if you’d share this page through social media. Several people can make a huge difference for one family that is facing different battles half a world apart.

Thank you.

How we got to where things are today…

NOTE: Because of safety concerns for her family still in Ukraine, we haven’t used Iryna’s full name or those of her family members. We understand that a lack of details in a GoFundMe can raise red flags, so we’ve included information about those of us in Saskatoon who are helping Iryna. We hope that this transparency provides you with the reassurance you might need before donating to this effort. I can also be reached through this site if you have further questions.

My name is Janice Staniec and I’ve lived in Saskatchewan most of my life. My husband Walter and I are renting our basement apartment in Saskatoon to Iryna. We’ve organized this GoFundMe on her behalf because Iryna does not speak English well and we’ve come to really care for this brave and resilient member of our community.

Iryna is a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in Canada in June 2022. She immediately secured a job at Nestor’s Bakery where she’s been employed ever since.

Iryna’s husband, who is ill, remained in Ukraine. Iryna’s 17-year-old daughter is also in Ukraine, and in September will be continuing her education in Kyiv thanks to an academic achievement scholarship that she earned. Iryna’s sole focus has been to provide for her family in Ukraine. This includes paying for her husband’s expenses and medicine (he’s unable to work because of the war and his health), and her daughter’s living expenses while she attends University in Kyiv.

While Iryna has been doing the very best she can, she recently experienced a devastating setback: a Stage 3 cancer diagnosis of the mouth and lymph nodes. At her oncologist’s urging, Iryna will soon undergo a high-risk surgery that will involve an ear-to-ear incision, the removal of most of her tongue, and its reconstruction.

As harrowing as this 14 to 16-hour surgery is, it’s the recovery that will likely be the toughest for Iryna. Her healthcare team estimates she’ll need to stay in the hospital for two weeks and will have to rely on a trach tube to breathe as well as a nasal feeding tube during most of that time. She’s also facing a significant risk of permanent nerve damage, and facial drooping, and could even lose her ability to speak. Iryna will need radiation and extensive recuperation and rehabilitation possibly followed by chemotherapy and additional surgeries. All of which is time she must take away from her job at the bakery – which could be the better part of a year, if not longer.

This prognosis would be shattering for any of us to face. For Iryna, it’s doubly stressful as this means her husband and daughter – who are financially dependent on her – will also be left without any income as the war continues in Ukraine and Iryna recovers. The family, split between two countries, was barely getting by as it is, and this setback pushes the situation beyond the breaking point.

This GoFundMe is our attempt to help Iryna gain some financial security while dealing with her surgery and recovery. Having the peace of mind that her family is financially ok will help Iryna take the necessary time she needs to heal and recover. All money raised will go to Iryna, to her bank account, so that she can continue to support herself and her family.

Iryna is very hardworking and independent, but as indicated to her by her friends and co-workers, she really has no choice: she needs the help. The financial security that her family had in Ukraine was ripped away by the Russian invasion, and now again by cancer. While Iryna is incredibly grateful for the opportunities she’s received in Canada (and Saskatoon in particular!), it’s been a very surreal and challenging experience to be living as a refugee in a country where she doesn’t speak the language – and now she faces a frightening, life-altering surgery in order to fight – and survive – a very serious cancer.

We know times are difficult for many of us these days. We ask that if you are not in a position to contribute, that you share this with your social network. A little bit from several people can make a huge difference for one family that is facing different battles half a world apart.

Thank you for your consideration and support.