Support Joyce’s Battle w Stage 4 Cancer & End-of-Life Care

Hi everyone,

I never imagined the day would come when I would have to write one of these for my grandma, Joyce Saulnier — truly the strongest and most empathetic person I know, the woman who took on the role as my mother after she passed away and who has been a constant source of love, guidance, and strength, and one of my absolute favourite people in the universe. But the day has come, and our family is absolutely heartbroken to share that Joyce has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that has metastasized to her lymph nodes, pancreas, and brain.

On January 31st 2025, my grandma went to the emergency room, because she was experiencing visual hallucinations. They discovered that she had a brain tumour on her brainstem and significantly large masses in her lungs and lymph nodes. After many tests, the oncologists developed a treatment plan, and on March 25th, my grandma began her treatment with 5 days of radiation for the tumour on her brainstem.

By this point, the tumour had already caused significant permanent damage. She lost her ability to see from her left peripheral, making it almost impossible for her to read, which is one of her favourite hobbies. She also developed foville syndrome, which is a brainstem stroke syndrome. This has severely affected her facial muscles, eye movement, and balance, as she suffers from extreme limb weakness, which makes it difficult to walk and perform daily tasks.

After recovering from her radiation treatment, the next step was to start chemotherapy and immunotherapy. However, this had to be put on pause, as she began experiencing extreme confusion, loss of memory, and severe pain in her abdomen, which lead to another hospitalization on April 16th. Thankfully, her brain scans showed no new growth, but they found that the cancer has metastasized to her pancreas and she was suffering from severe hypothyroidism.

During her time at the hospital, my grandma continues to struggle with sitting upright, getting out of bed, walking, and other daily and vital tasks. Regardless of all her pain and struggles, my grandma has handled it all with strength, grace, and her never-ending humour and wit. After speaking with her care team, they have advised that my grandma needs more support than what can be provided in her home with my grandpa, Mike. It has also become more clear that she may not have much time left with us. To ensure that my grandma receives the most comfort, love, safety, and care that she needs and deserves, we have decided that both her and my grandpa will be moving in with my partner, Samuel, and I once she is discharged from the hospital. This way, we will all have as much time with one another as possible before the time comes when she is no longer with us.

We are now in the midst of starting the immediate move of my grandma and grandpa’s things from their home to ours, making the important adjustments to our home to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for my grandma, and planning for the time when I’ll need to take compassionate leave to become a full-time caregiver for my grandma.

I have started this GoFundMe to help support my grandma and our family during this difficult time. We regret that we have to ask for donations, as we know many people are also struggling financially in this economy; however, the circumstances are dire and the unexpected costs are overwhelming, as my grandparents will be moving in with us from low-income housing, and they do not have the financial means or private health insurance to assist us in paying for these expenses. The funds will help cover the costs of my grandma’s end-of-life care and the financial strain of the many unexpected expenses that we face during this time, including:

Our family is asking for your support during this unexpected and painful time. I would do anything to give back to my grandma the same kind of love, support, comfort, and strength that she has given me throughout all the years of my life. Hopefully, with your help, we can provide as much support, love, and comfort to her as possible.

We are so incredibly grateful for any support that you can give — whether it be a donation, a kind message, sharing this fundraiser, or most importantly, keeping my grandma in your thoughts and prayers. Every little bit helps, every thought and prayer is felt and warms our hearts, and no contribution is too small.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us give my grandma the comfort, love, and dignity she deserves in her final days. Your kindness and support mean the world to us.

With love and great appreciation,

Joyce, Mike, Sam and Emma