Help Michelle Fight Breast Cancer

One month ago, my sister-in-law, Michelle Hobgood logged into her medical patient portal following a biopsy and found three words that shook her world: invasive ductal carcinoma. The same person who had spent the past 20 years as a fitness professional, promoting a healthy lifestyle and doing all the “right things” was coming to grips with the fact that she had breast cancer.

As full-time caretakers of my beautiful nephew Devon, their autistic and developmentally-disabled son, Michelle and her husband David, are not strangers to challenging times; however, adding a breast cancer diagnosis to the equation has added an extra dose of adversity.

With surgery and radiation (and potentially chemo, pending additional results) scheduled only a few weeks out, although her prognosis looks good, she’s beginning to worry about the financial burden this will bring as well. She will now have to overcome lost wages while stepping away from her small business as a home organizer to undergo treatment, along with a number of out-of-pocket medical expenses not fully covered by their insurance, and potential costs for seeking additional caretaker assistance with Devon. My heart is compelled to set up this GoFundMe campaign, so that we not only offer words of encouragement, but that we can also offer financial support during this time of need.

Any amount you can donate would be greatly appreciated. If you’re unable to donate at this time, please share this with your community. All funds go directly into Michelle’s bank account. Thanks for everyone’s thoughts, prayers, and assistance in any capacity to help Michelle through this battle that she’s facing.