My 21st Cancerversary: A Call That Was No Joke
Twenty-one years ago on Friday, April 1st I was in a cab headed to LaGuardia returning home to Detroit after an important business meeting in New York City for my soon to be new employer, when my cell phone rang. Flipping it open, the voice on the other end was my OBGYN, who delivered all five of my children, now delivering what must, I initially thought, be a cruel prank.
I had breast cancer.
While my early-stage disease was unlikely to take my life, it took my livelihood.
Without my income, I faced not only a health crisis, I faced a financial crisis, now known as financial toxicity.
Within months our home fell into foreclosure, I was threatened with the repossession of my vehicle and utility shut offs.
That experience changed the trajectory of my life. It’s the reason I founded Pink Fund with my husband in 2006
Today, too many individuals in active treatment are still facing the same impossible choices I once did—how to pay for basic living expenses like housing, transportation, utilities and insurance while in treatment and unable to work.
Pink Fund exists to ease the financial burden, providing critical financial support so patients can focus on treatment
On my 21st cancerversary and the 20th anniversary of Pink Fund, I’m asking for your help.
Your support can ensure that patients who come to Pink Fund for helps don’t face cancer and financial hardship alone.
April 1st will always mark the day my life changed.
With your help, it can also mark the day we change someone else’s.