In 2021 started to have symptoms, and in 2022 had surgery for cancer. The operation went well, although i ended up losing a lot of time from work, and eventually losing the job i had. Well, for a while, i wasn’t able to do it, so it wasn’t really unfair.

By 2026, four years after surgery, there are no signs of the cancer returning, as of yet. I am still having tests, and still paying off some debts, as i can, and not all of my strength came back.

Right now I am out of work with nothing in sight, but looking around hard, and trying other things.

I chose not to have chemotherapy - the side-effects would have kept me away from work for six months to two years, and we could not survive that. But in any case the survival chance is only slightly improved by chemotherapy, but is improved more by some other treatments (yes, clinically studied and tested) that are not covered by healthcare insurance, but seem worth it.

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED. Your donations have saved my life. People’s kindness has blown me away. Still not out of the woods, and now facing AI and ageism (I am 64), but debts are much smaller and when we can afford groceries I’m slowly getting healthier again!

The biggest single debts are (1) bankruptcy, from a bad bookkeeper twenty years ago (!), which is now under $20,000, and (2) the mortgage, but can't sell while bankrupt (as we don’t get to keep the proceeds).

So thats about $2,700/month. After that, groceries - we can use farm stands for a lot of things in Summer, but prices are high now, and for two people who are cancer survivors and have to avoid herbicides and pesticides, it can be as high as $2,000/month.

There’s also things like phone (i have a pay-as-you-go cell phone for $15/month but there is also a landline), Internet, electricity (including powering the pump for well-water!) that come to another $600/month or so. Electricity prices include a delivery charge which is higher in rural areas.

So lots of bills, and we’ve really cut down on spending. The stock image site i run brings in about $40/month (down from $3200/month 20 years ago!) and i managed to reduce the cost of Web hosting down to under $40/month (was about $120).

It’s hard to come down from $150/year to $50/year, and right now to $0/year, and i’m not eligible for unemployment benefits (because self-employed).

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I've recently been diagnosed with cancer; even if the doctors cure it completely, i'll lose time from work, and hence a lot of income, because of time in hospital and visiting with medical practitioners. I want to make sure i at least don't die in debt, so that my husband can cope.

The surgery and hospital stays will be free here in Ontario, but we don't have a drug plan, so that's an issue too.